Kansas City EMS

[Natren]

SO I'm moving to Kansas City, MO! Well a very nice little suburb of KC anyways. I am doing my ride alongs there as a medic student with a private city contracted ambulance. Really looking forward to it. Originally from WA but just wanted to know if anyone had any good suggestions for me as far as starting to look for jobs, doing other ride alongs and potentially getting into fire there. I don't come from a fire background but I def would like to work for KCMO or KCK. Just wondering if there are any serious stipulations such as credit checks, driving records, residency, etc. I should be aware of. I didn't find much on the website and just wanna start gettin a head start. OR if anyone has any suggestions as far as good services that are busy and run 911 ALS calls. I'm very motivated, 4 years experience at a busy service running ALS calls back home and top of my class so any suggestions would really help since I'm unfamiliar with area!

 

[MedicBender]

I know KCMO FD has a residency requirement. You will have 6 months to relocate to inside city limits.

They do all the usual FD stuff, back ground checks, drivers license checks, and what not.

 

[Aidey]

Apply for AMR in KCK. Stay away from EMS in KCMO.

 

[Shishkabob]

Stay away from MAST... FD takeover has screwed it up, as usual.

 

[medic417]

Stay away from MAST... FD takeover has screwed it up, as usual.

Wonder how long before they join the new movement and have the police take over fire?

 

[Shishkabob]

Wonder how long before they join the new movement and have the police take over fire?

Police based fire based EMS.


Atleast EMS and LE are more closely related than EMS and FD...

 

[medic417]

Police based fire based EMS.


Atleast EMS and LE are more closely related than EMS and FD...

That is true. Really the water department should take over fire as they are so closely related.

 

[Tigger]

Wonder how long before they join the new movement and have the police take over fire?

Do you post about anything else?

 

[medic417]

Do you post about anything else?

Why don't you go check out all 4500+ posts of mine and report back.

 

[Handsome Robb]

How about Police does law enforcement, Fire does suppression and EMS does medical?

It's getting old, get over it.

 

[medic417]

How about Police does law enforcement, Fire does suppression and EMS does medical?

It's getting old, get over it.

I agree it is getting old having so many allow other groups to overtake their professions.

 

[Aidey]

No, you posting about it is what is getting old. Unless KCPD is threatening to take over the FD your soapbox has nothing to do with this thread.

 

[medic417]

No, you posting about it is what is getting old. Unless KCPD is threatening to take over the FD your soapbox has nothing to do with this thread.

Really? I have hardly posted about this subject since I joined this place many many years ago. Percentage wise will be a small amount.

 

[ah2388]

Dont write off any specific organization without doing your own research first. Frankly, the majority of opinions on this forum regarding this specific issue are generated without first hand knowledge, but instead from postings online and second hand accounts.

Im not defending any specific organization or practice, but I would encourage you to make a decision based upon your own exploration and experience. There are several quality services in and around the KCMO area, I would suggest looking east of KC in the rural areas, there are some exceptional 911 services in that area which are tax supported, non fd

 

[46Young]

In the urban environment, seperate services works the best. The tax base allows for fully staffed seperate services to exist, as compared to more rural regions. As you get progressively more rural, a combined fire/EMS service functions more effectively, since staffing/deployment becomes more challenging as the population becomes less dense, and the tax base drops.

As you get progressively more rural, the fire suppression units typically see less of a net utilization, and EMS will be short staffed/deployed and therefore stretched thin due to budget constraints. EMS txp times upwards of 1/2 hour, plus return time can put a unit OOS for well over an hour or more and also out of their first due. So, since fire and EMS have a somewhat similar staffing and deployment arrangement (very different from the police), it's the best use of resources to have the FD rtrain for and run EMS first response, and possibly even have dual role providers do EMS transport as well, which saves on OT, hiring, and mandatory holdover, since personnel can do both jobs.

As far as job proficiency, FF 1/2 and a Paramedic program is less education than an Associate's degree. My FF 1/2 was 22 weeks FT, and my medic program (from an accredited institution, NY Methodist) was 13 months, which awarded me one year's worth of credits towards the EMS AAS. As such, the argument that dual role FF/EMS employees cannot possibly do both jobs well is weak IMO, provided the personnel rotate from suppression to txp units, and in-station drills and multi-company drills are regularly practiced, as is the case in any quality fire/EMS organization. Basic firefighting is not mentally challenging, and neither is EMS (I've got ten years in, 7 as a medic), so doing both is certainly less difficult than studying and training for a profession that requires a Bachelor's degree or greater.

Also, many more FD/EMS departments pay well, have a real career ladder, and also offer excellent benefits/retirement than does the hospitals, third service, and certainly the privates. From my perspective, aside from a select few third service EMS and maybe a hospital or two, fire based EMS is the only EMS delivery model that's sustainable for the long term for the employee, and also offers a secure financial position.

Look at the combined LEO/fire/EMS organizations. The ones I've seen belong to small jurisdictions with a presumably inadequate tax base to fund seperate services.

The funny thing is, LEO's have probably the most stress in Emergency Services, followed by EMS, with fire having considerably less stress. I wouldn't want to be a dual role LEO/EMS employee, since both positions are high stress and the burnout in EMS will only exacerbate things. At least with fire/EMS you should get a break from riding the box and have more down time.

My $0.02

 

[46Young]

@ Natren,

For the long term, what's most important is working where you'll get the best retirement. If you intend to make EMS a career, this should be your first consideration. Privates and hospitals have only 401k's and 403b's, so that's a no-go if you care about being financially secure as you reach retirement age and beyond. Really, how much do you expect to put away in deferred comp if you can "get by on an EMS salary if you live within your means?" This is what other posters have responded to when discussing pay in EMS. If you're living frugally just to make an EMS salary work, then how can you reasonably expect to save for retirement? If your answer is to work 70, 80, 90 hours a week, then you fail! We've all tried that, myself included, and find that this is unsustainable for the long term.

You need a pension and a 457 if you have anything left to save. Typically only municipal departments have this. I recommend you attatch yourself to a desireable municipal department quick, so that you can be Grandfathered in before they change the retirement system and possibly go hybrid DB/DC - you don't want that, I can assure you.

After considering retirement, then you can worry about the other details.

If you don't intend to stay in EMS for the long term, then just go for the place with the best pay and schedule, I guess...

 

[Summit]

MAST used to be an awesome service. Sad to hear it has fallen.

 

[medic417]

MAST used to be an awesome service. Sad to hear it has fallen.

What is more sad is the treatment given to those that had made MAST a place to be proud to work for.