PamelaAnn

At least twice a week, my partner and I get a call an hour before our end of shift For CPR In progress in a nearby park...one of our local homeless persons finishes his second bottle of Vodka around that time and goes to sleep...his girlfriend always tells someone in the park that he is dying, and yet again one more innocent good Samaritan initiates CPR on this guy. (shaking my head...). That guy always has one or two broken ribs, but always has a smile on his face when we load him up to go to the ER. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

This has been a long-standing legal battle between the county and city over several issues, not about anyone screwing up or any battle between any of us in the field. The overall issue has gone back several years and is now just coming to a head. There are many articles in the archives of the Stockton Record regarding this subject if anyone is interested. http://www.recordnet.com/ It's basically about who is going to receive the incoming emergency calls first and who governs ALS FD in this county. SFD apparently has a disagreement with the County EMSA and maybe there will be a resolution to this issue, or maybe we will just have to adjust to the new way things are done here for now. I have seen some speculation on the system here. Our emergency response criteria in this county is as follows: Code 3 response requires - an ALS ambulance and fire engine (and/or truck depending on the incident) Code 2 response requires - an ALS ambulance Our ambulances are generally staffed with one paramedic and one EMT. Most city engines have at least 1 or more paramedic on board and most of the rural departments are still BLS providers. When we arrive on scene with an engine company, we are a team to provide care. Sometimes we arrive first and they assist us and sometimes they arrive first and start care, but ultimately care is turned over to the transporting medic on scene. There are times when having more than one paramedic on scene early in a call is a great asset, particularly in the instance of a multiple shooting, MVA, etc...where a first-in medic has to request additional transport units. It's always been a team effort for us. I currently work in the southern area of the county, and the FD I respond with is ALS. Our situation is very cohesive and over time relationships are established and we all learn to work with each other. We don't always agree on everything - we are all still human and sometimes have different perspectives on a situation - but ultimately it is the transporting paramedic's responsibility for managing the patient's care and outcome. It is my personal opinion that working with an ALS or BLS provider is not the issue, sometimes a great convenience, but as long as all of us are looking at the patient's best interests all the time there should be no issue from the field side. With that said - what happens with the higher-ups we have no control over - AHHHH - such is life Happy Saturday!

As a medic who works in San Joaquin County (including Stockton), AMR has had the transport contract for some time now. Stockton FD has been an ALS service for years, and at one time did transport as well, but after AMR won the RFP for this county in 2005, AMR took over sole transport in Stockton, Lodi and Tracy. Until September 1st of this year, Stockton FD still performed ALS services except for transport. We shall see what the future brings.

Ditto on this one - except I always use my own stethoscope (I have an affinity to other people's earwax) I have always kept my shears in my belt behind my back, but I think the boot thing will be tried out tonight. The only addition is a pocket knife I carry for occasional use...don't need it too often, but it has a sharp point that you don't get with the trauma shears and once in a while I've been glad to have had it. Anything else I need can be found in the rig and the rescue bags.