TAMPA, Fla. — There’s a significant need for more paramedics in Manatee County, and with the increasing number of people moving to the area, it’s a situation that could get worse.

The county is projecting nearly 60,000 emergency calls in 2023. That would be an 18% increase since 2020.

What You Need To Know

  • There’s a significant need for more paramedics in Manatee County

  •  More people are moving to the county

  • The county is projecting nearly 60,000 emergency calls in 2023, an 18% increase since 2020

  • The county is looking to hire more than 20 paramedic/charge paramedic positions

Charge paramedic Karleigh Alday said she recently responded to a 911 call from a mom who said her son looked like he was having a seizure.

“Has he had a heart attack, stroke, diabetes, anything like that?” she asked the mom.

Alday said in this situation it’s urgent to determine what led to the medical episode and if the patient is on medication for pre-existing conditions. Once the paramedics find out more information, they take the person to the ambulance.

“We will take care of him in the ambulance. We will be out there for a few minutes,” she told the mom.

Their priority is to provide aid on-site before taking a patient to the hospital. This isn’t her first job focusing on healthcare. The Sarasota native previously worked at an animal hospital and in an emergency room.

She has worked in Manatee County since 2015 and has seen the population growth in the area. She says the county’s paramedics need more help.

Keith Lock, the district chief for EMS operations for Manatee County, agrees, saying the county has drastically grown over the past five years.

“I think there is a staffing shortage nationwide, we’re not exempt,” Lock said. “Even our system right now can get taxed sometimes just due to the volume of calls that come in due to the increase of the number of people that have come into this county.”

Lock said the best way for new hires to learn is to shadow someone like Alday. It helps new paramedics understand what the day-to-day responsibilities are.

Between calls, there’s plenty of behind-the-scenes work that needs to be done, like checking equipment and restocking inventory.

Helping people is what Alday has always done in her career — it’s why she loves her job.

“I like the idea of doing more,” Alday said. “And I was always curious every time I was in the car or whatever and I would see an ambulance and saying ‘Oh, I wonder what’s going on there.'"