ruralghettoemtatlanta

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/22757219/detail.html

Well it gets better: the new rumor is that our boss has pulled one out of his a**, and we are taking over Dekalb County EMS (east Atlanta). The bid proposal doesnt come out next week, but it is rumored that we just signed a lease on a warehouse type station in Decatur, so it seems true. Whats weird is that the demographics/payor mix in Dekalb isn't much better than Fulton, so not sure how we can make a profit there unless the county is going to subsidize us. Are there any Dekalb employees on here that are hearing anything ?

Ask yourself this question: "What do I pray to God they DO NOT ask me", then have a good answer for those questions. Like, "tell me about the last time you broke the law, but were not caught."

We lost our lead dispatcher (the only one who can do IT for the company also) and one of our field supervisors (the one who had all the connections with the local fire departments) yesterday; we lost both to the company that is rumored to be taking over the North Zone. Whats left of our management team are stabbing each other in the back to try to save their jobs. Why do I feel like the band that is still playing on the deck of the Titanic as the ship goes down ?

That is more towards the managment, but yes it is happening. But what do you expect when your manager is in over his head. Watch the following video and watch the body language of our boss when asked if they are going to pull out of the zone. You can tell what a liar he is when you just watch him go spastic when he lies to the reporter: http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/22536651/detail.html Alot of the employees are dumb enough to drink the kool-aid and believe what the liar is telling them, which is that they are fine until September and that no ones job is in jeopardy, but us old-timers have seen this bs before. We all know that a pull-out is occuring in the next 2-3 weeks, and that most of the southside EMTs, and probably most of the dispatchers, are about to lose their job.

Some of you may be aware of this story that has recently occurred in the Atlanta area. http://www.thecrier.net/articles/2010/02/02/front/afire.txt When the news first leaked out that the department had responded to a fire alarm, saw no signs of fire, considered it a false alarm, and left. So my initial thought was to defend the fire department as we all know how many false alarms (medical, burglar, and fire) we respond to on a daily basis, where it appears that no one is at home, so we leave the scene. Now that I know the full story on this call, I realize that wasnt the case on this call, but it makes you wonder how much liability you would face if you assumed a call was a false alarm and left, when there was a dying patient in the home. How does your department handle "alarm calls" where there appears to be no one at home ? Do you break down the door on all calls when you cant prove no one is there, or do you leave and hope for the best ?

Thanks for the advice, but that really isnt practical in GA. The problem is that RM was the highest payer in the State. All of the municipal departments in Atl pay far less, and are currently under a hiring freeze or using furlough days to cut salaries/budget even farther. On top of that, the muni's do not pay for experience, everyone starts at the same low wage. With that being said, we all realize that a low-paying job with a muni is probably better than the private alternatives that exist. Of course the main rumor about who will take over would be great for us, as both companies pay pretty well, but the other possibility that is probably more realistic is that the zones will be divided up by the fly-by-night privates who will do it for no subsidy at all. There is a company out of Macon that is notorious for taking over 911 zones for no subsidy, then coming back to the politicians a year later (after being awarded the zone) to beg for money or pull out. Once you leave the Atlanta area, most people in our industry are working for just a little more than minimum wage. I imagine some of us will move to another state, but it is difficult to abandon your family.

Live within your means and you will never have that problem, whether you make 10K or a 100k

Rumor we got is that a big broom is coming to the southeast to sweep out the bums, Glenn Miller is supposed to be taking over. And according to facebook, Grady is picking up the south zone and Metro Ambulance Service (not to be confused with Rural Metro) is picking up everything else. We are all looking for jobs.