Behind the Sirens: A first-hand look a the stress Multnomah County paramedics face
Editor’s Note: Tune in to KOIN 6 News at 5 PM for a special report on this issue.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Level Zero.
In Multnomah County, AMR regularly hits Level Zero — that is, no ambulances available to respond to emergencies.
“Normally we’re Level Zero with calls holding,” said Billy Logan, a night shift supervisor at AMR in Multnomah County. “That’s kind of where it’s at.”
Logan took a KOIN 6 News crew for ridealongs before and during the wicked winter storm in January. During the ridealongs, she showed the challenges of responding to 911 calls when they’re critically short-staffed paramedics.
“They’re being tapped on at least 10 to 16 calls in 12 hours. It can be so stressful on the body, so stressful on the mind, and they’re just running back-to-back-to-back calls,” she told KOIN 6 News.
Before the pandemic, on average, paramedics were going to 6 to 7 calls in a 12 hour shift, according to AMR.
Paramedics struggle to get to medical emergencies promptly. One reason is that a slim supply of ambulances were often tied up in lengthy behavioral health crises.
“We provide the highest care to them, and sometimes providing care would mean that we’re going to stay on scene longer to facilitate our patient’s needs,” Logan said. “We were on scene for about 40 minutes with our last patient and that’s what that patient needed to happen.”
Ambulances also often get stuck at hospitals for hours when no beds are available in the emergency room.
On a good day, the entire emergency medical system in Multnomah County is overloaded. On a bad day — such as a weather emergency — it’s catastrophic.
AMR doubled their average call volume during the ice storm, hitting a new record of nearly 550 calls in a single day. On the Friday KOIN 6 joined paramedics, AMR had 30 patients waiting in the queue for an ambulance unable to help them for hours.
Navigating in the thick of the storm was complicated. Chains and slick streets caused even more delays. One ambulance slid off the road and got stuck for 90 minutes — with a patient in the back — waiting for a rig to pull them out.
During the ice storm, call volumes surged due to accidents on icy surfaces and requests from homeless individuals seeking warmth at hospitals. Meanwhile, serious mental health crises persisted and paramedics were calling out sick.
There were countless calls of people falling and hurting themselves on the ice, including first responders.
A firefighter slipped and broke his leg while putting out a house fire. An ambulance was called, but the nearest one was 40 minutes away in bad driving conditions. Instead, the injured firefighter was taken to the hospital in the fire chief’s rig.
Portland Fire & Rescue officials told KOIN 6 News they likely took at least a half-dozen people in a similar fashion during the storm.
There were also high volume times that some area hospitals tried to divert ambulances from bringing more patients to their emergency rooms.
Still, paramedics like Billy Logan and her crew continue to provide the best care possible in devastating, difficult and demanding situations.
“A lot of times,” she said, “they’re seeing calls that nobody should ever see, stuff that nobody should ever see. They do this a couple times a shift and that can stack up.”
When Logan got to AMR in 2019, there was a waitlist to become a paramedic in Multnomah County. Now they’re short nearly 60 paramedics.
Currently, paramedics who are leaving Multnomah County are going to work at fire departments; furthering their careers in other medical fields; or leaving the profession entirely.
Like many paramedics, Logan is burned out. But she remains dedicated to her crew.
“My biggest role and responsibility is the safety and support of my crews,” she said. “That’s probably one of the biggest things I love about this position, always having my crews’ backs.”
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