# Enova Med Transport in LA



## emtguy56 (Jul 24, 2014)

Thinking of applying to Enova. Heard from a few friends that if you apply you'll probably be hired. I've seen some older posts on here shedding negative light on Enova and I'm aware that they are not county certified and can be sketchy. Im a newbie though and my choices are limited. Has anyone on here actually worked for Enova recently or know someone who has that can let me know the pro's and con's of working for them? Thanks in advance.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 25, 2014)

emtguy56 said:


> Thinking of applying to Enova. Heard from a few friends that if you apply you'll probably be hired. I've seen some older posts on here shedding negative light on Enova and I'm aware that they are not county certified and can be sketchy. Im a newbie though and my choices are limited. Has anyone on here actually worked for Enova recently or know someone who has that can let me know the pro's and con's of working for them? Thanks in advance.



They pay 10.00/hr last I heard, running 99% to and from dialysis appointments. You can do better. As a first job I get the allure of just being on a shiny white van with "ambulance" written on the side, but it will not be valuable experience and your skills will deteriorate. You'll work with EMTs who have given up and are doing this because it's what they did yesterday, and eventually get a bitter taste in your mouth for what you've learned to believe "EMS" is. But this isn't what you went to school for. Try for larger IFT companies, county accredited is great but there's still some bad apples. Apply to AMR, they take EMTs with no experience every day. And look outside of LA. If EMS is what you want to do, don't be afraid to commute, to relocate, and to get out of your comfort zone. There's better options out there. 
Kern county is always hiring new EMTs, and you run all 911 with a BLS fire dept. San Bernardino co. has some great AMR divisions and you'll be doing what you went to EMT school for. Ventura and Santa Barbara, Riverside, I can keep going. But if you stay in LA county because the drive is easier and it's the area you know, the area you're comfortable with, you will severely limit your career opportunities and stunt your growth in this field. 
That said, my first job was for a similar company and it worked out eventually. But if I had to do it all over again, Id have set the bar higher and got out of LA sooner. 
EMT school, brief as it may have been, did prepare you to do this job, and the rest is up to your FTO. Transporting stable, non ambulatory patients to and from dialysis will not make you any better prepared to run 911, to go to paramedic school, to work for a fire dept, to go to PA school, or whatever it is you want after EMT.
PM me if you're actually interested in the world outside of Los Angeles.


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## emtguy56 (Jul 25, 2014)

Hey there. Thanks for the awesome reply. I couldn't have asked for a better one. I can't PM yet because I don't have enough postings so I'll just put it here. I live like right on the LA/OC border and I am more than willing to commute to Kern, San Bern or Riverside I guess I just don't know where to start looking. I would LOVE to have a 911 job but everyone in the field keeps telling me that you won't get a job there as a newbie. I've applied to the local 911 jobs but no replies, which is no surprise. I don't want to settle for a job and I'm worried, like you said, about losing my skills and knowledge while working for a sketchy IFT company like Enova. The only issue is with my schedule, I'm unavailable Monday's and Wednesday's due to school. But if you have any ideas on where specifically I could look for better jobs in those counties let me know. Again, thanks for the reply.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 25, 2014)

Sent you a PM


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## emtguy56 (Jul 25, 2014)

Thanks, I got it. But I still can't PM you back. Checked out the thread and I will send the e-mail off tonight to get the application. Do you know how their pre-employment testing works? Like written tests, skills test etc?


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## emtguy56 (Jul 25, 2014)

Also, I only have my LA County cert as of now. I noticed a few places, like Hall in Kern County require a county cert before applying. For most companies, can I wait to get this cert until I'm hired? I don't want to pay to get one first and then not end up working in that county.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 25, 2014)

You only need a CA state card for Kern County, the county accred is only for medics. 
There's a written test much like the NR, basic skills, panel interview, and 4+ weeks of FTO time.


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## BASICallyEMT (Jul 25, 2014)

I'll never forget when I saw an enova crew with both EMT's shirts untucked, bald heads, and one had tattoos covering his neck.... Very professional company I'd say.


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## TransportJockey (Jul 25, 2014)

BASICallyEMT said:


> I'll never forget when I saw an enova crew with both EMT's shirts untucked, bald heads, and one had tattoos covering his neck.... Very professional company I'd say.


I'm curious why the bald head thing matters? The shirts untucked thing is the only thing that strikes me as unprofessional


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## BASICallyEMT (Jul 25, 2014)

Not referring to just bald heads. I'm usually bald myself. But, the combination of all 3 was like looking at a couple of gang bangers. It's probably just me or maybe you have to see in person to picture it. And for the most part companies require you to cover your tats while on duty.


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## TransportJockey (Jul 25, 2014)

BASICallyEMT said:


> Not referring to just bald heads.. seeing I'm usually bald myself. But the combination of all 3 was like looking at a couple of gang bangers. It's probably just me or maybe you have to see in person to picture it. And for the most part companies require you to cover your tats while on duty.


Ah the cholo type. Got it. I keep forgettingsome places require tattoos yo be covered. I haven't had to since I separated from the evil empire


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## looker (Jul 25, 2014)

The main issue with Enova is they were denied their state license. It's currently being appealed and while they likely to win appeal and get it, there is still risk they will not.


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## emtguy56 (Jul 25, 2014)

And what happens if they don't win the appeal?


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## emtguy56 (Jul 25, 2014)

Besides Liberty, what other good companies are in Kern County?


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## looker (Jul 25, 2014)

emtguy56 said:


> And what happens if they don't win the appeal?


Correction I meant to say LA County license. If they don't win appeal, they will not be able to operate in LA County.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 25, 2014)

Kern: Hall, Liberty, Delano (meh)
San Bernardino: AMR, Desert, Morongo Basin, Baker EMS
Riverside: AMR
Ventura: Gold Coast, AMR
Santa Barbara: AMR

There's a great sticky on each company by county, I'll attach it if I can find it.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 25, 2014)

Found it...
Ignore the fire departments, they're not real people...



TB 3541 said:


> Exclusive Operating Areas
> 
> Imperial County
> 
> ...


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## emtguy56 (Jul 27, 2014)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> Found it...
> Ignore the fire departments, they're not real people...



Wow. Thanks for that. Makes it a lot easier. I really appreciate the time you took to respond to this post. I've already applied for many of these places and have yet to hear anything back, but I understand that patience is required. I will apply to the rest in the coming days. I'm thinking of just taking a :censored::censored::censored::censored:ty dialysis/IFT for right now until something better comes along. I'd love to wait for the perfect job but my bills don't pay themselves. Do you think having a shady dialysis/IFT company on your resume will hold you back from getting a better job when the time comes? Like, do the bigger companies look down on potential employees who have worked for these companies, even if briefly?


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## gonefishing (Jul 27, 2014)

emtguy56 said:


> Wow. Thanks for that. Makes it a lot easier. I really appreciate the time you took to respond to this post. I've already applied for many of these places and have yet to hear anything back, but I understand that patience is required. I will apply to the rest in the coming days. I'm thinking of just taking a :censored::censored::censored::censored:ty dialysis/IFT for right now until something better comes along. I'd love to wait for the perfect job but my bills don't pay themselves. Do you think having a shady dialysis/IFT company on your resume will hold you back from getting a better job when the time comes? Like, do the bigger companies look down on potential employees who have worked for these companies, even if briefly?


If LA try these:
AMR, Bowers/Pacific, Cole Schaefer, Care, Mc Cormick.  Try and stay away from the companys with the telephone numbers painted on rigs or anything with a now hiring sign.  You wanna try and stick with the big 5.


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## emtguy56 (Jul 27, 2014)

gonefishing said:


> If LA try these:
> AMR, Bowers/Pacific, Cole Schaefer, Care, Mc Cormick.  Try and stay away from the companys with the telephone numbers painted on rigs or anything with a now hiring sign.  You wanna try and stick with the big 5.




Yeah, for sure. I've applied with "the big 5" but have yet to hear back from any of them so I'm looking for a job to kill time until then.


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## gonefishing (Jul 27, 2014)

emtguy56 said:


> Yeah, for sure. I've applied with "the big 5" but have yet to hear back from any of them so I'm looking for a job to kill time until then.


If you got experience try medics on the ball its a stand by company or symons ambulance.  There will probably be hirings in the fall when school starts and people go part time.  Don't feed the monster stay away from dialysis companys.


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 27, 2014)

Ha, another Medics on the Ball, thought I was the only one. But pretty sure OP is brand new and they've only been hiring 2+ years experience lately. 
To answer your question, a small dialysis company won't look bad, and any experience is valuable when you're starting out. 
But don't get comfortable there. Don't stop looking for a better job because you've got a steady paycheck now. IFT companies, especially the shady ones, will always pay better than 911 because that's the only way to get and keep employees. If you got into this for the money, you sir made a minor error in calculations. 
But take what you can get, get your feet wet, just keep making linear progress.
I'll keep pushing it because we really need people, but Liberty Ambulance in Ridgecrest is a great place to get experience and we're currently hiring EMTs.


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## emtguy56 (Jul 27, 2014)

gonefishing said:


> If you got experience try medics on the ball its a stand by company or symons ambulance.  There will probably be hirings in the fall when school starts and people go part time.  Don't feed the monster stay away from dialysis companys.



I don't have any experience, and that's the problem. I'm applying everywhere I can and have submitted over 20 applications this week.


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## Chris07 (Jul 27, 2014)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> IFT companies, especially the shady ones, will always pay better than 911 because that's the only way to get and keep employees.



Not true at all. I'm making over $3 more an hour at a 911 company than I did running dialysis calls for an IFT company.


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## emtguy56 (Jul 27, 2014)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> Ha, another Medics on the Ball, thought I was the only one. But pretty sure OP is brand new and they've only been hiring 2+ years experience lately.
> To answer your question, a small dialysis company won't look bad, and any experience is valuable when you're starting out.
> But don't get comfortable there. Don't stop looking for a better job because you've got a steady paycheck now. IFT companies, especially the shady ones, will always pay better than 911 because that's the only way to get and keep employees. If you got into this for the money, you sir made a minor error in calculations.
> But take what you can get, get your feet wet, just keep making linear progress.
> I'll keep pushing it because we really need people, but Liberty Ambulance in Ridgecrest is a great place to get experience and we're currently hiring EMTs.



That's what I'm thinking. Work dialysis ONLY while I'm looking into securing a better job. I thought it would be a good way to get experience with patients, filling out paperwork and working with other EMT's until something better comes along. I sent an email for an application to the address for Liberty you mentioned on your thread, haven't heard anything back yet. Is there a website I can apply on/ a number I can call?


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 27, 2014)

Chris07 said:


> Not true at all. I'm making over $3 more an hour at a 911 company than I did running dialysis calls for an IFT company.



Fair enough. But that really depends on the area. Mccormick will pay you 9/hr, Care will pay 10.50 I believe, AMR offered me 10.50 when I applied. I made 11 at my first dialysis place, 13 at another, 11 at another, and now I'm making 9/hr running 911 in a great system.

OP, no website, this is small town. But they'll get back to you before too long. How long has it been since you put in your apps everywhere. Give it a week, call and follow up, give it a week, rinse and repeat. That approach works for just about anywhere.


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## emtguy56 (Jul 27, 2014)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> Fair enough. But that really depends on the area. Mccormick will pay you 9/hr, Care will pay 10.50 I believe, AMR offered me 10.50 when I applied. I made 11 at my first dialysis place, 13 at another, 11 at another, and now I'm making 9/hr running 911 in a great system.
> 
> OP, no website, this is small town. But they'll get back to you before too long. How long has it been since you put in your apps everywhere. Give it a week, call and follow up, give it a week, rinse and repeat. That approach works for just about anywhere.



It's been almost a week. I'll start making follow up phone calls early this week. I'm applying for Hall currently and this is a posted requirement "Valid & current Kern County Licensure as an Emergency Medical Technician". Hos does one get this?


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 27, 2014)

That's out of date. Kern county recognizes the CA state card. Give them a call and confirm if you'd like. The only county specific licensure in Kern is for Paramedics. 
I've worked in Kern county for almost a year, with my CA state card. The only people who have county EMT cards are the ones who've been around since before that was changed.


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## BASICallyEMT (Jul 27, 2014)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> Fair enough. But that really depends on the area. Mccormick will pay you 9/hr, Care will pay 10.50 I believe, AMR offered me 10.50 when I applied. I made 11 at my first dialysis place, 13 at another, 11 at another, and now I'm making 9/hr running 911 in a great system.
> 
> OP, no website, this is small town. But they'll get back to you before too long. How long has it been since you put in your apps everywhere. Give it a week, call and follow up, give it a week, rinse and repeat. That approach works for just about anywhere.



I get paid more now running at a 911 than I did doing IFT in LA.. But, unlike LA its hard to get OT. Instead of 120 hours a paycheck its more like 90.


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## emtguy56 (Jul 27, 2014)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> That's out of date. Kern county recognizes the CA state card. Give them a call and confirm if you'd like. The only county specific licensure in Kern is for Paramedics.
> I've worked in Kern county for almost a year, with my CA state card. The only people who have county EMT cards are the ones who've been around since before that was changed.



Thanks, good to know. Do you live near/in Kern County or commute? Are there many people commuting from LA?


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## LACoGurneyjockey (Jul 27, 2014)

BASICallyEMT said:


> I get paid more now running at a 911 than I did doing IFT in LA.. But, unlike LA its hard to get OT. Instead of 120 hours a paycheck its more like 90.



90 hours a paycheck? Try 90 hours a week. 
OP, I commuted from north hollywood for a few months, then found out I really liked small town country a whole lot better than LA and moved up here. The commute is doable, but it starts to wear on you before too long.


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## NPO (Jul 30, 2014)

emtguy56 said:


> Thanks, good to know. Do you live near/in Kern County or commute? Are there many people commuting from LA?


I work in Kern county. There are many people commuting. One coworker comes from Riverside county on the grayhound. $8/one way and has a place to stay here for 4 days while he works. Not bad.


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## NPO (Jul 30, 2014)

LACoGurneyjockey said:


> That's out of date. Kern county recognizes the CA state card. Give them a call and confirm if you'd like. The only county specific licensure in Kern is for Paramedics.
> I've worked in Kern county for almost a year, with my CA state card. The only people who have county EMT cards are the ones who've been around since before that was changed.


That's incorrect. To get hired you only need your state (and any additional certs required by the company like ACLS, etc).
Once you are hired you will need to get a county card sponsored by your employer. I just did this a few months ago. If you get hired by hall they drive you over help with all the paperwork etc. Its about $50 if I recall. They don't pay for it directly but the other benefits make it worth it.


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