Acadian EMS Beaumont TX

[txemt]

Needing some imput on something. I was recently discussed a job with Acadian's Texas operation. Anybody on here familiar with the Beaumont operation. Acadian took over Metrocare's service in Feb of this year , wondering how smooth the transition went. What happened to the managment? Did they stay or did they run for the hills/ Just trying to get enough info to make a decision.

Thanks guys!

[Dustdevil]

What exactly is Acadian doing down there? I know they don't run EMS for Beaumont. Do they have an emergency contract somewhere in the area? Orange county? Or are they just running a horizontal taxi service?

And congratulations on completing medic school!

[txemt]

They do back up 911 coverage in Beaumont. They have the 911 for Orange and Jefferson Co. also.

[paraloco]

Along with the other privates, Acadian backs us up in the city. Frequently, that means we have no units and 3 calls holding, and Acadian has to send a unit from Vidor. They rotate 911 coverage with Stat-Care in Mid and South Jefferson County. I personally think they stepped into Texas via Orange County only because it is on their way to Houston.Talk to their Orange County crews. Most of the time I see them in their Excellance van chassis mods that have been remounted 50 times instead of the nice mostly new Frazier boxes that Orange County had. Look at their expansion so far, never straying far from major arteries like I-10, expanding east and west. One of their supervisors confirmed that for me. The only reason they are in Austin is that Steve Diamond was willing to sell his operation there to them. Now watch them expand north and south along I-35. They already run 911 in some areas near Austin (Bastrop County if I am not mistaken) I look for them to hit Houston from the east and west. They like to buy up Mom & Pop services. The supervisors all get put back on the street as medics. One or two connected admin types get selected as 'marketing reps' . They are not interested in input from the street level guys, they look to Baton Rouge for everything. They are their own little world. No management or supervisory class outside of their system counts for crap. Their retirement consists of their own stock. Benefits are better than other privates, but still expensive. They know their jobs for the most part. Their clinical acumen does not impress me. They hired a Texas based medical director for their operation over here. (PM me if you want details about that) FTO time for new hires is scant. (rather, they have 1 fto for a large region, and he functions more like a clinical supervisor) . I don't believe I've slammed them, just told the truth, but I'm stopping here. Some of my friends work there.

[Fox800]

I see them around Austin all the time. Coming from the transfer mania of Houston, they're a step up. Houston was truly a nightmare. 200+ companies operated by Medicare scammers, using unlicensed personnel, refusing to stock their units properly. From a transfer standpoint, Acadian doesn't seem all that bad. Yes you will run your ass off doing the horizontal taxi thing. They have nice trucks, excellent equipment (I'm comparing this to my last transfer gig where we had a 3 lead monitor and a seperate hand-held pulse ox unit, no NIBP, no capnography, etc.), higher than average pay, and some semblance of benefits. Compare this to XYZ EMS running 10 year old trucks with 300,000 miles, paying medics $10-12/hour with no benefits.

The only thing that piques my interest are the "Critical Care Transport" units I see Acadian running around Austin. I'd be surprised if they shelled out the $$ to employ CCEMT-P's and buy the toys they need to do that job. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[sirduke]

The real question is, why would you want to live in Beaumont?

[Dustdevil]

The real question is, why would you want to live in Beaumont?

Low cost of living. Good seafood. Cheap gas. Hott chicks.

The worst place in Texas is better than the best place in any other state.

[sirduke]

Spent quite a bit of time in Beaumont, didn't care for it. Prefer to live where the ego's aren't as big.

The best thing to come out of Texas is I-10 East

[Medic003]

Well I can chime in on the Critical Care Transport units for Acadian. The medics are trained for another 3 weeks in our own class and the class has been modified from the Baltimore CCEMT-P program. The medics get paid extra (lump sum) for every CCT (Critical Care Transport) run that they make. These are mostly all hospital to hospital trips. The units are equipped with extra gear for these calls. Every CCT unit has a Eagle Impact Ventilator, a 3 channel IV pump, Chest Tube's, and various other narcotics (ROC, Succs, Nipride, as well as some others that I can't remember at this time.) We now have placed these units in every area that we run in and most areas have as least 2 units for this purpose. They still do run regular emergency calls and routine transfers but are a great help when it comes to CCT transports. We used to have a supervisor bring vents and pumps to the hospital everytime that a Vent pt needed to be transported so this has made it more reliable and it makes sure that the patients benefits by having the most highly trained medics running these calls.

Oh and we have just moved into the San Antonio, TX area last week anyone interested please go the website to see any available openings.

Hope everyone had a great New Year's.

[paraloco]

Well I can chime in on the Critical Care Transport units for Acadian. The medics are trained for another 3 weeks in our own class and the class has been modified from the Baltimore CCEMT-P program. The medics get paid extra (lump sum) for every CCT (Critical Care Transport) run that they make. These are mostly all hospital to hospital trips. The units are equipped with extra gear for these calls. Every CCT unit has a Eagle Impact Ventilator, a 3 channel IV pump, Chest Tube's, and various other narcotics (ROC, Succs, Nipride, as well as some others that I can't remember at this time.) We now have placed these units in every area that we run in and most areas have as least 2 units for this purpose. They still do run regular emergency calls and routine transfers but are a great help when it comes to CCT transports. We used to have a supervisor bring vents and pumps to the hospital everytime that a Vent pt needed to be transported so this has made it more reliable and it makes sure that the patients benefits by having the most highly trained medics running these calls.

Oh and we have just moved into the San Antonio, TX area last week anyone interested please go the website to see any available openings.

Hope everyone had a great New Year's.

And my predictions come true. Oh, and about the CCT thing. A couple of those medics told me that they don't get held back for the critical calls, they run their butts off just like the other crews. And 1 drip med doesn't cut it for them to get their CCT pay for a call. They have a list of criteria.// I don't live in Beaumont either, I don't want my kids in BISD schools. Don't wanna pay Jefferson County tax rates or insurance rates. But it is a good place to be a paramedic. Folks have come and gone (including me once). Most come back or try to come back to mama.