By Meghan McGowan
Read time: 4 mins.
EMS departments are vital to their communities, supporting the health of their patients in the face of emergencies. However, despite their important role, they’re rarely actually classified as essential services, and often face major obstacles to their duties as first responders.
EMS Week is the perfect time to better understand EMT challenges and focus on what they truly need.
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Against the Odds: What EMTs are Lacking
Any first responder can tell you that EMS is chronically understaffed, undersupplied, and underfunded. This is more than just a quirk of the industry; it’s a serious issue that affects American people by the millions.
These problems can designate entire regions as “ambulance deserts,” where people are twenty-five minutes or more from an ambulance. They also impact the standard of care EMTs can provide, as well as their own wellbeing.
Supplies
EMS departments are not nationally organized or funded; they’re managed on the state or local level, and their budgets and supplies can vary greatly by region. Wealthy, densely populated areas are more likely to have well-stocked ambulances, but in rural and disadvantaged areas, the story is much different.
Some EMS departments are forced to ask local hospitals to help them stock their trucks, or even to buy supplies themselves. Even the most basic supplies, like masks, sheets, gloves, and eye protection can be difficult for an EMS department to keep in stock.
Equipment shortages also present major challenges for EMTs. LUCAS machines, which deliver automated chest compressions, can be lifesaving in the field. However, many departments can’t afford one, or have the logistical nightmare of sharing a single unit across multiple teams or even multiple regions. Even ambulances themselves can be culprits of equipment deficiencies, as aging vehicles and breakdowns continue to plague EMTs.
Drug shortages are common in the medical industry, but EMS is often hit hard by medications that are too expensive to keep in stock. In 2024, 91% of departments polled by the National Association of EMS Physicians reported shortages of essential medications, including painkillers, sedatives, antibiotics, and more.
Personnel
EMS is known for high turnover rates and low retention, due in large part to the physical and emotional stress of the job and poor compensation. Those left behind are constantly struggling to keep up. In a 2025 survey, EMS1 reported that 59% of the EMS workforce do not have enough personnel to respond to 911 calls, and 40-52% rarely or never get recommended amounts of exercise or sleep.
Overworked EMTs are prone to poor physical and mental health, exhaustion, burnout, and other issues common among those who work long, stressful shifts. Not only does this chronic understaffing problem affect the health of the EMS workforce, but lack of personnel can make ambulance response times longer, increasing patient risks.
Legislation
Funding is at the heart of many of the problems facing EMS today, from low wages to low supplies. Stocking ambulances, buying equipment, training staff, and paying wages requires money, and the budgets of the states and municipalities that fund EMS departments are often extremely tight.
While EMS groups are working hard to address these problems, including bringing them to Washington D.C. with initiatives like EMS on the Hill to seek federal funding and legislation, there are still strides that need to be made to get EMS departments across the country the resources they need to serve their communities.
Joining the Fight: How to Support EMS
There’s no doubt that EMS is fighting an uphill battle to provide their communities with lifesaving care, but the situation is far from hopeless. Big changes take collective action, and individuals can make a difference with something as simple as calling their local lawmakers about EMS legislation.
Donating to local EMS departments is another great step, and those with the ability can even consider volunteering to become EMTs themselves. Cooperation and dedication are the keys to successful emergency medical care, and they will be the keys to creating change in the EMS world.
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