JIMMIEEMT

We are a private transfer service and we put these stretchers on every truck. They are heavier but after a few days of retraining everyone that when loading pt into the unit both are to be at the end of the stretcher not just one then they see the benefit. They are very expensive but they are still much cheaper than having an employee hurt and having to pay medical bills and time lost. I dont think it is a matter of being lazy or not being able to do your job if you use these stretchers. It is simply a matter of using resources to make your job easier.

One of my shining moments was when started to transport a man that had both legs amputated. We rolled the stretcher next to his wheelchair and my bright self asked him if he needed help walking to the stretcher. Thank goodness he had a sense of humor!! My partner to this day reminds me of this every time a stupid comment is made!! One more - Our 24 hour shift started at 6am and when my partner and I thought we would get slammed all day we would go and get pizza early ( hey any excuse for pizza). Well we went and got pizza and as we were leaving we were enjoying our pizza and cokes. Well we noticed a few cars moving over and really did not think about it until we had a woman almost hit a ditch trying to get out of our way that we realized our box of pizza had turned all the lights on the unit on. But hey the pizza was good - and I will not tell you that we did it again the next week!!

someone needs to check the dates on post before posting - that was way back in January! Old news.........

I applied for reciprocity from Texas to Indiana and it took 2 weeks. I also made sure and kept in contact with the state to make sure everything was ok as far as paperwork was concerned. Just keep on top of it and just remember that some people may try and persuade you to not waste your time with it - but those people are simply old and gray and are the burnt out people in EMS. Good luck on your move!!

Here is the question of my day. We are a non-emergency transfer service that does absolutely no 911 calls. We have been running a few calls in an area for almost a year and decided to put a station there full time due to the invitation and encouragment from the local facilities there. The local facilities told us that their transfer needs were not being met by anyone. We did the usual and spoke with the city again and they assured us there were no regulations or permits needs for us to run in the city but they advised us to contact the EMS director again. So we contacted the EMS director and he told us there was no permit needed but asked us not to be running 911 type transfers and not to run hot through his city. We agreed and life was good. Well 2 weeks into this I picked up many dialysis patients and last Friday we had a very heavy load. About 9am we got a call from a Judge in the town that stated we were to leave the city due to the fact that we did not have a permit to run in the area. We advised him that we had about 6 patients at dialysis that need a ride home and we have about 4 more that have appointments that need tranfers. He advised us that we were to leave the city immediately. Well......come to find out the local EMS is getting funds from the County and the City to do transfers. They must fit into the 911 schedule (for example, they picked up a patient the other day and got a 911 call - patient was put back into bed and they responded to the call - patient missed doctors appointment)??? According to EMS director they must also meet the criteria for Medicare and Medicaid. Being that they are getting funds from the City and the County already why should they have to meet any criteria - it is already a paid run!! We went to the EMS Council meeting and asked for a permit if there was one and if there was not one to make one and there was never an answer to the question and when it was asked a second time you would have thought everyone had turned off their hearing aids. I am from a small town and understand small town politics but when it interfers with what is best for the patient and their health it gets illegal. Some of the patients that we started transporting had not been to see the doctor for months due to transportation issues. When you tell facilities that they cant use anyone else that takes their choice away and crushes free enterprise!! The local EMS director told the EMS Council that he can do all the transfers on top of his 911 calls with his 2 trucks. We had 4 trucks there and were running steady. Especially the long distance tranfers that took about 6 to 8 hours alone. I come from a 911 system and I know that you can not tell a 911 chest pain call they must wait so that you can take Grandma to her doctors appointment. I can almost guarantee their will be many opinions on this. Especially legal ones!! Let the games begin!!

I like the rest could not do my job if I did not enjoy it no matter what the pay!! I have a friend of mine that is a teacher and she works the ambulance on the weekends, Some times when she needs some extra money she will pull a shift during the week after school hours until the next morning. See you can have your cake and eat it to...

That was not me it was my partner - I mean the dog - no it was the dead animal in the road :walk: The person under me has a dual personality.............