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Dorchester County EMS is facing a critical shortage of eight paramedics due to intense competition from surrounding counties offering higher pay and better retirement benefits.

County Manager Jerry Jones has been working with EMS staff, particularly Dorchester County EMS Division Chief Debbie Wheedleton, to create a recruitment and retention plan that better suits the needs of current and future staff.

The current shortage has resulted in high overtime, employee burnout, potential service gaps and significant employee attrition. The demand for paramedics is high, and there are not enough new graduates to fill the need, Jones said.

鈥淚 believe this fiscal year we鈥檝e had at least six paramedic vacancies this entire fiscal year and has recently elevated to eight,鈥� Wheedleton said. 鈥淭hat can attribute to a lot of increase in overtime pay and just a strain on community outreach programs that EMS is very engaged in.鈥�

Staff are experiencing physical and mental burnout from the increased overtime and the general demand of the job, Wheedleton said.

The current retirement system for paramedics in Dorchester County goes by the rule of 90, which allows individuals to retire with full benefits when the sum of their age and years of service equals 90.

Neighboring counties offer the Law Enforcement Officers鈥� Pension System, also referred to as LEOPS, which allows retirement at the age of 50 or after accumulating 25 years of service. In this system, members contribute 7% of their annual compensation towards their retirement.

Jones presented a retention and recruitment plan to make salaries more competitive, which includes:

• Raising paramedics pay to match 100% of the starting salaries in surrounding counties.
• Eliminating pay disparities between full-time and part-time staff.
• Offering new hires credit for prior service.
• Providing a one-step pay increase for EMTs.
• Providing a $2 stipend for roles like logistics and quality assurance, sometimes performed on-shift or during off-hours.

The recruitment and retention plan was unanimously passed by county council members and will be effective Nov. 9. The short-term pay enhancements will cost $187,439 for the remainder of fiscal year 2026, which is within the existing budget.

The county has also begun the lengthy process of getting an actuarial study to determine the cost of moving EMS staff to the LEOPS retirement system.