VIDEO: Over a dozen new paramedics joined the Omaha Fire Department Friday after completing intensive training at Creighton University, but their graduation comes at a critical time when Nebraska faces a paramedic shortage that threatens rural communities statewide.
The ceremony at Creighton Universityโs College of Nursing highlights Nebraskaโs growing emergency medical services crisis. According to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, agencies statewide responded to more than 237,000 calls in 2023, but more than 80% of those agencies rely entirely on volunteers.
Those volunteers are disappearing at an alarming rate. Only 31% of volunteer agencies say they have enough staff. 28% believe they wonโt have enough volunteers to operate within five years. EMS calls have increased 4% since 2018 while the workforce shrinks โThrough our education, we have unlocked a new potential to help people on the worst days of their lives that I genuinely know will make a difference in the lives we serve,โ said Brian Davis, one of Fridayโs graduates.
The Omaha Fire Department has taken a proactive approach to addressing the shortage. In 2022, the city partnered with Creighton University to train firefighters as paramedics specifically to address the departmentโs paramedic shortage, according to Ryan Batenhorst from Creighton University. The new paramedics underwent more than a year of intensive training, learning to perform life-saving procedures.
The scope of the challenge is evident in Omaha Fireโs call volume. Fire Chief Kathy Bossman noted that the department responds to over 71,000 calls for service annually, with over 83% being medical in nature. โYou are not only graduates, you are protectors,โ Bossman told the new paramedics.
