Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh Bureau of Emergency Medical Services trying to address staffing issues

Published

1 year ago

November 18, 2024

Pittsburgh Bureau of Emergency Medical Services trying to address staffing issues

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh EMS workers say they are understaffed and overstretched, racing from one call to the next.

Like operations throughout the country, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Emergency Medical Services is contending with a shortage of paramedics and emergency medical technicians.

From traffic accidents to people experiencing chest pains to addicts overdosing on fentanyl, the calls for service are constant.

With less than 200 employees, Pittsburgh EMS responded to more than 65,000 calls last year. At the same time, it’s dealing with retirements, on-the-job injuries, and a severe shortage of recruits.

Bureau Chief Amera Gilchrist has stepped up recruiting efforts and employed better use of data, but has had to resort to taking medic units out of service on given days as she tries to provide life-saving services to city residents.

“Any time we have to take units out of service is challenging. I don’t think there has been one call when the public has requested our services when we have not been there,” Chief Gilchrist said.

The men and women of Pittsburgh EMS have been able to maintain that pace despite being severely understaffed. Nationwide, there’s a shortage of EMTs and paramedics recruits, while the city continues to lose them to retirement and injury.

Those on the front lines amassed $6 million in overtime just last year, with one paramedic alone making $327,000. Five others pulled in more than $200,000, while 69 others made more than $100,000 in mostly forced overtime.

“When you’re forced to do overtime and you have a family and you want free time, we don’t wish that on anyone,” says Pittsburgh councilman Anthony Coghill (D).

Managing the staffing shortage and keeping EMS afloat falls to its chief, Gilchrist, who has begun using data to better marshal EMTs to basic calls and the more highly-skilled paramedics to the more serious ones. She’s also taken the controversial step of taking some units out of service on a given day, sidelining one of the medic units in Homewood indefinitely.

At the same time, Gilchrist says she’s trying to address the strain on her employees.

“We care about the mental health of our employees. It has fallen by the wayside in recent years, but that is the reason why we have a hiring and recruitment initiative going on, and it’s going to take time,” Gilchrist added.

This year, Gilchrist has hired 30 additional employees. Some of them are from the Freedom House in the Hill District, named after the original African-American ambulance service which formed the nucleus of EMS Bureau in the early 1970s.

The paramedic union is currently in contract talks with the city, asking for higher base pay and a lifting of the city’s residency requirement, which no longer applies to city police and firefighters.

“Ideally, no, I would not like to see them lift the residency requirement, but if that’s what it takes to get our medic units up to full staff, I’ll let the collective bargaining hash that out,” Coghill said.

Gilchrist believes the EMS will be made whole in time.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint. It didn’t get this way overnight and it’s not going to be fixed overnight, but we are hitting the pavement to get this initiative pushed forward,” Gilchrist said.

Andy Sheehan

KDKA-TV Investigator Andy Sheehan began his broadcast journalism career in September 1992, when he joined KDKA after reporting for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for nine years. Andy’s forte is the in-depth investigative story, exposing corruption and government waste.

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Pittsburg, PA

Steelers Add Year to Cam Heyward’s Contract, Creating Cap Space

Published

13 minutes ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Steelers Add Year to Cam Heyward’s Contract, Creating Cap Space

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally have some clarity on Cameron Heyward’s short-term future with the team.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, the Steelers have added an extra year to Heyward’s deal. As a result, they freed up right around $5.5 million in cap space.

SOURCES: The Steelers have added a year to DE Cam Heyward’s contract, creating nearly $5.5 million in cap space. His new deal is worth $32.25 million over two years with the first year guaranteed.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 10, 2026

Heyward’s contract is now worth $32.25 million across two seasons, though only the first of those two years is guaranteed.

The reigning second-team All-Pro previously had one year left on his contract, which carried a cap hit of $19.150 million.

Heyward’s deal was a source of contention during training camp last summer, as the 15-year veteran looked to negotiate his contract after previously having agreed to a two-year, $29 million extension leading into the 2024 campaign.

Nov 23, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) against the Chicago Bears during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images | Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

The 36-year-old, who was a first-team All-Pro that year, later compromised with Pittsburgh after it added a little over $3 million in incentives to his contract before Week 1 of the 2025 season.

Over 17 games, Heyward recorded a total of 3.5 sacks and 78 tackles with a forced fumble.

With it appearing set in stone that he’ll return for the 2026 season after agreeing to his modified deal, the question now becomes whether or not Heyward will play out the duration of his contract through 2027.

What Could Steelers Do with Extra Money?

Pittsburgh was rather active both shortly before and immediately after the legal tampering period began, re-signing cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. and linebacker Cole Holcomb while also signing former Tampa Bay Buccaneers corner Jamel Dean and acquiring wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. via trade from the Indianapolis Colts, whom it immediately inked to a three-year, $59 million extension.

It’s been a bit quiet for the Steelers since that initial wave, however, with punter Cameron Johnston representing their only move on the second day of free agency.

There’s still plenty of names out there on the open market, and with needs remaining along the offensive line, at safety and receiver even after adding Pittman Jr., the action shouldn’t stop for Pittsburgh.

While quarterback remains the most substantial question mark for the Steelers on paper, the widespread assumption remains that Aaron Rodgers will eventually return to the franchise. When that decision will, or could, become official, though, is anyone’s best guess at the moment.

The money Pittsburgh saved by revising Heyward’s contract could help fill out its roster not only through free agency, but also via the 2026 NFL Draft now that it has 12 picks at its disposal upon being awarded four compensatory selections.

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Pittsburg, PA

Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Carolina Hurricanes 3/10/2026

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Carolina Hurricanes 3/10/2026

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (31-17-14, 76 points, 3rd place Metropolitan Division) @ Carolina Hurricanes (35-22-5, 75 points, 5th place Atlantic Division)

How to Watch: Local broadcasts on FanDuel Sports Network South and SportsNet Pittsburgh, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins are heading out West later this week to play some late-night games against the Vegas Golden Knights (Thursday, 10 p.m. ET), Utah Mammoth (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET) and Colorado Avalanche (Monday, 9:30 p.m. ET). Then it’s back for a rematch with the Hurricanes in North Carolina next Wednesday.

Opponent Track: The Hurricanes are still on top of the Metro, and they’ve won seven of their last nine, but they’re coming off a loss in Calgary that featured a wild five-goal third period last Saturday.

Season Series: The Penguins won this last matchup 5-1 on Dec. 30. Next up is that road game next Wednesday, followed four days later by a 3 p.m. ET Sunday matinee in Pittsburgh.

Hidden Stat: The Penguins haven’t won in Carolina since March 2019. The visitors are 0-4-4 in eight matchups over that span.

Getting to know the Hurricanes

Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis

Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake

Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook

William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson

Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield

K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker

Mike Reilly – Alexander Nikishin

Goalies: Brandon Bussi, Frederik Andersen

Potential scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere (day to day)

Injured Reserve: Charles-Alexis Legault, Pyotr Kochetkov, Nicolas Deslauriers

Gostisbehere missed the Hurricanes’ Saturday loss to the Flames with a lower-body injury. Mike Reilly will likely slide out of this lineup if he is able to go.

Nicolas Deslauriers has yet to make his Hurricanes debut since his trade from the Philadelphia Flyers. If the Canes decide to slot him into the lineup Monday night, he would slot into their fourth line.
The Hurricanes have historically been a tough matchup for the Pens, but the Penguins could take some lessons from the Flames. Calgary got beaten on face-offs (52.5 percent to 47.5 percent) and 5-on-5 scoring chances (24 to 21) while holding strong on hits (26-20) and getting some nice saves from Dustin Wolf to claim a 5-4 win over the Canes on Saturday.

Egor Chinakhov – Rickard Rakell – Bryan Rust

Anthony Mantha – Tommy Novak – Ville Koivunen

Elmer Soderblom – Ben Kindel – Avery Hayes

Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Sam Girard / Ilya Solovyov

Goalies: Arturs Silovs, Stuart Skinner

Potential Scratches: Evgeni Malkin (suspended), Ryan Graves, Connor Clifton, Kevin Hayes, Justin Brazeau (day to day)

IR: Sidney Crosby, Filip Hallander

Jack St. Ivany is off IR. He’s headed to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan, per Seth Rorabaugh.
Justin Breazeau’s status is uncertain after he was sidelined against the Bruins on Sunday with a day-to-day upper-body injury.
Today should also lead to more information on whether Sidney Crosby is joining the team for the upcoming five-game road trip. Dane Muse said Sunday that decision would be made after the matchup against the Boston Bruins.
Evgeni Malkin is set to miss the third game of his five-game suspension tonight. He won’t be eligible to return until the Penguins rematch against the Hurricanes next week.
It’s a milestone game for Kyle Dubas, who has served as general manager for 600 career games, per Pens PR. A win tonight would tie him with Steve Yzerman for the 14th-most wins through that milestone with 326 victories.

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Pittsburg, PA

Steelers sign breakout star running back

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Steelers sign breakout star running back

The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t done making moves on the first day of legal tampering. Per Jordan Schultz, the Steelers are signing former Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle. The South Carolina product rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons, averaging just under five yards per rush in each season.

This comes after the Steelers were very active on unofficial beginning of the new league year. They traded for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr and also signed cornerback Jamel Dean. Internally, they re-signed cornerback Asante Samuel Jr and linebacker Cole Holcomb.

Dowdle now joins Jaylen Warren in the backfield, replacing Kenneth Gainwell, who left for Tampa Bay. On paper, this is one of the better one-two punches at running back in the NFL.

Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!

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