BVESBC

Have fun talking to yourself!

I always have fun talking to myself but that is another thread.

Older thread but I will post anyway. This is a little hard for me to say but, NO minors on any apparatus PERIOD NO Exceptions. This is from someone who basically grew up in a FD, My oldman was FD Chief for more than 20 years, Yes it has happened in the past but that is no reason to condone this. If you are seriously considering it give your insurance agent a call and get their prospective on it. Transporting minors with a ill or injured family member is some what diffrent, it was mentioned that you can not abandon the minor, seriously look for other options first, I have used PD to transport family minors to hospitals. Probably the worst personal situation I can recall is responding to a CP call and arriving to find a 60 something woman w/ active CP that was babysitting a grandchild (6-8y/o) after getting Pt into ambo we put the child in front passenger seat. We had no other option at the time. On the way to the hosp the pt deterioated to full arrest. At the ER the Pt was pronounced, the child was old enough to understand some of what took place and was very distraught, the child was able to tell us her parents cell phone number and I was able to contact the mother, and found out that both parents were on a vacation on the otherside of the country, with no other family nearby we ended up waiting for children and youth to come and take custody of the child, only about 15 min but it kept us O.O.S.

Yes, but the point was that your only option in enforcing those standards is to lose the person, which is counterproductive. Consequently, unless you simply would rather have no employees at all, just to make a point, there really is nothing you can do to hold those personnel to your standards without destroying the organisation.

Point taken Dust, The object is not to harm the organisation, but to have the polar opposite effect. Would not holding all to the same standards be discrimination? This is not anti volley by any means more so that they are all employees, and all same service employees must be held to the same standards. At least here in the US. Anytime a new standard is introduced you must give all employees a suffecient amount of time to comply. Any noncompliance should be treated consistently for all employees and appropriate remedial action taken. Right now the hardest thing to do may be to lose a few knowing that it is the best thing that can be done for the future of the organisation. A truly dedicated employee will be sold on the fact that it is better for everyone in the organisation, and the only non compliance will be those that are not dedicated or those that truly can't meet the criteria and will seek remediation on their own.

Well, SORRY to any taxi driver moonlighting on EMT City! (Humor) I'm not going to respond to any posts from taxi drivers!

Virginia NPP

Thank you, I stand corrected!

tniuqs wrote,

The FACTS ARE that it is quite impossible for this physical standard to be ENFORCED in ANY way, as one cannot dictate anything to a volunteer, because they can just walk away,

Well I'll try not to Derail this, Volleys are Employees. Yes they are unpaid but they do perform perform duties that are for or at the bequest of the employer. If it were stateside this would be covered by FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) Once you have established that the are infact employees by definition. You could conceive that they should all be held to the same standards, Whatever they are. Any employer can set any standard, so long as it does not discriminate against one sect or cast. The question I have, is does NFL have something similar to FLSA, and do they have different standards for discrimination? OH MY! I hope that they don't have a equilivent of the ACLU! If they are truly dedicated proffessionals they would embrace this as a positive step.

I was comparing the way they do their training and how most companies pay for it if you will work for them for so long. Not the type of work they do to what a EMT or medic would do. There are not many Private or Public companies around here that do that. I happen to be married to a truck-driver, so I resent your statement a bit. You obviously know nothing about the business.

After not driving a commercial vehicle for nearly ten years,(Fire excluded) I still detest any link between the two. We are constantly compared to Taxi drivers and the only difference between a taxi driver and a truck driver is the size of the vehicle. After so long I still keep a Class A CDL with tank and Hazmat endorsements. So yes, I do know someting about the business. It was said in humor and not intended to offend you!

Tnuiqs Wrote,

What call volume ? huh... numbers svp, 62 % of 5 or 5000 calls ?

These % are from YTD stats, 2943 calls as of yesterday.

This is NOT a comparison, it is a very tangible concept and win/win situation and a good suggestion by jessicaCNAEMT

If you would like provide ANY links to any present EMS providers that would be a true positive change in your general tenor, mr BVESBC, I am begining to observe a repetative negative input that usually results with AK using his powers, as the village idiots helper .... well take that at face value.

I can say that Acadian in Lousiana does have their own school. I have worked with a few of their graduates and they do produce a good practitioner. If one were wanting to explore the area of improving ones skills to the REMT-P level one could google a quick search, and Acadian has a great website.

cheers

I'm not bashing any educators, I don't know who Acadian is what so ever or what it has to do with this. The concept could be sound withstanding the exception, That in my experience regardless of contractual obligations providers use a service to pay for their education and then dissappear to the highest bidder. It still would appear that private and small companys are unwilling to bear this cost mostly for this reason. If you really want to move ahead with your education, the way to do it is to work for it. Take out a student loan if need be as long as you pay for it. By that I mean work for your money and pay for it yourself. It will mean more to you when you finish it than if someone hands it to you. What would happen if every EMT decided s/he wanted to go to school and 5% finished, Who pays? are you going to be able to collect it from someone who works for you making 10 $ a hour?? I'm not being negative it is realistic.

Quality first post, grammar notwithstanding! =D>

Yea, send them all the phone number for Dewey Cheatem and Howe (sorry spelling may not be correct)

It's always exciting to see someone in a position to make a difference who "gets it". Welcome!

:shock: Wow, nice! Great job of bringing up something that is wholly relevant to EMS that probably few have ever thought of before. I'd like to see a few vollies run with that concept. A few volly lawsuits could be enough to turn the tide in favour of professional EMS.

Would it be better to get rid of EMT-B and go for all EMT-I and Paramedic?

I know the best would be all Paramedics but since that is not happening.

That would be the perfect system, to have one level but like you said it is not going to happen the best we can hope for is a balance of need with something slightly realistic. I have no problem with a 4-500 hr basic. I would do a good job of culling the idiots out and provide adequate education for a basic. Dust, I only want to know what their program's going to provide as of yet no one has answered that.

Is someone proposing that every pt needs a min. level of care equal to that of ALS?

If there has been such a study where can I find the data?

I could only assume that any such study would show the opposite that of which I think has been proposed. Most Pt's I encounter don't need ALS. For the percentage that do we make every attempt to have that provided prior to arrival at a acute care facility. I am not proclaiming that any pt could or would not benefit from further assessment, but more so that more educated basics could provide better assessments along with appropriate interventions. Has anyone done any research on the cost of treating and transporting every Pt as a ALS Pt? I don't think that from a cost standpoint it would be justifiable. Lastly, I apologize for derailing the research topic and turning it in to a ALS-BLS skills debate.

I have found this data in our reporting system for this month.

62.23 % BLS transported (ALS never requested)

37.77 % ALS (requested at time of disp.)

11.2 % ALS treated and transported to destination.

These are the only stats our system tracks. So I could extrapolate that of the 37 % of ALS calls that we responded to they were either not available or were cancelled 26% of the time they were requested. We dont differentiate between not available and cancelled. This is from a urban area if someone else has similar or wildly diffrent stats I would like to see.

First off:

1- Why is buddy wearing bunker gear ? Is the volly FF going to be subjected to the same testing?

quote]

ABSOLUTELY! the volley should be held to the same standard, It only takes one idiot to make everyone look bad!

I don't see why more Private companies don't do this. If you work for them as a Basic and they think your worth the investment, why not put them through medic school.

Most trucking companies will do this. You sign a contract saying I will work with your for x amount of years and your training is paid for. If you leave early you have to pay them back for your schooling.

I know of several companies that do that, but shame on you for comparing us to truck drivers. It sounds like moving up from bagging groceries to using the cash register.

I would like to think that psychopharmacology would be a last resort and major sign that you need to make some changes in your life. I believe that as a society we are to quick to look for that magic pill before looking for the true problem. I have said it before we as a group are not at the top of the list of healthy people. For most of the providers that I know sleep deprivation, large quanities of caffeine and poor diet in general, are the rountine. I think that our lifestyle choices have a huge impact on us and our families, both physically and psychologically. There is no doubt that these medications, "Antidepressants" (Tricyclic compounds, Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, Lithium carbonate, SSRI's) can have benefits but correct me if I'm wrong in saying they dont treat the cause of the problem.

If you are planning on hiring the EMT's that are currently Volleys you may want to look into the FLSA, there my be some problems with that, unless they quit as a volley.

Labor and the Law:

News and Current Events from the LERA Section on

Labor and Employment Law (LEL) © 2006

May 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Labor and Employment Law News

Volunteers' Wage & Hour Claim For Back Pay In deciding workplace rights, labels do not matter. In this case, being called a volunteer does not mean that America Online's chat room volunteer “community leaders” did not perform work covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York law and, as a result, that they are not entitled to back wages for that work. To decide whether a person is a covered employee, a court must look closely at the facts concerning how the services were performed. The FLSA has a very broad definition of

employment, that is, “to suffer or permit to work.” Hallissey v. America Online Inc., Case No.99-CIV-3785, (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2006).

Among the duties the volunteers performed were managing and updating message boards; moderating chat rooms, including preventing inappropriate conduct; updating, deleting, and modifying forum content; running special features; writing reports about sessions and their actions; and providing tutoring services. Volunteers were required to work a minimum number of hours per week. The volunteers believed that to get a paid position, they were required to volunteer for AOL. In fact, the evidence showed that AOL had tended to hire its paid staff from their volunteer staff. In addition, volunteer services were similar to those of paid employees. The court concluded that these facts supported a conclusion that what the volunteers did was work that entitled them to backpay.

Will this change anyones views, ALWAYS CYA!

I'm wanting to be a police officer, and i've recently learned of MFR's or Medical First Responders. I was wondering if anyone could fill me in on what exactly MFR's do? and if it would make my chances of getting a job any higher? all comments appresheated!

The amount of time you will spend you would probably be just as well off to go further and get your EMT-B. As for it helping you get a job that depends on how the prospective employer percieves the cert. you have. Some think that a MFR is a half assed EMT-B and a EMT-B is a half assed EMT-P. No mater what level you obtain do it well or dont do it at all!

What are the additional education and skill sets they are requiring for the EMT-I? What interventions are they proposing that a EMT-I will be performing? My personal opinion is that they could include what ever these skills are into the EMT-B curriculum and who ever cant keep up with it will be led to the door. Would it not benefit everyone to have better educated, more highly skilled basics than to create another expensive program? If you need a EMT-I you more than likely will need a EMT-P. That is my opinion and it is just that my opinion.

Does anybody use GOOGLE?

It took me about 5 seconds to find this.

Ryan White Bill Side by Side Comparison

Unless I'm missing something all I see is a lot of funding info. The info from washingtonwatch.com has tons more info, but appears to also only be funding related.

This was spun off another thread as it did not hold to the topic of treating pt's with a communicable disease.

DwayneEMTB wrote:

According to JEMS: (Though I just glanced through the article and have done no further research to verify)

"Emergency responders are protected by a number of laws and standards of care regarding occupational exposure to communicable diseases. Since 1994, the emergency-responder provisions of the Ryan White Care Act (Public Law 101-381) provided such protection. However, in a recent action that went unnoticed in the emergency-response community, Congress removed these provisions in the latest reauthorization of this law (Public Law 109-415)

This development is bad news for emergency responders-and must be addressed by all of us immediately."

(JEMS; March 2008, vol33 No.3 Page 136)

Does this effect anyone's opinion?

Dwayne

BVES wrote

This was copied from WashingtonWatch.com

P.L. 109-415, The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006

This item is from the 109th Congress (2005-2006) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.

H.R. 6143 would reauthorize the Ryan White program in title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act. The Ryan White program provides grants to fund medical care and other support services for individuals with HIV/AIDS. The bill would modify certain provisions while maintaining the overall structure of the existing program.

I could not find just what provisons would be modified, is this just a reauthorization for funding??

According to JEMS: (Though I just glanced through the article and have done no further research to verify)

"Emergency responders are protected by a number of laws and standards of care regarding occupational exposure to communicable diseases. Since 1994, the emergency-responder provisions of the Ryan White Care Act (Public Law 101-381) provided such protection. However, in a recent action that went unnoticed in the emergency-response community, Congress removed these provisions in the latest reauthorization of this law (Public Law 109-415)

This development is bad news for emergency responders-and must be addressed by all of us immediately."

(JEMS; March 2008, vol33 No.3 Page 136)

Does this effect anyone's opinion?

Dwayne

This was copied from WashingtonWatch.com

P.L. 109-415, The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006

This item is from the 109th Congress (2005-2006) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.

H.R. 6143 would reauthorize the Ryan White program in title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act. The Ryan White program provides grants to fund medical care and other support services for individuals with HIV/AIDS. The bill would modify certain provisions while maintaining the overall structure of the existing program.

I could not find just what provisons would be modified, is this just a reauthorization for funding?? This may need a new thread.

I worked at Pocono International Raceway in eastern pa for 4 years. They use a company from around Phily (NES) something Event Services. They also have some local depts on hand. Infield medical was provided by local hosp. staff. I believe as of last season it was nascar policy to upright a roof resting car with twin boom wrecker as long as the driver was stable. I was working fire and it was extremely boring, standing around in the pits sweating profusely in the sun. They are very anal about everyone looking exactly the same down to the color of our gloves. It was just one big show that paid min. wage. They did a pre show meeting where they went over all of the safety equipment in the cars that was about it.

Ya know, I hadn't thought about it before now, but I have worked a couple of stations where old retired guys would come around frequently to hang out and drink coffee. I remember thinking how sad those individuals were.

I never really thought of it as sad, for one guy I know they were not only his brothers they were his only family. That is kind of sad in a way. There is definitely something to be said for being able to move on to the next thing in your life.

I should have been more clear. My intent was that the question should have made it clear that the pt being served by the private sector ambulance, would be known to have a condition which could be communicable. And the situation is non emergent, example a hospital discharge or transfer to non acute facility. As Dustdevil said earlier he excused himself from a procedure with male peds, is this any different? It could only apply to non-emergent Pt's if at all. We regularly refuse jobs based on financial ability to pay and due to equipment and staffing limitations, sometimes based on nothing more than the facilty asking for to service.

A unpaid proffesional can be a great asset, a out and out wanker can FUBAR the whole scene!