Is it me or are most of FDNY EMT/Medics miserable?

[HellsBells]

I get the point, I think all of you missed mine. But please continue the lists, I think you missed the Metro Mall Security Guard Police, and The Fraternal order of Bank Cop Police, The Wannabe Cop Reject Force, among many others; The Guardian Angels? Are they a Police Force as well?

[tskstorm]

I get the point, I think all of you missed mine. But please continue the lists, I think you missed the Metro Mall Security Guard Police, and The Fraternal order of Bank Cop Police, The Wannabe Cop Reject Force, among many others; The Guardian Angels? Are they a Police Force as well?

well to answer your original post,

no there isnt a seperate service for the jews. they simply have there own religion based VOLUNTEER service.

we have FDNY, hospital based EMS, who both respond to emergency calls, then we have private companies who do transport and emergency calls (transcare, amr, seniorcare etc...) then we have volunteers.

i think that covers the basics, based on what you said you have similar system, the difference i see is our private companies do emergency runs besides just transport.

does that answer your question ?

[HellsBells]

Actually, I am curious about the private companies that do emergency runs. How are they dispatched to emerg calls, I assume they are part of the 911 system, but are they specially requested by the caller? What exactly determines whether NYFD or a private company show up at your door?

[tskstorm]

Actually, I am curious about the private companies that do emergency runs. How are they dispatched to emerg calls, I assume they are part of the 911 system, but are they specially requested by the caller? What exactly determines whether NYFD or a private company show up at your door?

just like if you call 9-1-1 when you call a private company, they have a triage/dispatcher protocols. so thats how private companies who traditionally do transport get the occasional emergency calls. then that same company will most like also have come of there units attatched to the "911 system," which in ny is FDNY they have FDNY logo's on there doors and are based on the same system. if they see all there 911 units are on calls, and there is a call thats an emergency they will send a "transport" unit

i think that covers the basics, more questions ? ask away i'll try and help best i can

[Richard B the EMT]

Please don't mention the Guardian Angels. They are an unarmed vigilante group with good press spin doctors.

Their founder, Curtis Sliwa, admitted in court that he "arranged" his own beat-down, and had used the event to attack one of "Godfather" John Gotti's "associates." For this, Sliwa is now a conservative radio talk show host, counterpointing to a very liberal lawyer, Ron Kuby, on the morning drive time on AM radio (midwave amplitude modulation band, for the international broadcast listeners out there).

[HellsBells]

Yeah, Mr. Sliwa was just out here in Calgary to open a chapter of the Guardian Angels, so far, there has been very minimal impact, I think there are 8 members, mostly concerned with harrassing homeless/drunks, crushing crack pipes and looking "cool" in their red jackets

[Richard B the EMT]

Red windbreaker jackets, white T-shirts with the angel's emblem, and don't forget the red beret.

[RedZone]

Wow. Seems to me as if there are enough debates going on here to warrant 14 different threads. Good thing I'm bored. Knowing this is such a heated issue and it would be best for me to step away..... I still insist on chiming in... Hate me if you want.

First off: tskstorm, you are misinformed. Private ambulance companies (i.e. TransCare) do not dispatch 911 dedicated units to assignments. All 911 assignments are dispatched through FDNY-EMS communications. They will NOT send a "transport" ambulance to a 911 call nor will they send a 911 unit to a privately requested call.

Many private ambulance companies DO respond to emergency calls through their business relationships. For instance, many skilled nursing facilities (including those owned by NYC) prefer to use private ambulances as opposed to calling 911. Hospitals (including city hospitals) will also request emergency transfers from private ambulances when a patient requires immediate services not available at that hospital. FDNY prefers not to be involved with interfacility transfers, makes it difficult to request such service, and refuses to provide ALS service for interfacility use. So, a head trauma patient wheeled into walk-in triage will require emergency transfer by private ambulance to a trauma hospital.

Hatzoloh (or however they spell it). All I'll say is that they definitely play some funny games. Without getting into it in detail, they've been around my entire career, and they don't seem to be going anywhere. Why stress out? People have a right to choose who they want and who they don't want to care for them. If someone prefers to call Hatzoloh, let them! If someone refuses a 911 unit, let them! If you witness ANY ambulance crew violating a regulation, and it really irks you, report the details. There's not much else you can do.

Is EMS treated like the "bastard child of FDNY"? Tell you the truth, I don't think that is the main issue. EMS, in general, has practically zero public relations. When Bloomberg was busy shutting down firehouses, FDNY administration along with their unions, got the media's attention to involve the public. The front page of every major newspaper reported each and every firehouse closing. Multiple articles filled the front sections of these papers for weeks. TV news spent countless resources reporting this "outcry". People responded by protesting, and some were arrested for physically resisting the removal of fire trucks.

During this same period, numerous FDNY EMS tours were cancelled. A small, one to two paragraph article was well hidden somewhere in the Daily News. The EMS unions simply continued to spread their age-old propaganda that employees for voluntaries and metro-scare were nothing more than scabs who threatened the jobs of every FDNY EMS worker.

Not ONE FDNY EMS worker lost their job. I will even agree with what was said earlier in this thread... FDNY EMS workers have probably the MOST SECURE EMS employment in NYC.

Since when does a union encourage their members to shun other union employees (most voluntary hospitals are union shops)?

When a nursing union strikes, OTHER NURSING UNIONS SUPPORT THEM!! The state of EMS in NYC is, in my opinion, disgusting. And the FDNY EMS union is more concerned with spreading hatred among their members than working together to improve EMS as an industry.

[Richard B the EMT]

RedZone: Without knowledge of if you live in New York City, and for the edification of everyone else, all municipal employees in New York City, myself included, fall under the Taylor Law.

Simplified, any member of an NYC agency, like the firefighters or EMS, should we do a strike, for every day the person is on the picket line, the city fines the member(s) for 2 day's pay.

Most city employees are union members, the unions try to bargain for better pay, better hours, better medical coverage, better whatever. Sometimes, to get something we really want, we give back something we don't need as much at that time (or think we don't). Union/city negotiations is a complex art, and I don't think I could do it. I do know, if we reach an impasse, we can go for binding arbitration, which usually leaves nobody totally happy.

[RedZone]

Richard: I wasn't suggesting that EMS workers consider striking. I was merely pointing out that in other professions, unions don't combat each other during a conflict, they support each other.

I used nursing strikes as an example. UFT won't encourage their RN members to bash 1199 RN members. If UFT nurses strike, 1199 might even encourage their nurses to assist with picketing efforts, take out ads in newspapers, and SUPPORT the efforts of the other union.

Even unions aside, other professions have much greater unity among colleagues than EMS workers do, at least in NYC. Personally, I feel EMS (as an industry) is still growing, and much needs to be done to advance the field. Maybe one day we will be better respected by the public and other healthcare professionals. Maybe then we can lobby (this would require cooperation) for professional status.

Warning: strong opinion follows. This isn't an attack on individual members.

Or maybe FDNY brass and the FDNY*EMS unions can keep brainwashing their EMS workers into believing:

1) that they offer superior patient care

2) all other EMS providers offer substandard care