PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — Hospitals are struggling to keep up with the surge of COVID-19 patients, and it’s also putting a strain on first responders.
The Pflugerville Fire Department has been starting its days with disaster response meetings for the past 18 months now.
"We keep wondering when this will this stop. When do we get to stop doing this? But also, I think we've all become real comfortable with, this is just a part of our day now," said Nick Perkins, the assistant chief of the Pflugerville Fire Department.
The department's ambulances are now responding to an average of five COVID-19 calls per day, which is the highest number they have seen throughout the pandemic. This is adding to their resources being stretched thin, especially their finances.
“We’re technically considered a special district, so a lot of the federal relief dollars that were given out did not go to special districts,” explained Assistant Chief Perkins.
Their manpower is being stretched as well.
“Our call volume is up 20% overall from last year,” said Perkins. “That's huge. And so, we added an ambulance, a fifth ambulance, in 2020. So that's two extra people and that's it. So, the existing resources here have absorbed that.”
Population growth is the biggest factor in the rising number of calls, but the increase in COVID-19 calls is time-consuming due to the cleaning that needs to be done after.
Assistant Chief Perkins said his top priority is protecting his workforce.
"To date I have had 29 employees test positive for COVID," shared Perkins. “Thankfully, with the exception of one, they have all been relatively mild cases. But we did have one severe case and that firefighter is doing well now.”
Around 75% of the department is vaccinated, but Perkins wishes he could make that number 100%. He said if they could, they would mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for all employees.
“The governor has made this a very challenging thing for a health care agency to really do what we would like to do, which is to ensure that all of our employees are vaccinated, that they are all protected,” said Perkins. “But it's difficult right now, kind of navigating the legal challenges that are out there.”
He urges everyone to do their part and get vaccinated, as the people with his force keep pushing forward, taking this disaster day by day.
“Looking back at what these folks have done for the last 18 months, they have not let up, and their service, it's been nothing short of amazing,” said Perkins.
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