Desert Ambulance 2019

wtferick

Forum Captain
478
101
43
Any recent employees from Desert Ambulance that may elaborate some information? Such as shifts, and call volume.

Tired of OC/LA EMS and Hall is just a tad bit to far at the moment.
 

Rano Pano

Forum Lieutenant
239
89
28
I’ve never worked for Desert Ambulance, but I have worked for Hall. That being said I have ran calls with Desert Ambulance, and spoken to a few of their employees.
Shifts are 48’s & Barstow is a busy city.
The pay is low, and from what I’ve heard management doesn’t have the best reputation. A great place to gain experience though. Bakersfield may be far, but the company treats their employees better then most. Unless you have commitments tying you SoCal I recommend rethinking writing them off.

Also, you have so much outside of OC/LA why did you mention only those two companies? AMR in Riverside & ICEMA. MBA & SLO both have a good reputation.
Good Luck!
 
OP
OP
wtferick

wtferick

Forum Captain
478
101
43
I’ve never worked for Desert Ambulance, but I have worked for Hall. That being said I have ran calls with Desert Ambulance, and spoken to a few of their employees.
Shifts are 48’s & Barstow is a busy city.
The pay is low, and from what I’ve heard management doesn’t have the best reputation. A great place to gain experience though. Bakersfield may be far, but the company treats their employees better then most. Unless you have commitments tying you SoCal I recommend rethinking writing them off.

Also, you have so much outside of OC/LA why did you mention only those two companies? AMR in Riverside & ICEMA. MBA & SLO both have a good reputation.
Good Luck!
AMR. No thanks haha. SLO is further than hall and MBA was another option I was looking in to. Thanks for the Desert info though!
 

RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
4,997
1,461
113
How is Hall?
 

CbrMonster

Forum Lieutenant
167
57
28
I’ve never worked for Desert Ambulance, but I have worked for Hall. That being said I have ran calls with Desert Ambulance, and spoken to a few of their employees.
Shifts are 48’s & Barstow is a busy city.
The pay is low, and from what I’ve heard management doesn’t have the best reputation. A great place to gain experience though. Bakersfield may be far, but the company treats their employees better then most. Unless you have commitments tying you SoCal I recommend rethinking writing them off.

Also, you have so much outside of OC/LA why did you mention only those two companies? AMR in Riverside & ICEMA. MBA & SLO both have a good reputation.
Good Luck!
I know rocket has already asked, but how is Hall’s shifts? I know they have a lot of 24’s and do 12’s as well right?
 

VentMonkey

Family Guy
5,729
5,043
113
Hall is all 12's in Metro Bako. East Kern is on 48s, West Kern on a Kelly.
Incorrect, Metro Bakersfield shifts also include 8 and 10-hour shifts. East and West Kern are on the same Kern Co. Fire 48-hour schedule. The only WK station on City Fire's Kelly is Arvin, which as a 24, is hanging on by a thread. The airship is also on City Fire's Kelly.
 
Last edited:

Rano Pano

Forum Lieutenant
239
89
28
How is Hall?

I don't know if I can tell you anything that you probably don't know from the many preexisting threads. Also, I'm not sure how it would translate for someone with experience in TX. Hall is a private, but they are one of the few that have their company together. It's been the nicest place I've worked as far as equipment, and benefits go. The pay is better than most, and its a busy system. The "Hall culture" is a real thing. Coworkers were great, but I felt a couple of Sups were power hungry (couldn't tell you if they are even still there). I had a positive experience, but where I was at in my personal life didn't make staying in Bako a reality. If your serious about moving back to CA I think it definitely deserves to be looked at. At the end of the day though private EMS is private EMS.
 

Rano Pano

Forum Lieutenant
239
89
28
AMR. No thanks haha. SLO is further than hall and MBA was another option I was looking in to. Thanks for the Desert info though!

No problem.
Since your committed to the SoCal area I think it's important to mention I haven't heard of a company here that doesn't have the "Cons" that AMR brings - ESPECIALLY Desert Ambulance. The reality is AMR covers every county down here except Imperial. This isn't a push for AMR or denying the horror stories you've heard, but if you're coming from OC/LA anywhere is going to be a upgrade.
 

DesertMedic66

Forum Troll
11,268
3,450
113
No problem.
Since your committed to the SoCal area I think it's important to mention I haven't heard of a company here that doesn't have the "Cons" that AMR brings - ESPECIALLY Desert Ambulance. The reality is AMR covers every county down here except Imperial. This isn't a push for AMR or denying the horror stories you've heard, but if you're coming from OC/LA anywhere is going to be a upgrade.
Actually AMR San Diego is currently covering parts of Imperial where Gold Cross ambulance used to operate.
 

DesertMedic66

Forum Troll
11,268
3,450
113
I totally forgot Gold Cross just recently shut down, right? Good to know.
Correct. AMR San Diego is currently operating in their old area until a new contract with a new ambulance company is signed.

No company has been able to survive down there. There have been at least 5 companies all down there in the past 10 years (West Shores, Gold Cross, MBA, Mission, etc). They all either go bankrupt and close shop or pull out of the contract extremely quick.
 
OP
OP
wtferick

wtferick

Forum Captain
478
101
43
No problem.
Since your committed to the SoCal area I think it's important to mention I haven't heard of a company here that doesn't have the "Cons" that AMR brings - ESPECIALLY Desert Ambulance. The reality is AMR covers every county down here except Imperial. This isn't a push for AMR or denying the horror stories you've heard, but if you're coming from OC/LA anywhere is going to be a upgrade.
No no I agree! Just looking for something that has an extremely convenient Schedule while I build up my personal business. Bakersfield does also have one of my suppliers though....

Thanks for the reply any ways! I'll always keep Hall is a choice.
 
1,199
62
48
Ventura and Santa Barbara never get any love :(
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
7,844
2,794
113
Ventura and Santa Barbara never get any love :(
Can you live anywhere near Santa Barbara on just an AMR medic pay check? I'd be in to that if I ever got sick of snow.
 
1,199
62
48
Can you live anywhere near Santa Barbara on just an AMR medic pay check? I'd be in to that if I ever got sick of snow.

While it's not extravagant, yes you can. Living and working by the beach is pretty awesome. It's not unheard of for private medics to be making six figures around these areas.

Just the fact that most of the fire departments are BLS was the biggest selling point for me.

If anyone is curious, I've posted about Santa Barbara County in the past in great detail.

It's still California's best kept EMS secret.
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
7,844
2,794
113
While it's not extravagant, yes you can. Living and working by the beach is pretty awesome. It's not unheard of for private medics to be making six figures around these areas.

Just the fact that most of the fire departments are BLS was the biggest selling point for me.

If anyone is curious, I've posted about Santa Barbara County in the past in great detail.

It's still California's best kept EMS secret.
The guidelines also look pretty decent. Only been there once but was immediately enamored.
 
1,199
62
48
The guidelines also look pretty decent. Only been there once but was immediately enamored.

And they keep expanding.

Check out their protocols. Another thing unique to Santa Barbara County is the ability for Paramedics to deem certain 911 calls BLS and have their EMT partner run the call. While that might be something other states do, it's virtually unheard of in Southern California.
 
Top