Privatized EMS in Placentia CA

jgmedic

Fire Truck Driver
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203
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The first time a FF picked up my bags and walked them back to my rig I almost lost it. Coming from OC/LA, it was such a culture shock, in a good way.
 

RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
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The first time a FF picked up my bags and walked them back to my rig I almost lost it. Coming from OC/LA, it was such a culture shock, in a good way.
Where at?
 

DesertMedic66

Forum Troll
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The first time a FF picked up my bags and walked them back to my rig I almost lost it. Coming from OC/LA, it was such a culture shock, in a good way.
I worked with a female partner who loved to flirt with the firefighters. I never had to carry a bag or lift anything when I was working with her. Lift with your firefighters not your back.
 

jgmedic

Fire Truck Driver
785
203
43
Bakersfield. No female partners required. They’re typically genuinely helpful.

Yup BFD and KCFD both. When I left for AMR Hemet, HFD used to do it too, and even some CDF crews, especially if they saw my partner and I were busy. Even now, my FD transports, and as the Engineer, I try to get the box boys' bags and as much of the PCR as I can before they leave. All my experience let me know exactly who I didnt want to be.
 

wirk242

Forum Probie
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7
3
Ive have personally responded to a scene with a Lynch rig on scene and the OCFA engine elected to wait for us(Care), anyone else see a problem here???

That's how they get paid homie. That's how those companies makes money.

I have been dispatched to call, get cancelled because it's in AMRs area and pass them 5 mins later
going the opposite way.

Policies are policies.

BTW not a ocfa apologist and have no interest working for them. Just seeing alot of hate on both sides. Public safety is not a team sport.
 

jgmedic

Fire Truck Driver
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203
43
Bull. OCFA can and has transported in other rigs multiple times. That is such a weak argument. "I was just foilowing orders". Having been a private EMT, medic, and in the fire service for quite a while now, OC/LA is the only place that really functions like that. You're absolutely right it's not a team sport, and that's exactly why this FC messed up. He put politics over pt care and there is no place for that.
 

Bullets

Forum Knucklehead
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Autovent 3000
How bad could it be...*googles* MI DIOS!


Soooo, they had to wait for a ambulance to respond to a call in their own operating area. Lynch doesn't do 911 transport in placentia, emergency does. If anything this is emergencys fault for taking 30 mins to get on scene.

I don't know OCs system but maybe it was a code 2 response for emergency. I doubt this pt was circling the drain if the SNF didn't even call 911.

There are operating areas for a reason. If not, ok popwhat's to stop Lynch from dispatching their own bls boxes to calls and snake transports from emergency if they are not on scene by the time they are ready to transport.
The facility called their contracted IFT for a transport. Those 2 EMTs arrived and determined this patient needed ALS care and requested them. ALS showed up and refused to get in the BLS transport unit already on scene and requested a different BLS unit to respond and transport.

If i did that as a paramedic i would expect to be fired. If i was the treating EMT youd be hard pressed to have me wait around to turn over that patient to another BLS unit
 

wirk242

Forum Probie
29
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All my experience let me know exactly who I didnt want to be.

Exactly, there are crappy medic everywhere, both in the public side and the private side. You wake up every morning and determine who you are going to be. Your patch doesn't matter.
 

jgmedic

Fire Truck Driver
785
203
43
Exactly, there are crappy medic everywhere, both in the public side and the private side. You wake up every morning and determine who you are going to be. Your patch doesn't matter.
I 100% agree and I never said it did. In fact, I'm arguing the same point. But you have to agree that certain systems/agencies celebrate or reward mediocrity and big egos. Unfortunately a lot of them are in the LA/OC area
 

DesertMedic66

Forum Troll
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I 100% agree and I never said it did. In fact, I'm arguing the same point. But you have to agree that certain systems/agencies celebrate or reward mediocrity and big egos. Unfortunately a lot of them are in the LA/OC area
Also this. I have seen great ambulance medics go the fire route and because of the station/department they have turned into a crappy medic.
 

wirk242

Forum Probie
29
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Bull. OCFA can and has transported in other rigs multiple times. That is such a weak argument. "I was just foilowing orders". Having been a private EMT, medic, and in the fire service for quite a while now, OC/LA is the only place that really functions like that. You're absolutely right it's not a team sport, and that's exactly why this FC messed up. He put politics over pt care and there is no place for that.

I don't know their policies. I have worked in adjacent counties to OC and have worked for multiple privates as a EMT and as a medic and for multiple municipal agencies as both pump medic and box medic.

What is their policy for utilizing a non dispatched piece of equipment? Was this policy violated? What was the circumstances regarding this patient? Did this patient actually meet 'major trauma' criteria?

I know in every system I have worked in, if I transported in a piece of equipment that was not dispatched to the call, county ems would be inquisitive.
 

PotatoMedic

Has no idea what I'm doing.
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I don't know their policies. I have worked in adjacent counties to OC and have worked for multiple privates as a EMT and as a medic and for multiple municipal agencies as both pump medic and box medic.

What is their policy for utilizing a non dispatched piece of equipment? Was this policy violated? What was the circumstances regarding this patient? Did this patient actually meet 'major trauma' criteria?

I know in every system I have worked in, if I transported in a piece of equipment that was not dispatched to the call, county ems would be inquisitive.
So what if the same situation occured but the patient was having an MI or an acute CVA? Would you wait for the "approved" bls box to show up, or would you take the exact same box, that has the exact same blessing from the county EMS authority just with a different logo, and get the patient to the care they need?
 

Medic496

Show strength when weak, and humility when strong
59
4
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Wow, just wow. OCFA fire captain delayed the transport of an elderly patient with a head wound because he didn’t want Lynch handling the transport and instead had emergency ambulance dispatched Code 3 as they were 30 minutes away.
The Captain, who may or may not have been a medic is making medical transport decisions? I wonder if he was primary care for this patient or just being the guy in charge with the red hat? Delaying transport due to not liking the currently present and licensed BLS ambulance provider is gross negligence. Get that idiots P-card number if he has one, and the State EMS Authority should investigate since they issued his license. He better have his OCEMS Paramedic accreditation in good order, I've heard some of the OCFA red hat medics aren't OCEMS accredited any longer but still get the paramedics "adjustment".
 
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DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
6,196
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Soooo, they had to wait for a ambulance to respond to a call in their own operating area. Lynch doesn't do 911 transport in placentia, emergency does. If anything this is emergencys fault for taking 30 mins to get on scene.
I'm inclined to agree. this action was 100% about politics and contracts, and had 0 to do with what was in the best interest of the patient.
I don't know OCs system but maybe it was a code 2 response for emergency. I doubt this pt was circling the drain if the SNF didn't even call 911.
the real issue is Lynch waited on scene, vs identifying they had a sick patient and transporting to the trauma center. and SNF will call their IFT provider all to often, when they should have called 911. it's not a Ca specific issue.
There are operating areas for a reason. If not, ok popwhat's to stop Lynch from dispatching their own bls boxes to calls and snake transports from emergency if they are not on scene by the time they are ready to transport.
Also known as daily occurrences in NYC....
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
6,196
2,052
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So what if the same situation occured but the patient was having an MI or an acute CVA? Would you wait for the "approved" bls box to show up, or would you take the exact same box, that has the exact same blessing from the county EMS authority just with a different logo, and get the patient to the care they need?
Just to play devil's advocate:

Would your defend the captain who ordered the paramedic to transport in an unapproved by county vehicle, because the patient needed it? who violated the FD policy regarding the permitted EMS provider for the area?

going one step further, so if Lynch were to start listening to the scanner and beating the contracting 911 provider to the scene, would it be ok if they just transported the patients? or would you delay transport again until the contracted provider arrived?

Personally, I do think that OCFA was wrong, and if there is an ambulance present, and it was requested by the originating facility, than it's better to err on the side of the patient and transport and write and incident report explaining why you deviated from normal SOPs, vs delaying patient care on a potentially sick patient. but that's just me.

The whole situation reaks of dirty politics. PPD accuses OCFA of misconduct.... OCFA's response is that PPD was acting with misconduct when they crashed a patrol vehicle responding to a structure fire. PFD says OCFA provides 3 paramedics.... OCFA saying that's absurd, they know we provider 4 paramedics, and if they can't get that right, everything else they claim is a flatout lie. And then the OCFA told a PPD cop do take vitals on a patient, since they are going to be doing it anyway. the OCFA union and PPD unions are both throwing accusations, and it's, quite simply embarrassing. Not how so called professionals should be acting.
 

Generic

Forum Crew Member
49
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8
Wow, just wow. OCFA fire captain delayed the transport of an elderly patient with a head wound because he didn’t want Lynch handling the transport and instead had emergency ambulance dispatched Code 3 as they were 30 minutes away.

Where does it say there was a 30 minute ETA?
 
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