AMR cant staff, fire/ sheriff transport

Thinking about it more: Indiana was that way when I worked there, but it was different when it was 10 minute transports.
Now FT is 42 miles gate to closest hospital. PT is 110 miles to closest hospital; but it may be 2 hours to the patient, 2 hours back to town (fuel) then 110 miles to the closest hospital. So we have more leeway on saying No we aren't transporting you.
 
It’s about to get a lot worse. Riverside AMR is really short on medics right now. I’m working BLS there and we’ve been getting sent to a lot of 911 calls. I was just at our mandatory meeting today and since the vaccine was mandated I’m pretty sure we’re going to lose even more staff.
 
Mitchellmvhs said:
It’s about to get a lot worse. Riverside AMR is really short on medics right now. I’m working BLS there and we’ve been getting sent to a lot of 911 calls. I was just at our mandatory meeting today and since the vaccine was mandated I’m pretty sure we’re going to lose even more staff.
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Maybe it will push the county of Riverside to stop half-assing their EMD system and use it properly. Low level calls get a code 2 response by a BLS unit only instead of ALS everything.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
Maybe it will push the county of Riverside to stop half-assing their EMD system and use it properly. Low level calls get a code 2 response by a BLS unit only instead of ALS everything.
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So our county has done this for years, and has even recently gone as far as not responding to some Omega’s.

From what I’ve seen/ heard, it’s hardly been helpful. Like a Band-Aid on a large lac.
 
VentMonkey said:
So our county has done this for years, and has even recently gone as far as not responding to some Omega’s.

From what I’ve seen/ heard, it’s hardly been helpful. Like a Band-Aid on a large lac.
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Yeah but when you are sending an ALS engine and ALS ambulance to every single 911 call when there is a shortage of medics on both the fire side and on the ambulance side is going to cause issues with availability of units.

Doing that would also mean AMR would have to retrain pretty much all of their BLS staff because all they really know are 5150 transfers.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
Yeah but when you are sending an ALS engine and ALS ambulance to every single 911 call when there is a shortage of medics on both the fire side and on the ambulance side is going to cause issues with availability of units.

Doing that would also mean AMR would have to retrain pretty much all of their BLS staff because all they really know are 5150 transfers.
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I understand that, but we’re experiencing the same exact issues with what you’ve suggested. And staffing shortages are indeed on all sides.

I’d agree that most of our BLS EMT’s have zero clue how much experience they are gaining except perhaps in hindsight.
 
ETA: Oh, and guess who gets to run low level calls when BLS isn’t available to run them:)…
 
DesertMedic66 said:
Maybe it will push the county of Riverside to stop half-assing their EMD system and use it properly. Low level calls get a code 2 response by a BLS unit only instead of ALS everything.
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Our leadership doesn’t seem to mind ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Well from back in the day this exact thing happened in Orange County which led Amr to lose it the contracts there. It happened to be a full arrest in Fullerton and which a 45 minute eta was given so the fire engine transported the patient and they expired.

Currently in San Diego they/Amr are consistently going -x highest I’ve heard is -7 heard it over their radios and I asked wtf is -x mean, 7 911 calls pending an ambulance dispatch, but not available units) I know mercy in San Diego is having to back up city and so is Chula Vista’s new transport units.

As far as other ambulance services backing up in la county, i just recently spoke to some old colleagues at care/falck and they’re so extremely short staffed, one cct unit left for the whole company, emt’s won’t stay there, calling out consistently, they’re running the crews their whole 24’s basically if not posting out of Station the entire time.

My company downed 4 als 24r 911 units yesterday cause we are so short on medics, a lot have gone to falck as they are offering substantially higher pay and large sign on bonuses
 
DesertMedic66 said:
That explains why we have been going down to SD to fly patients 10 miles.
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Yeah I was talking to one of the nurses/operations managers that I keep in touch with, he said it’s been pretty bad.

To top it off they’re making the one cct unit in service run non stop fire/911 calls, so they’re pretty much unavailable to really operate as a cct unit

You fly with mercy?
 
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CbrMonster said:
Yeah I was talking to one of the nurses/operations managers that I keep in touch with, he said it’s been pretty bad.

To top it off they’re making the one cct unit in service run non stop fire/911 calls, so they’re pretty much unavailable to really operate as a cct unit

You fly with mercy?
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Yes sir
 
It's only going to get worse friends. With more ER and ICUs poaching paramedics to help with patients and flight services losing clinicians left and right- no one in their right mind is going to work ground base IFT/back up 911 for well below living wages. It was bad back in the early 2000s when we didn't have a choice. Things changed, and these private ambulance services are in for a reckoning. FD here is so mad at AMR they are considering an AO program possibly going to rotating staffing ALS ambulances. I know several municipalities in southern California went to that model years back- how are they going?

Also- why did LACoFD not ask LAcityFD for mutual aid? they have their 800s they can send.
 
MedicJon88 said:
It's only going to get worse friends. With more ER and ICUs poaching paramedics to help with patients and flight services losing clinicians left and right- no one in their right mind is going to work ground base IFT/back up 911 for well below living wages. It was bad back in the early 2000s when we didn't have a choice. Things changed, and these private ambulance services are in for a reckoning. FD here is so mad at AMR they are considering an AO program possibly going to rotating staffing ALS ambulances. I know several municipalities in southern California went to that model years back- how are they going?

Also- why did LACoFD not ask LAcityFD for mutual aid? they have their 800s they can send.
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I’m sure la city doesn’t have the units to spare, they’re an extremely busy agency.
 
MedicJon88 said:
It's only going to get worse friends. With more ER and ICUs poaching paramedics to help with patients and flight services losing clinicians left and right- no one in their right mind is going to work ground base IFT/back up 911 for well below living wages. It was bad back in the early 2000s when we didn't have a choice. Things changed, and these private ambulance services are in for a reckoning. FD here is so mad at AMR they are considering an AO program possibly going to rotating staffing ALS ambulances. I know several municipalities in southern California went to that model years back- how are they going?

Also- why did LACoFD not ask LAcityFD for mutual aid? they have their 800s they can send.
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AO medic programs are a mixed bag. They tend to have high turnover rates, because a lot of depts expect you play the probie role without the pay or benefits of being a Probationary FF. If the position is directly promotable into suppression they tend to be slightly more successful, though force hires tend be much worse at the single role level.
 
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