Professional Association of Upper Merion EMS

10/31/2026

Happy Halloween from Upper Merion EMS, IAFF Local 5339!

Tonight’s mission: big smiles, full candy bags, and everyone home safely. Before your little ghosts and ghouls head out, keep these tips in mind:

• Be seen. Bring flashlights or glow sticks and add reflective tape to costumes and treat bags.

• Travel together. Children under 12 should trick-or-treat with an adult. Older kids should stay in groups with an agreed route and return time.

• Cross carefully. Use corners and crosswalks, look both ways, and wait for vehicles to stop. Never dart between parked cars.

• Keep costumes safe. Choose a good fit to prevent trips and keep masks from blocking vision.

• Heads up, phones down. Watch the sidewalk, driveways, and traffic while walking.

Drivers: slow down, put distractions away, and watch closely for children, especially when turning or backing up.

Keep the scares in the decorations. Have a safe and spooktacular Halloween!

Your Upper Merion EMS union members
IAFF Local 5339

International Association of Fire Fighters
Upper Merion Township Fire & EMS

10/13/2026

Upper Merion Township Fire & EMS is hiring TWO PARAMEDICS for our Mobile Stroke Unit!

Join a team dedicated to bringing advanced stroke care directly to patients. This is an opportunity to put your paramedic skills to work in a specialized role with a direct impact on our community.

Visit our website for position details and application information:

https://www.uppermerionfireems.org/content/ems/

Know a paramedic who would be a great fit? Share this post!

The Upper Merion Township Fire & EMS Department is a combination department dedicated to providing the highest level of protection and care for residents and visitors.

09/19/2026

Upper Merion EMS can now give blood transfusions before patients reach the hospital under new Pa. health guidelines.

09/16/2026

Reminder THIS THURSDAY!

Saving lives doesn’t start when the 911 call comes in. Sometimes it starts with someone rolling up their sleeve.

The Professional Association of Upper Merion EMS is proud to support the upcoming Upper Merion Township Fire & EMS Blood Drive in partnership with the American Red Cross.

Blood is one of the few lifesaving resources that can’t be manufactured. Every donation helps ensure it’s available when a trauma patient, surgical patient, child, or neighbor needs it most.

If you’re eligible, we encourage you to schedule an appointment and donate on September 17. One hour of your time could help save multiple lives.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support our community... both on and off the ambulance.

Please share this post to help spread the word.

Upper Merion Township Fire & EMS is proud to partner with the American Red Cross to host a community blood drive.

As part of our continued commitment to providing the highest level of pre-hospital care, Upper Merion Fire & EMS is now carrying pre-hospital whole blood. 🩸Blood donated at drives like this helps ensure lifesaving blood products are available for patients suffering from severe trauma, major blood loss, and other life-threatening emergencies. Your donation truly has the power to save lives, possibly right here in our own community.

Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. A single donation can help save up to three lives. Whether it’s a trauma patient, someone undergoing surgery, or a person receiving cancer treatment, your donation can make a life-changing difference.

Join us in helping maintain a safe and reliable blood supply for our region. Invite your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers to donate and make a lifesaving impact.

One donation can save up to three lives. Together, we can make a difference.

09/10/2026

🎀 Reminder: Breast Cancer Awareness shirts are now available from the Professional Association of Upper Merion EMS, IAFF Local 5339. 🎀

This year’s shirts are more than just a way to show support. 20% of each shirt ordered will be donated to the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition to support breast cancer education, advocacy, research, and services for those affected.

Shirts range from $25–$30 depending on the style selected.

⏰ Orders must be placed by Thursday, September 17.

Every order helps support an important cause while standing with those who have been affected by breast cancer.

Never Fight Alone.

Order here: https://shop.shirtsnmorepa.com/Iaffbreastcancer/shop/home

Please share and help us spread the word.

Learn more about the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition and the programs your purchase helps support: https://www.pabreastcancer.org/

09/03/2026

More than 400 calls for service came through Upper Merion EMS during the month of August, reflecting the continued demand placed on our crews and the wide range of emergencies they respond to every day.

During the month, our EMS professionals responded to 404 incidents, made 351 patient contacts, and transported 287 patients to area hospitals, while maintaining an average response time of 6 minutes, 55 seconds.

That workload was managed with just two 24-hour MICUs serving as our primary ambulances, supported by a float truck that is placed into service when both frontline units are already committed to other calls with the assistance of Upper Merion Township Professional Firefighters Association.

Our Mobile Stroke Unit responded 27 times, continuing to bring advanced neurological assessment, CT imaging, and time-sensitive stroke care directly into the community. Our crews also administered 182 medications, performed 190 EKGs, and responded to six Priority 1 emergencies involving our most critically ill or injured patients.

These numbers represent more than statistics. Each one represents a resident, visitor, family member, or neighbor who called for help and trusted our crews to be there.

The members of the Professional Association of Upper Merion EMS, IAFF Local 5339, remain committed to providing professional, high-quality emergency medical care to Upper Merion Township and the surrounding communities, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Professionalism. Service. Commitment.

08/24/2026

Specially trained Upper Merion paramedics can now administer low-titer O-positive whole blood to eligible patients experiencing life-threatening hemorrhage before they reach the hospital.

08/16/2026

08/09/2026

🎀 Support the Fight Against Breast Cancer 🎀

Our union is proud to offer our Breast Cancer Awareness shirts in support of a great cause.

20% of each shirt ordered will be donated to the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition to help support breast cancer education, advocacy, research, and services for those affected.

By purchasing a shirt, you’re not only showing your support during Breast Cancer Awareness Month—you’re helping make a real difference.

🩷 Order yours here: https://shop.shirtsnmorepa.com/Iaffbreastcancer/shop/home

Thank you for supporting our union and this important cause.

08/08/2026

Another report. The same urgent warning.

Montgomery County’s Emergency Medical Services Strategic Plan identified EMS recruitment and retention as core threats to the stability of emergency medical care, not secondary issues to be addressed later.

The report calls for practical action: retention incentives, centralized recruitment, countywide continuing and specialty education, shared staffing resources, and sustainable municipal funding for EMS. It recognizes that providers face an increasingly difficult environment to remain in the profession.

Pennsylvania’s Bureau of EMS reinforced this reality in its February 2026 recruitment and retention bulletin, continuing a state-supported reimbursement program for EMS agencies’ recruitment and retention expenses. When the Commonwealth must specifically fund retention efforts, it is a clear acknowledgment that this workforce challenge is real and ongoing.

Nationally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects EMT and paramedic employment will grow 5% from 2024 to 2034, with about 19,000 openings every year. Many of those openings are expected because workers leave the profession or retire not simply because new positions are being created. The workforce need is growing while the system continues to struggle to keep experienced EMS professionals at the bedside, in the ambulance, and in our communities.

This is not about asking EMS professionals to “do more with less.” It is about recognizing EMS as the essential public service it is and funding, staffing, and supporting it accordingly.

Montgomery County has the research. Pennsylvania has acknowledged the problem. Federal workforce projections confirm the demand.

The time for discussion alone has passed. Sustainable funding, competitive compensation, career development, meaningful retention initiatives, and system-wide workforce planning are necessary now.

https://assets.montgomerycountypa.gov/files/3-Montgomery-County-Strategic-EMS-Assessment---Report-49489.pdf