PA HEMS Base Closings  

In PA I see a lot of other hospital's HEMS bases closed for days at a time. I hear it is due to both pilot and med crew shortages. When this happens - does the rest of the crew have to use vacation pay? What about the base mechanic? Does he/she still report to an aircraft that won't be flying.If the chief pilot is responsible for 6 pilots, but only 3 bases are flying, does the chief then need to only work haff as much?