OUR UNION
EMS WORKERS
in the Fires of the Pandemic Strain was unprecedented for the busiest system in nation.
Even before New York City became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system was the busiest in the nation. But as the virus took hold on New York City, the system was quickly overwhelmed. What was an ember in early March raged into a wildfire just two weeks later. The number of emergency calls rose from about 4,000 a day to 7,000. The usual monthly toll of cardiac arrests was being reached in less than a week. The pandemic also took a severe toll on the city’s first responders. At one point in April, more than onequarter of the city’s EMT workers were out sick. Others stayed away from home out of fear of infecting family members. By the end of April, eight of the workers had passed away. “To keep my seven-year-old son safe, I left him behind with my mother,” said Amanda Dasaro, an EMT for the last eight years at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. “I stayed at an NYU dorm until the Union 10
May-June 2020
helped me find an Airbnb.” Dasaro said that words were inadequate to describe the intensity of her experience. “It was unbelievably mentally and physically challenging,” she said. “At times, I couldn’t catch my breath. I felt as if I was drowning in a sea of worry, and I had a constant knot in my stomach.” Also especially painful, Dasaro said, was the sight of patients’ family members who tearfully watched her take their loved ones away. “The helplessness I saw in the eyes of both patients and family members was heartbreaking,” she said. “As my partner and I carried patients away, I literally begged them to hold on.” Dasaro and other EMS workers said they long for the days when the usual sounds of the city replace the endless screeching of sirens, and when springtime heralds the blossoming of flowers and children frolicking in parks and playgrounds. Added to the stifling volume of work during the pandemic is a far
Amanda Dasaro, an EMT at NYU Langone Medical Center, slept in an NYU dorm to protect her family from COVID-19. She eventually moved into an Airbnb through an 1199SEIU partnership program.
“The helplessness I saw in the eyes of both patients and family members was heartbreaking.” — Amanda Dasaro, EMT, NYU Langone Medical Center, Manhattan.
more demanding protocol. The need to protect themselves and others from the virus necessitates a much greater level of caution and care for patients and themselves. “Unlike before, you can’t just pick up and drop off a patient,” said Jack Chapman, a paramedic at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH). “Everything has to be sanitized before and after each call. All the protective personal equipment (PPE)—the masks, gloves, face shields—have to be taken off, cleaned and put on.” He said that he was also physically and mentally exhausted by the volume of calls. He noted that his toughest challenge was seeing patients of all ages who were previously healthy lying in the ICU, being intubated and sometimes sadly passing away. To make it through the day, he tried to reduce personal involvement with patients and not take his work home. “I’m fortunate that my fiancée, who has a master’s degree in nursing, is there
