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To the editor:
The NYC EMS system collapsed during the Covid pandemic. It really cannot be put any other way. Over 48,000 New Yorkers died. Over 40 percent of the EMS staff went out sick from exposure. We ran out of available units as volume spiked above 6,500 per day. Hundreds of FEMA units from the private sector had to be called in from outside.
In short, in under two months, the pandemic broke NYC EMS. But it also changed for a time the way the public thought about our work and how we thought about ourselves. Briefly, there was a widespread belief we all did something important, essential, maybe even heroic. The majority of NYC EMS kept coming to work and kept doing jobs, despite not having any clear picture of how serious the risks were.
Hundreds of EMS were badly sickened and dozens of EMS eventually died from the virus. The public banged on pots and gave us food. Children waved at us. People thanked us for our service. We mistook that for public support for possible parity, a long-running pledge to pay EMS like law enforcement and firefighters. Mayor Adams and the City Council have claimed they support it, but it has been empty words. We were quite wrong.
In 2024, the average EMT for the FDNY EMS or the private sector makes $19.00 an hour. This year something is going to change or the system will collapse again.
Walter Adler
The writer is a 21-year paramedic and president of EMSPAC, which advocates for EMS pay parity.
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