Atlantic City EMS

[ambman142]

Medic 7 is stationed in Galloway Twp. covering the northern end of Atlantic County. Medic 6 in Atlantic City & Medic 8 in Somers Point, covering sothern Atlantic County & Northern Cape May County including Ocean City are by far busier units, especially since Medic 10 now covers the western end of Atlantic County. As for municipalities doing ALS, the fact remains, if you make it possible for some municipalities, potentially all municipalities cound TRY. As for finding a medical director, hospitals are better suited, since the have a staff for quality control, as to not overtax the medical director of the program. Then there is rotating expensive, sometimes rarely used medications, so that they don't expire. This is better suited for a hospital based system, so they can be rotated through pharmacy to hospital floors or to other medic units in the system that may use them more frequently. The system that is currently in place in New Jersey works. Can you imagine the cost involved when the NJ DOH OEMS tries to regulate ALS at the municipal level. Let's try to focus on something that can change things for the better instead of trying to fix something that isn't broken.

[mediccjh]

As for finding a medical director, hospitals are better suited, since the have a staff for quality control, as to not overtax the medical director of the program. Then there is rotating expensive, sometimes rarely used medications, so that they don't expire. This is better suited for a hospital based system, so they can be rotated through pharmacy to hospital floors or to other medic units in the system that may use them more frequently. The system that is currently in place in New Jersey works. Can you imagine the cost involved when the NJ DOH OEMS tries to regulate ALS at the municipal level. Let's try to focus on something that can change things for the better instead of trying to fix something that isn't broken.

AMEN!!! =D>

For the record, I only work in Jersey part-time. My full-time job is a third-service provider who is ALS, and does 911 and transports.

[FireGuard69]

Ambman-

I know where 7 Medic is, I just hear them always running to places where they have no buisness going to (for example to me in Somers Point, when my ETA to Shore is 4min, and yesterday, they ended up in the Seaville Section of Upper Township). How are they providing service to their citizens, if they are 35 min away going lights and siren?

If we CANT change the Medic program, do you really think we can get EMT-I?

That would be able to change a LOT, and the call volume for the Medics would go down. So, do you really think that ACMC, Virtua, MONOC, etc. want that wo happen?

I am all for us EMT-B/Ds to be able to start lines, use 12 leads, push CERTAIN drugs, check blood sugar. That WOULD improve the care I can provide to my pts, if I dont have to wait for Meics to come and do that, if they even get here.

A question for those in the Cape/Atlantic area, who is the Medic unit with a EQ2b on the grille? :roll:

[ambman142]

My apologies, I wasn't trying to ascert that you didn't know where Medic 7 was stationed, only clarifying that their station is by history not the busiest medic unit in the sysytem. In fact at one time when Medic 7 was stationed @ Mainland, it was referred to as the "Country Club" because they were the least busiest unit in the system. With the population increase in the southern New Jersey the current system is getting busier. Cape May County currently has 2 Medic Units from 07:00-19:00 Sunday through Thursday and 07:00-01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Although the this additional Medic unit has alleviated some of the strain on Medic 9, it is still as usual for EMS, a hit or miss situation. Either both units are not busy at all, or both units are running non-stop and additional units are being dispatched from Atlantic County. This unfortunately is the case with EMS, you can not adequately predict call volumes accurately, even with System Satus Management. As for EMT-Intermendiates in New Jersey, I'm all for it. Although the State of New Jersey might disagree with us. As I mentioned in an earlier post, 3 counties in New Jersey were in a Pilot Program in the 1980s due to these counties being unable to obtain a population based CN for full ALS units. These counties were Salem, Cumberland , & I believe Essex Counties. I do not know all the particulars, not being from any of those counties, but apparently the program didn't work. In 1989 the EMT-Is from Salem & Cumberland Counties, that were able, went through the Camden County College Paramedic Program sponsored by Underwood Memorial Hospital & West Jersey Health System and were certified as MICPs. The rest reverted back to EMT-As when the Intermediate certifications expired. I fully agree that SOME EMTs of a higher calibre should have an expanded Scope of Practice, but other than the proposed changes at the national level of the same title, there are no plans that I know of to expand on the basic EMT's role in the EMS system.

[FireGuard69]

Its OK, ambman.

It seems whenever I work, they run all over, and end up getting recalled.

I can see in order to be certified as an EMT-I, that one would need to have time in as EMT-B/D, and sponsored by their agency/company. This would get more of the wackers who want a different patch out, and more of the "OK, heres how I can deliver better pt care" EMTs in.

I would just like to know WHAT it would take to get an EMT-I program started

[ambman142]

Although your heart is in the right place. As I mentioned, the State of New Jersey has already attempted to run an EMT-I pilot program within the 3 counties and apparently that system did not come to fruition as the NJ DOH OEMS had hoped. I don't believe that anyone could convince them to attempt at reviving the program. I am all for patient care and sometimes regret not being an ALS provider, although life's situations have precluded that for the time being. I do however think that the only solution is to have more ALS personnel in the field. What is needed is a paramedic cirriculum in ACCC, so the people at the shore don't have to drive to Blackwood. In the interim, the only solution is to be the best EMT-B/D that yopu can be. I know that it dosen't substitute for being able to intervene in patient outcome through pharmacology, but until the National Scope of Practice is finalized and adopted by the NJ DOH OEMS, we have to work with what we have.

[FireGuard69]

I would love to see ACCC program down here, since I live in OC, so thats a HELLUVA commute.

If I get p/t ED Tech at ACMC they will pay for at least some of it.

I guess its up to out lawmakers to make a change

:roll:

[ambman142]

Living in Cape May, I agree that Blackwood is quite a distance. I believe that AtlantiCare is working w/ ACCC on developing a cirriculum, but I haven't heard of a timeframe. I was speaking w/ a mutual friend of ours that happens to be a MICP and he added that municipalities could also could not support ILS/ALS due to not being able to maintain skill retention by the provider.

[FireGuard69]

What about certain Privates?

I would think, with SCTU, certain providers could do ALS/ILS easily

[ambman142]

I don't want to always respond in the negative, but private companies are also not a possibility, due to the fact that they could not obtain a CN from the state to provide street ALS. This in conjunction w/ the fact that a private company would in fact be less able than municipalities to fiscally maintain the availability of staff, pharmacological rotation, & skill retention.