Medical society urges more pay for EMS

The Travis County Medical Society has added its voice to the chorus asking that EMS workers receive better pay from the city. In a letter to City Manager Spencer Cronk, the medical society’s president, Scott Clitheroe, called Austin EMS employees a “critical extension of the hospital health care team.” He wrote, “We are concerned that the city may not fully appreciate both the nature and volume of life-critical medical care provided by EMS in a stressful and high-risk field environment. City contract negotiators may also not recognize that their competition is not just other agencies in Texas, but rather a red-hot health care labor market in Austin. Accordingly, we urge you to work quickly to address this looming threat to patient safety by coming to a mutually satisfactory agreement with the Austin EMS Association.” The association is in the midst of negotiating its contract with the city and has thus far been dissatisfied with the terms offered to its members. Earlier this month, the city’s Public Safety Commission passed a resolution asking the city to raise its offer.