BOONE COUNTY, Ind. — As an EMT for the last 10 years, Nick Schenk goes to work every day to help people and save lives.
"It's something that I just enjoyed from the beginning, so I don't see myself doing anything else," he said.
Unfortunately, emergency medical services across the state say too many others are choosing to do something else.
As ambulance crews respond to an increasing number of calls from 911 and to transfer patients from one hospital to another, the number of medics and ambulances to get them there is dropping.
"Everybody thinks their crisis is the most important one, but at the end of the day, our crisis means lives," said Nathaniel Metz, president of the Indiana EMS Association. "I think that's pretty important."
Ambulance calls are up 44 percent since 2018. Meanwhile, there has been a slight decline in the number of EMTs and medics, and an 11 percent drop in available ambulances for emergency calls, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
"We're fully staffed today," said Boone County EMS Director John Merson.
But it's never been tougher to stay there.
"I used to get 15 applicants [for an open position]," Merson said. "Now I'm lucky to get two."
So what's to blame? Industry veterans point to historically low pay and burnout that's been made worse since the pandemic.
"If you look at the staff now just to keep ambulances running, medics are working three, four, five days in a row sometimes, and they don't get to see their families for that time, and eventually that stress builds up," Metz said.
Metz said, in addition to increasing pay, professional development opportunities would help. He said he's been asking legislators about it for years.
"There's a lot of professional development for nurses and other care providers but not for EMS. We always seem to get left out of the conversation," he said.
"Indianapolis EMS, like all industries, especially health care, have faced staffing impacts over the past year and a half. We are meeting the demands of the area, despite facing record run volume numbers. This is done in large part through strategic deployment of our ambulance crews, based on real-time needs, and help from neighboring agencies and the public safety community who all pull together to ensure the needs of the area are met," said IEMS spokesperson Brian Van Bokkelen in a statement to 13News.
IEMS recently approved a 15 percent raise across the board for all of its medics and operates its own school for anyone interested in exploring the field.
Merson said Boone County EMS also operates its own EMT school.
"It serves as a recruiting tool," he said.
Merson estimates about 30 percent of his employees are former students. Schenk is one of them.
"You know, it's not always about the money," Schenk said. "It's about loving what you do and enjoying it. I enjoy every day that I come to work."
He and his colleagues hope more will feel the same way.