Milwaukee's private ambulance providers are facing a staffing dilemma, struggling to hire people to man the ambulances, and the effects are spilling over into the 911 system.
One private ambulance company, Paratech owned by Midwest Medical, is pulling out of the city's 911 agreement with the private providers, citing staffing issues as a factor in its decision. "It's the staffing issue and the staffing goes back to reimbursement," said Bell Ambulance Director of Operations Chris Anderson. "It all ties together."
The leaders of the companies that will remain, as well as the Milwaukee Fire Department, told the I-Team that a big reason they can't recruit EMTs out of school is because of the way the companies are reimbursed to take patients insured by the state and federal government.