Emergency services across the country are experiencing a workforce shortage, and with an abundance of rural areas, New York is not immune.

“I’m watching them struggle,” said Rotterdam EMS Executive Director Dean Romano. “I’m watching the towns around me, the counties all around me, their ambulance services closing one at a time.”

The state’s Department of Health Bureau of EMS estimates there are about 9% less certified EMS providers in the state than there were 10 years ago.

“The amount of responsibility that lays on these people’s shoulders every single day is not equivalent to the amount of money I get to pay them,” Romano said.

But he said like most organizations, Rotterdam’s system is making do with what it has, but its equipment is past its prime.

“It’s come to the point where we definitely need to modernize and stabilize the funding and some standards by which we operate,” he said.

State leaders have been trying to fill the gaps with additional funding, including a $1.1 million check to Romano’s team.

“What’s more important than having life-saving vehicles and equipment?” said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie during a check presentation Tuesday.

The state Legislature also recently approved the creation of a Rural Ambulance Task Force.

“They’ll talk to people that work in the EMS field, that run the ambulances, figure out what the challenges are and give recommendations to the Legislature on how we can support them,” Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara said.

Romano is one of the first appointees on the task force.

“If you live in a territory that only has 9,000 people in your town, or if you live in a town like Rotterdam, where we have over 30,000 people, there is no reason why anyone should have to wait longer from one town to the other,” he said. “And I think that’s some of the work that we have to do.”