RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C.-    Counties across the country reported an Emergency Medical Services staffing shortage. Randolph County is one of those. 

• The department has a paramedic staffing shortage between 10 and 20 percent
• EMS Deputy Chief, Lewis Schirloff said many people stay in the job for a few years before transitioning into other careers
• "We work long hours and a lot of times we're the highest trained personnel on the scene so all the responsibility falls on us. When you're dealing with people's lives that puts added stress on you," paramedic Corey Lee said

"We have lots of EMTs to fill roles, but really when it comes to the service and level care we expect to provide here to our citizens at the paramedic level- that's where we're seeing a lot of shortage at," the county's EMS Deputy Chief, Lewis Schirloff said. 

He said the department has a paramedic staffing shortage between 10 and 20 percent.

One paramedic said it is a challenging job. 

"We work long hours and a lot of times we're the highest trained personnel on the scene so all the responsibility falls on us. When you're dealing with people's lives that puts added stress on you," Corey Lee said. 

Schirloff said many people stay in the job for a few years before transitioning into other careers. 

"The base rate that we pay is fairly low. The overall salary for a paramedic is fairly low. We have going off to other career opportunities such as a PA, being a physician, or go into nursing," he said. 

Lee said the hours and difficult conditions are still worth it. 

"It's a career that you get to make a difference in someone's life. A lot of times we're there in the worst day of their lives and just being able to comfort them and reassure them is a great feeling," he said.