# BOSTON EMS



## emaloochie (Jul 17, 2017)

I am looking to relocate to Boston as an AEMT, and I was wondering if anyone has any insight on the best ambulances to work for out there. I am pretty flexible in location, I am looking towards the surrounding cities Brookline, Newton, Cambridge, Somerville etc. I know they have an AMR out there, but I wasn't sure the best route to go. Thanks!


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## hometownmedic5 (Jul 17, 2017)

First off, let me say that almost nobody in eastern(metropolitan) Massachusetts uses A's. My company(Brewster) sort of does and sort of doesn't. We will occasionally staff a P/I truck based on necessity, but never B/I; so you're functioning as basically a paramedics driver and assistant; and thats about the best deal you're going to get east of I-495.

AMR is AMR and I doubt there's too much difference between AMR Colorado and AMR Mass. You either fit in with mega corporate EMS or you don't. I did not. AMR is also step by step withdrawing from eastern MA, so if you choose to work for them, know that your days are likely numbered. 

Brookline is serviced by Fallon ambulance with one dedicated P/P truck and is as close to a closed system as it gets without making it official. 

Cambridge is a mix of city and private. Cambridge fire works in concert with ProEMS. They are a decent outfit to work for, but Cambridge is a unique animal. You either dig the vibes or you don't.

Somerville, and most of the rest of the non municipal North Shore towns, are serviced by Cataldo/Atlantic EMS. Not a bad outfit as privates go. 

If you're actually moving to Boston proper(as in within the city limits) and you want a high volume 911 job, you can try out for Boston EMS. Residency is a requirement, they(usually) run two academies a year, selection is not like hiring on at a private, and you will do a million calls a shift. Turn over is high, gripes are prevalent, and you will only work as a basic(to the best of my knowledge).


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## emaloochie (Jul 17, 2017)

Thanks for the feedback @hometownmedic5. That was actually very helpful. I'm still looking for that good fit and I have yet to find an area that I want to settle down in.


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## EpiEMS (Jul 18, 2017)

hometownmedic5 said:


> If you're actually moving to Boston proper(as in within the city limits) and you want a high volume 911 job, you can try out for Boston EMS. Residency is a requirement, they(usually) run two academies a year, selection is not like hiring on at a private, and you will do a million calls a shift. Turn over is high, gripes are prevalent, and you will only work as a basic(to the best of my knowledge).



The salaries do seem relatively high, though, for EMS ($54k starting) - and I think they are staffing AEMT units...but they are all actually paramedics.


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## hometownmedic5 (Jul 18, 2017)

EpiEMS said:


> The salaries do seem relatively high, though, for EMS ($54k starting) - and I think they are staffing AEMT units...but they are all actually paramedics.



The wages are a compensating differential. Yes, they pay in the low twenties(after you're pinned) for BLS, which is high anywhere; but as I said residency is a requirement. Every single aspect of your life will be more expensive. Rent in the city is astronomical, car insurance can easily be double suburban rates if you have the wrong address, even a gallon of milk is going to cost you more. So yeah, they pay you more per hour, but most of the difference is going to be eaten up by the cost of living increase. 

I have never heard of BEMS running anything but B/B and P/P units. It's true a lot of the "basics" at BEMS are actually medics hoping they can hang on long enough to promote to ALS(which takes several years on average), but officially they can only work as basics. That being said, I dont work there and dont have the boots on the ground knowledge to say for sure; hence the "to the best of my knowledge" trap door.


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## VentMonkey (Jul 18, 2017)

@hometownmedic5 do any of the aforementioned services (excluding BEMS) provide non-transporting ALS intercept services?


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## hometownmedic5 (Jul 18, 2017)

Pro does, but only in one location(Emerson hospital catchment area).

None of the rest of the list runs a real non transport program. Supervisors can function as such, but thats not the same. Armstrong(which operates in the North Shore area), runs true non transporting ALS with a number of BLS transporting fire depts in that area. Two hospital systems in the general Boston area, Lowell and Lawrence General Hospitals run true non transport services for the surrounding communities; but calling them "boston area" is really stretching the definition.

Non transport isn't nearly as big a thing around here as it should be. It sure used to be. Back in the day, paramedics ran out of several hospitals in the area, covering most of region. Most of these programs were top notch; but were phased out when more and more Fire departments decided to stop leaving money on the table and take over the ambulance. Personally, I think we were better served in times past, but that's subjective.


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## wtferick (Jul 18, 2017)

This Thread has made me start watching this show on YouTube :]


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## VentMonkey (Jul 18, 2017)

wtferick said:


> This Thread has made me start watching this show on YouTube :]


The BEMS TV show? I think (like most of these shows) it made them look like a less than desirable EMS system and service to work for.

It's still a wicked cool accent though.


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## Tigger (Jul 18, 2017)

hometownmedic5 said:


> Pro does, but only in one location(Emerson hospital catchment area).
> 
> None of the rest of the list runs a real non transport program. Supervisors can function as such, but thats not the same. Armstrong(which operates in the North Shore area), runs true non transporting ALS with a number of BLS transporting fire depts in that area. Two hospital systems in the general Boston area, Lowell and Lawrence General Hospitals run true non transport services for the surrounding communities; but calling them "boston area" is really stretching the definition.
> 
> Non transport isn't nearly as big a thing around here as it should be. It sure used to be. Back in the day, paramedics ran out of several hospitals in the area, covering most of region. Most of these programs were top notch; but were phased out when more and more Fire departments decided to stop leaving money on the table and take over the ambulance. Personally, I think we were better served in times past, but that's subjective.


Does South Shore still run ALS? When I was at Brewster in 2011 we'd occasionally get SSH ALS ambulances to intercept us since at that time there was one medic truck in Boston and the rest in Middleboro.


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## hometownmedic5 (Jul 18, 2017)

Tigger said:


> Does South Shore still run ALS? When I was at Brewster in 2011 we'd occasionally get SSH ALS ambulances to intercept us since at that time there was one medic truck in Boston and the rest in Middleboro.



SSH has an ambulance service, but it's all transport. The days of SSH non transport fly car services are well behind us. Same with Norwood, Morton, Jordan and so on.


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## TransportJockey (Jul 18, 2017)

wtferick said:


> This Thread has made me start watching this show on YouTube :]


It's also on Hulu. And made me never want to get hurt in Boston


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## wtferick (Jul 18, 2017)

TransportJockey said:


> It's also on Hulu. And made me never want to get hurt in Boston


Haha! You guys need to get one started for Hall!


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## TransportJockey (Jul 18, 2017)

wtferick said:


> Haha! You guys need to get one started for Hall!


I'll leave that up to the people who aren't halfway across the country from the Cult lol. I know there's a few TX agencies that have been approached by the production company that did NightWatch about doing a show set here in the best state


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## VentMonkey (Jul 18, 2017)

TransportJockey said:


> there's a few TX agencies that have been approached by the production company that did NightWatch about doing a show set here in the best state...*that doesn't have non-transport ALS intercepts*


Fixed it.


wtferick said:


> Haha! You guys need to get one started for Hall!


Noooo thank you. The day they approach this place for that show is the day I am far removed from any metro overtime. We have enough "Nightwatch" types who work, well, nights.

3 words- one big headache.


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## wtferick (Jul 18, 2017)

TransportJockey said:


> I'll leave that up to the people who aren't halfway across the country from the Cult lol. I know there's a few TX agencies that have been approached by the production company that did NightWatch about doing a show set here in the best state


Same here in Orange County CA  but our Fire Department denied it haha


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## wtferick (Jul 18, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> Fixed it.
> 
> Noooo thank you. The day they approach this place for that show is the day I am far removed from any metro overtime. We have enough "Nightwatch" types who work, well nights.
> 
> 3 words- one big headache.


I'm just a big fan of watching how certain agencies work!


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## VentMonkey (Jul 18, 2017)

wtferick said:


> I'm just a big fan of watching how certain agencies work!


Right, but it's only a handful of employees. Chopped into an hour of adrenaline-filled "entertainment". This hardly displays how most truly successful agencies work, let alone how they're successful, and respected.


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## wtferick (Jul 18, 2017)

VentMonkey said:


> Right, but it's only a handful of employees. Chopped into an hour of adrenaline-filled "entertainment". This hardly displays how most truly successful agencies work, let alone how they're successful, and respected.


Very true..


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## VentMonkey (Jul 18, 2017)

wtferick said:


> Very true..


They also appear to be hand-picked. I, myself, doubt I have a flare for the dramatic as many of these providers on these shows seem to possess.

I feel like a predominant amount of providers on this forum who take their craft seriously would feel the same. Alas, the infamous and unfortunate "great EMS divide"...

Anyhow, back to MA EMS agencies, yes?


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## agregularguy (Jul 18, 2017)

hometownmedic5 said:


> The wages are a compensating differential. Yes, they pay in the low twenties(after you're pinned) for BLS, which is high anywhere; but as I said residency is a requirement. Every single aspect of your life will be more expensive. Rent in the city is astronomical, car insurance can easily be double suburban rates if you have the wrong address, even a gallon of milk is going to cost you more. So yeah, they pay you more per hour, but most of the difference is going to be eaten up by the cost of living increase.
> 
> I have never heard of BEMS running anything but B/B and P/P units. It's true a lot of the "basics" at BEMS are actually medics hoping they can hang on long enough to promote to ALS(which takes several years on average), but officially they can only work as basics. That being said, I dont work there and dont have the boots on the ground knowledge to say for sure; hence the "to the best of my knowledge" trap door.



Just to hammer home how much more expensive stuff is there, when I flew back into Boston a few weeks ago for a weekend to see my friends/old coworkers I happened to pass by a new looking apartment complex. It looked pretty similar to the one I'm currently in down south, so I figured I'd check it out. For a 1 bed you're STARTING at 2700. While this one apartment complex isn't necessarily 100% representative of all the other housing prices in the city, it does highlight just how pricey that city is. Then not to mention the food, insurance, etc aspects of living in a major city that are higher as well. 
Moral of the story is, just because a job's pay looks good on paper.. doesn't always mean it is.


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## Tigger (Jul 18, 2017)

hometownmedic5 said:


> SSH has an ambulance service, but it's all transport. The days of SSH non transport fly car services are well behind us. Same with Norwood, Morton, Jordan and so on.


They would send one of their ALS trucks to back us up on emergent facility calls every now and again. Not sure why we weren't getting the fire department, must have been a Brewster thing.


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## MarshalFoch (Jul 21, 2017)

Tigger said:


> They would send one of their ALS trucks to back us up on emergent facility calls every now and again. Not sure why we weren't getting the fire department, must have been a Brewster thing.



If it was in Weymouth (or Quincy/Braintree prior to 2015) it's most likely because EMS is provided by Fallon, and the two companies have a bit of a rivalry. SSH does still send units responding to emergencies now and again when available.


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## MarshalFoch (Jul 21, 2017)

Fallon (the company I work for) is currently training AEMT's, but it's not clear exactly what the payscale or deployment model they're going to go for is. Worth looking into as AEMT's are almost unheard of in Eastern MA.


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## Tigger (Jul 24, 2017)

MarshalFoch said:


> If it was in Weymouth (or Quincy/Braintree prior to 2015) it's most likely because EMS is provided by Fallon, and the two companies have a bit of a rivalry. SSH does still send units responding to emergencies now and again when available.


It was usually Linden Ponds in Hingham. Working for Brewster when they were brand new was often pretty cowboy, but we made it work and it was kinda fun.


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