Diversity is key in recruitment, Wake's EMS director says
Wake County is now focused on advancing medical services, including growing their internal paramedic program to save lives.
The county’s chief medical officer, Dr. José Cabañas, has been a key leader in that effort. He said success must come with more diversity in hiring.
Cabañas understands that, as Wake County grows, so does the need for more trained emergency medical technicians for saving lives.
That was a job Cabañas eagerly pursued from a young age growing up in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
"I pretty much transcended every job in the EMS field from a 911 call taker to an EMT to an EMS professional volunteer in San Juan," Cabañas said.
Cabañas was instrumental in Wake County earning the state’s first national honor from the "Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Program."
He also heads up the recruitment and training of new personnel.
"Wake County is sort of building that pipeline, that pathway for younger members of our community who are connecting public service and want to be come EMS clinicians," said Cabañas.
The program claims 34 graduates since its launch in 2019, but that’s still not enough to meet the growing need of a booming Wake County.
"The EMS system right now is at as low of an attrition of vacancy rate that we’ve been in in a long long time," Cabañas said.
Cabañas believes the solution requires a more multi-cultural workforce in the EMS and EMT programs.
"We want to make sure that our organization, our public servants organization as whole, is reflective of the community that we serve," he said.
October is Hispanic Heritage Month, and Cabañas believes diversity and community pride makes life more special.
"Hispanic Heritage Month is another opportunity to sort of celebrate and share those cultural identities and that cultural heritage with a broader audience," he said.
Every four years, Wake County is required to re-certify compliance with the accreditation process. Cabañas said recruiting and training more emergency medical professionals will help them maintain that level of excellence.
