Narcisse links retention to pay and 911 misuse
Narcisse agrees with Ariola that retention is a problem rooted in inadequate pay, saying EMS workers leave for nursing or other jobs. She also says the city must educate residents not to call 911 for non-emergencies and discusses how lack of insurance drives emergency room use.
I'm in agreement with the chair.
Retention is a problem.
And when I spoke, I was at Garrison Beach, the fire department.
and so on.
And one of the things is just the pay.
The pay is not right.
People are not going to stay.
They're going to go to nursing.
They're going to go do something else.
And we have to look into that seriously.
And another thing, which I want to introduce a bill on that, it's...
It's calling 911.
We are in a habit everywhere we go, even police department, people in the meeting will tell you, oh, emergency, call 911.
We're not detailing anything, and that is a problem.
And another problem that we're facing right now, it's folks losing their insurance, and they end up in an emergency room.
And they will call 911 because they know they can get in faster.
And as a nurse, I'm going to tell you, I know that for a fact.
Some of them will tell you they have respiratory problems just to get in an ambulance and to get to the hospital.
All those cultures, we have to be in together.
I hope people are hearing me.
Stop calling 911 if you don't have to.
You can actually get in the hospital because sometimes the ambulance come waiting.
And by the time I do a triage, I realize that patient is not an emergency.
There is no reason that patient should be calling 911.
But how do you say that?
You just have to be patient because they told people if you have any problem.
The person have a chronic illness, emphysema, and they're still calling 911 even though they have medication.
So.
That's a problem that we have to work on our own culture in the city of New York to try to decrease it.
But retention is a must.