CORRECTED: Pendleton County Ambulance District starting pay is $11.30 per hour and tops out at $12.83. Kenton County Ambulance District is the district that closed with Piner Ambulance District still open and serving northwest Pendleton County.
Before Covid, Northern Pendleton Fire and Ambulance District had a full staff. With the strain that COVID is putting on medical services, the supply of EMT’s have shrunk as ambulance districts are hiring more and more ambulance personnel at higher rates than Northern Pendleton can afford.
Add in two Northern Pendleton amulance personnel on medical leave and Northern Pendleton is short personnel, seeking applicants and struggling to cover the rotating schedule.
Chief Justin Nueby told Falmouth Outlook, “It’s a problem everywhere. Before COVID, we would get 10 applicants. Now with a retirement surge in Northern Kentucky, there is a shortage everywhere.”
He lamented that what they can pay per hour is not competitive with Northern Kentucky or even with Pendleton County Ambulance District.
While the rate is being discussed by the board, presently they start at $9.25 per hour. Pendleton County Ambulance District pays a starting rate of $11.30 per hour that tops out at $12.83 per hour and in Northern Kentucky, Nueby says they pay “$18-$19 per hour or more depending where you are.”
The higher rates and better benefit packages mean EMTs are staying in Northern Kentucky to work rather than traveling south.
Pendleton County does not have an abundance of qualified EMTs to draw from so they must rely on Northern Kentucky residents to travel south.
While COVID is putting a strain on the medical needs, it also has caused havoc on staffing. Recently, Northern Pendleton had two ambulance staff members be exposed to COVID and had to be quarantined for 14 days. With the two on medical leave, staffing was shorter than ever.
The issues in Northern Pendleton have brought up the question as to why Pendleton Co has multiple ambulance services for a county of 14,000. Presently, there are three.
Pendleton County Fiscal Court had paid for an audit for ambulance services, and one of the recommendations was to combine the three services to one district serving the county.
Presently, Pendleton County Ambulance District serves most of Pendleton County. Northern Pendleton focuses on the northeast portion of the county. The northwest portion of the county was to be covered by Kenton County Ambulance District, but it has closed. Piner Ambulance District serves that area with Pendleton County now serving the area on some calls. Kenton County is still receiving the taxes paid by Pendleton Countians in that district.
One continuing issue is that Northern Pendleton is only a Basic Life Service ambulance and cannot provide Advanced Life Service when it is needed for a patient.
With only three ambulances in the entire county, if Northern Pendleton responds to a call and finds ALS is needed, they will call for a Pendleton County District ambulance which provides ALS, meaning two thirds of the ambulances in the county would be responding to one call.
It is estimated that approximately $50,000 would be needed to bring the Northern Pendleton ambulances up to ALS as well as in excess of $20,000 in yearly additional costs.
Presently, Kentucky statutes limit an ambulance district to a maximum of .10 cents tax. Both Pendleton County and Northern Pendleton is at the maximum rate. Northern Pendleton receives an additional 10 cents as they are a fire district, too.
One pot of money that could be available to fund a Northern Pendleton move to ALS and provide better coverage to the entire county is the mineral severeance funds.
A good portion of it is generated from Black River Mine which is located in the Northern Pendleton district. The funds, though, are controlled by Pendleton County Fiscal Court and can be used for to help support Ambulance and Fire services in the county.
Northern Pendleton County receives none of those funds.