Suffolk PD ambulance

[volffemt]

lindytruck164 said:

i believe it wont work in suffolk, how many fd's do you know that will give up alot of their good calls, i am very close to a nassau department, they are 3rd due in their district, and rarely get the good stuff, PD comes out and takes alot of the good stuff and tons of disagreements on whose gonna take what. maybe a centralized fly car within pcts maybe, might help, but as for a county system i dont think so, it would be a huge mess and would take tons of money and time, but that is just my opinion.

"Good stuff"...either a young member or a bad choice of words. As far as EMS goes, no calls are good stuff to me. Seeing someone hurt, DOA, trauma, mva's is not my idea of good. I do it because I want to help turn their situation around - hopefully for the better.

Taking away calls is BS, the name of the game is getting someone on scene ASAP whether it be PD, FD or EMS. There is a big problem and I must admit, alot of agencies in Suffolk are doing the right thing by employing paid personel (and it's helping) It's a must in todays world, where most FF's/EMS are blue collar hard working people with 2, 3 jobs (like myself) and can't answer calls, especially EMS which the call volume is and always will be on the rise.

We pay BIG BUCKS on Long Island, the highest taxes. We have the most & the best fire and ems equipment money can buy. We all live within millions of dollars of this equipment, there is NO REASON that anyone should wait 20, 30 or 40 minutes for EMS....PERIOD

[suddenlyseemore]

xcapteng82 said:

As a member of the SCPD and a Chief in Nassau. I can you telll you horror stories from both counties when it comes to ems alarms. I have seen ambulance show up loaded with people thinking to myself where is the patient going to go, to being asked by my dispatcher can one of the officers drive the ambulance. It is correct that every SCPD officer is certified as an EMT upon graduating from the academy. The problem is that some expire and it is a long time before that might be recert. I have always recert before I expired, and in fact when working have had to be the tech numerous times. This whole thread is about SCPD renewing thier ambulance certification for the county. They provide the "ambulance" transports with the medivacs. Each SCPD helicopter is staffed by a paramedic from Stony Brook Hospital. Yes SCPD does have one certified ambulance. This is used for training members during thier emt class, and also it is staffed when needed by Police academy EMT instructors at any large events or ongoing police operations. Hopsfully this clears some things up.

Could a paid ems system work in suffolk? Doesn't a lot of departments do it now? At least during the day ? If you look at the town of Babylon for example how many of those Depts have paid ems? I think the only ones that don't are Babylon, North Babylon , and North Lindenhurst. Maybe that town can be the first to put something together town wide? If all the districts and fire company presidents, village boards sat down I think that they could have one hell of an ems system..

The centralized dispatch is there = Babylon Central
Combine all the paid techs, get one good EMS Boss and a couple of supervisors..

Split the cost. damm charge the service if you had to.. ( have to change NYS town law)

It could work with the right people in charge.. Just a thought, Be safe.

North Amityville doesn't have paid people

People have been pushing for this in the town of babylon for 10+ years

Too much resistance, even from people who hate the ambulance. They don't want to lose any power over their little kingdoms.

I'm not sure what legally actually has to be done to bill or what restrictions are on it. Other agencies in NYS bill their patients. New Paltz Rescue Squad bills patients for example and they also receive tax money from the town/village.

Perhaps if the town contracted with a private company for EMS response township-wide, "Town of Babylon EMS Inc" or whatever, it could be done without a problem.

[Ex-Capt371]

And i am with Voll on this. If i am having a heartattack, i dont give a flying "F" who is pulling up, as long as they do. And if you are worried about losing the 'good' calls, i want you to do 3 things for me.
1) stay off this board
2) Turn in your pager and uniform to the nearest chief,
3) re-organize your priorities.

And, i dont know whwere this rumor started, but SCPD will not be running ambulance calls. At least not anytime in the near future. Everyone who is worried or scared about losing their $65k 1st responder can rest easy while their pager is going off for the 3rd signal 3. But to be honest, if someone did come in and take it over, like a contractor? i wouldnt lose any sleep over it.

[KMC280]

Please ignore the "good stuff" comment from lindytruck164 he is a good kid but a newbie non the less, and may still be under the diluted idea that what we do is more for his excitement then it is to help people in need. no calls we respond to are good for the people in which called us and the sooner that is realized by the newbies that occupy our fire houses the better the service will be. Remember when we get back to the house to tell "war stories" the people we just left are suffering a loss sometimes so great I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

[suddenlyseemore]

what lindytruck164 said is just an example of the problem of the system right now: its volunteer.

and its nothing against him.

as a volunteer, we're gonna pick and choose our calls. no one on here can deny that they dont. we'd all jump up to go on the arrest or the shooting or pin job, but we're much less likely to get out of bed on a cold winter night for the 3am sick call or the back pain. i'll admit it, i'm guilty, i do it myself.

bottomline is for 1) the amount of money put in to the system and 2) the burden we have as the agencies responsible for EMS response, we have to respond to all alarms in an appropriate, timely manner, not just letting the call be mutual aided because we don't feel like going.

paid systems dont give you the option of not responding. you have to, its your job.

i think maybe some of the problem in the system now is that in terms of dispatching we treat all alarms with the same severity/priority and allow the same time for response before mutual aiding it away.

In most urban systems they use a form of System Status Management, a call will be prioritized and might hold in the system for a while if there are higher priority calls in the area. ie if you call up for a cold/flu or nosebleed, you're going to wait longer for an ambulance if there is a chest pain call in the area, which is obviously a higher priority.

the real "point" to the alpha/bravo/charlie/delta/echo system the county uses is to determine the priority and number of units responding.

in systems using AMPDS, alpha gets you 1 BLS ambulance cold response. bravo gets you 1 BLS ambulance hot. charlie gets you 1 BLS ambulance hot and 1 ALS ambulance cold. Delta and Echo gets you 1 BLS and 1 ALS hot. Some systems will also dispatch the nearest suppression unit to delta/echo calls for 1st response and/or extra hands for patient care.

in a paid system, lower priority calls could hold until units are available. units could also be shuffled around to cover different areas, especially if one region is experiencing above average call volume and has lots of calls holding.

in short: paid system + SSM = win

[nan96ook]

Question??? Why doesnt Nassau County E.A.B. employ Ambulance drivers. There is no way that you can tell me that it wont be cheaper to have a 2 man crew on the busses, then to tie up a sector car, w/ two p.o's for upwards of an hour, or more on every ambulance call. Again, like was said earlier, im sure its Nassau's P.B.A. union that this nonsence still go's on. But how about a little common sense here. The driver only has to be qualified at, DRIVING, hence a much less salary then the AEMTCC on board.

P.S. I have also seen first hand , both counties EMS , being a former Merrick, And North Lindenhurst Vol. and 100% back the need for Suffolk having a Paid EMS, Like Nassau's .

[Ex-Capt371]

post ignored, let him know, or if he is reading this now, watch it. I went easy on him. there are those who would be merciless with him. Thank you for clearing that up though, 161. Sounded like a BOP.

[mpfd257]

From Craig Zitek, Suffolk County Fire Chiefs Council:

I attended a meeting yesterday afternoon with County Executive Levy, SCPD Commissioner Dormer, FRES Commissioner Joe Williams, FRES Commission Chairman Vincent Bologna, SC Ambulance Chiefs Assoc President Drew Silverman, and Bob Delagi from SC EMS. The meeting was in reference to SCPD’s request for a permanent certificate to operate an ambulance. We each party was given a chance to air the concerns of members. This was followed by a meaningful discussion of the facts and possible solutions. A Memorandum of Understanding is being developed by the County Attorney between SCPD and the Fire and EMS services. Essentially, SCPD will abide by the 5 points enumerated in their letter to the Fire and EMS services dated November 30th 2006, as paraphrased below:

1). In cases of hostage situations, hazardous material spills, barricaded subjects, violent demonstrations, confidential narcotics raids, etc.

2). Police Emergencies in which gunfire or hostile or violent crowds are present pose a particular hazard to ambulance service personnel…….In some of these cases the ambulance is needed on site for many hours or even days, which poses difficulty for the service affected, and may place undue burden on existing local services.

3). In case of mass casualty situation, these ambulances would be available on a mutual aid basis to assist local volunteer crews with the guidelines of the Suffolk County and/or Local Mutual Aid Plan. The Police Dept. Ambulance is equipped with radios that can communicate with both volunteer ambulances and police command posts.

4). Training on police personnel as EMTs would be facilitated by hands-on training and familiarization with an on-site ambulance vehicle. This service would be provided by the Academy’s full time instructors with the use of police ambulance.

5). During training at the police academy numerous injuries occur on a daily basis. Although mostly minor in nature due to Workman’s Compensation, these people must be transported to a doctor or medical facility. Transport by a police vehicle is more advantageous.

There will be wording added to cover unforeseen situations, emergencies, and unique situations. The County will try to have a draft of this MOU ready for the FRES Commission meeting next Wednesday, February 28th. All parties would like to have the MOU in place prior to the March 5th Public Hearing on the SCPS’s Application.

Reminder: The only opportunity for Public Comment on SCPD’s Application for a Permanent Certificate to operate an ambulance will be Monday March 5th from 4 – 7pm at the H. Lee Denison building in Hauppauge. If you wish to speak, please contact Suffolk REMSCO and ask to be placed on the speakers list; 631 853-5800

[bloomtruck42]

they were pretty sly to put in 'back up the volunteers' for mci's....would it soon go to, 'well, if we can back them up for mci's, why not back them up for say cardiac arrests and all echos?'

don't get me wrong i'm not fully aganist ems going paid...this is just the progression i could (maybe not) see it going. especially if all these articles hammering the vollys keep comign out

[Ex-Capt371]

You are too paranoid bloomy, they have been opperating this ambulance since 1995, did you know that? did any of you realize that? When did you ever see them in your district? taking in a call? and, if they did come onto an accident or medical emergency, they are required by law to offer assistance until THE AGENCY HAVING JURISDICTION ARRIVES. Stabilization of the patient only. SCPD does NOT, and i repeat, DOES NOT want to start doing everyday EMS alarms. The County Executive would not allow it, that would mean hiring more cops, or civilian positions. It costs too much money to do, and the county gets off easy by having the volunteers. So get your heads out of your asses, go to the public information meetings, and if you have a pair, get up there and say something. If not, i dont want to hear it here.

Sorry if that is mean, but I am tired of those who go only off the 'Word on the street' and refuse to do any research.

[660t]

DO I HEAR AN AMEN BROTHER

[Ex-Capt371]

I picked a realy bad time to try and quit smoking...

[bloomtruck42]

try the patch, i hear it works.

[Ex-Capt371]

on that and the pill. Next is the injection, then hypnosis.

[ex1900]

I'm not sure what legally actually has to be done to bill or what restrictions are on it. Other agencies in NYS bill their patients. New Paltz Rescue Squad bills patients for example and they also receive tax money from the town/village.

Perhaps if the town contracted with a private company for EMS response township-wide, "Town of Babylon EMS Inc" or whatever, it could be done without a problem.[/quote]

The problem with billing James is the current laws don't allow fire based ems services who serve a population of under 1 million people to charge fro their service. And when I say charge I'm talking 3rd party billing. A volunteer service can not bill a person directly in NYS.

[nlfdexcapt]

I volly in the town of babylon and my department has no problems getting the BUS out during the day or night. we haven't 24'd (mutual aided)a call in a long time. I don't see my department going paid anytime soon.