Pulaski County Emergency Medical Services is looking to overhaul the way it pays the instructors in its training program. EMS Director Brandon DeLorenzo told the county council last week that as it currently stands, the instructors’ pay rate varies, based on their certification level in the department.
“When we have a basic EMT class, as it is now, they just clock in, and the paramedic makes more than the EMT,” DeLorenzo explained. “And when they’re teaching the same class with the same curriculum, it’s unfair that the paramedic makes more.”
He suggested that, going forward, the instructors split a certain percentage of the program’s net income, based on how many hours they teach. “That way, their rate is the same, since they’re teaching the same class, and that would also protect the county,” DeLorenzo said. “If a lot of people start to drop out and by the end of the class, we only have, say, two students, it’s not fair that the county pays the overtime rate to teach two students.”
The rest of the income would go to the county for the use of the facility and for training supplies.
DeLorenzo agreed to provide council members with a budget scenario for his proposal during next month’s meeting. He’ll also check with County Attorney Kevin Tankersley about the legality of giving EMS employees a separate pay system for their teaching duties.
