'People Cannot Volunteer Nowadays': Solages Lays Out Challenges Facing Nassau EMS

VALLEY STREAM, NY. — New York lawmakers are discussing ways to stop the exodus of EMS personnel in the state this week, with plans being discussed that include compensation for staffers that have historically served as volunteers. The high cost of living in New York, one lawmaker said, makes it impossible for many New Yorkers to volunteer in the droves that they once did, an effect that puts a strain on first responder services like EMS and firefighters.

New York State Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages was in Albany Thursday for "Tin Cup Day," an opportunity for state officials to hear appeals from local lawmakers on how the state budget ought to look.

Among the budgeting concerns that came up Thursday was EMS, a service where New York City and Nassau County are both trying to balance rising costs with the need for staff retention. In conversations with New York City officials Thursday, Solages highlighted a wage gap that allows EMS workers to make about $59,000 after five years of service in New York City while Nassau County EMS pay can rise above $140,000, a disparity that makes it difficult for New York City to retain EMS staff. Even with the salary possibilities, Solages said Nassau County is facing similar retention issues to New York City.

EMS isn't alone in having retention issues, either. In recent weeks, the Nassau County Legislature introduced a bill that would establish a 311 phone line; lawmakers said that bill was, in part, an effort to boost a poor retention rate among the county's 911 operators.

When asked why those retention issues persist even in a higher-paying area like Nassau, Solages said the emotional and physical toll EMS work can take on the people doing it can make it a hard industry to stick around in.

“It's a tough job. If you think about it, just on the face of it, EMS deals with a lot of emergencies and situations, and that could be taxing, not only physical, but emotional on our EMS workers. It's a job that's very hard to recruit," Solages said. "Also, a lot of EMS workers are now getting assaulted. This is a big issue that's happening to statewide, because the mental health and the substance abuse crises are increasing. So, many of the EMS workers are getting assaulted. In certain municipalities they are getting paid a wage, if they are a private EMS. But for volunteer or for low wage EMS workers, people might not stay in the profession because the emotional physical toll is not worth the compensation."

Solages said discussions are ongoing about what government can do to keep EMS personnel in the job, noting that there has been some discussion of changing the compensation structure for first responders, including firefighters and EMS staffers. With the high cost of living in New York, the assemblywoman said volunteering is no longer as feasible for New Yorkers as it once was.

"We're having a larger conversation in Nassau County and also a lot of the municipalities across the state about nominal compensation for fire or EMS workers. So, that means that we would either give them money or a tax credit of some sort and tax credits to be a volunteer firefighter or EMS," Solages said. "In Nassau County, EMS in a special district, like a small fire district, and firefighters, they do get tax credits as long as they are achieving some benchmarks. So if they volunteer for a certain amount of hours, if they are firefighters or EMS for a certain amount of years, they get enhanced property tax benefits and other initiatives to help them. But they don't get direct compensation. So, we're having a conversation on, 'what does that look like?' Because we realize that people cannot volunteer nowadays. With the high cost of living in New York State, volunteering is not an option for folks."

As far as what her ideal compensation structure for first responders looks like, Solages said it's still being fleshed out. The goal, however, is simple: show frontline workers that they're valued.

"I can't get pinpoint exactly what that looks like because we just started having these conversations this year," Solages said. "At the end of the day, we want people to be a part of EMS. We want people to be a part of a firehouse, and volunteer as firefighters. So we are trying to figure out ways that we can incentivize people to do so. With EMS, this is a problem that's happening statewide, and we need to figure out how we can eliminate the shortage and also ensure that the folks who are in the front lines, because EMS workers are first responders, we want to make sure that we're showing our appreciation for them."