AMR Santa Barbara

[geotuna93]

Hello I was wondering if anyone can give me updated information on AMR Santa Barbara. I think it would be a great place for me to work but all the information I can find on here is old. What's the pay like, what's management like, what's the relationship with fire like? What is the deal with north and south county? Is it posting or 24's. I am a basic with experience.
Thanks

 

[Amberlamps916]

Alright, let's see if I can answer a few questions for you regarding Santa Barbara. There is quite a large amount of people on here referring to Kern county as the mecca of California EMS. Seriously though, I'd rather stay away from the desert and not work amongst the most poorly educated citizens of California (actual fact, look it up).

The quality of life is much better here.

This is coming from someone who worked other parts of Socal that were extremely ghetto with high call volume and low morale. I made the decision to work here a while back and it ended up being the best thing I've ever done.

Where else in California can you live and work by the beach, with mostly BLS fire departments and absolutely zero bed delay?

1. The pay is pretty good in my opinion. You're not going to be making a million dollars but compared to the cost of living, it's reasonable.

There are two shift types, 12s and 24s. There is a night differential for the 12s.

Depending on experience, EMTs start out around $15-19 on 12s, $13-15 on 24s. Medics start around $20-25 on 12s, $16-18 on 24s.

2. Compared to other operations, management is spread relatively thin. There are six supervisors, three for North county and three for South county. There is only one operations manager and that's it when it comes to management. Also, there are no VSTs or mechanics.

3. The relationships with fire are great. It's understood that AMR is the main medical provider in the county, unlike other counties where they are seen as the redheaded-stepchild. Most departments are BLS here and the ones that are ALS aren't big headed and work well with AMR. It's also nice to train together.

4. The county is split in half. South county has the nicer areas with the beaches: Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito, Santa Barbara and Goleta.
North County has Solvang, Buellton, Lompoc, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Orcutt, Santa Maria, and Guadalupe.

You can pick up shifts in either part of the county. Seniority is county-wide as well. The two deployment areas are about an hour apart.

5. There are a total of 7 24 hour stations, 5 north and 2 south. It's pretty hard to get on a 24 as a medic due to it being highly desirable. The lowest seniority for a medic on a 24 in the south county is 10 years. It's easier for an EMT to get a 24 though. Also, there are many 12 hour cars Most of the 24s don't post and when they do, it's only when it's low levels. Almost all of the 12s post aside from one in Lompoc.

6. There are mandatories and force hires here. It's not like other AMR divisions that broen out units constantly. The county stipulates how many ambulances need to be on the road so that's why there are mandatory overtime shifts (assigned in advance when they can't find anyone to fill them). The nice thing is that these shifts are double-time and triple-time on holidays.

Also, call volume is below average in this county. There is one 24 hour station that averages 3-4 calls a month. As a result, the 24 hour stations in the north rotate every two months so their skills won't diminish.

7. The system is great. There are no MICNs. Most of the time you can talk to the physician directly. There are five hospitals and they are all base hospitals. Paramedics can have their EMT partner ride in the back on 911 calls that they deem BLS.

The county has a pit crew cpr system. They have ventilators on the ambulances as well.
Protocols are pretty good compared to LA and OC, but similar to Icema, Kern, and Riverside. Most traumas are flown by helicopter to the main trauma center in Santa Barbara.

They reimburse your meals on long distance transports.

They are in the midst of developing a CCT-Paramedic program.

Anything else, just shoot the questions this way.

 

[olaf1988]

This is super helpful info- I was wondering how does it work for part-time guys up there? I have a full-time job now, but I'm looking to jump on a rig part-time to keep up my skills, do they hire part-time or does everyone have to start full-time? What is the shift requirement? Any info would be much appreciated, thanks!

 

[FoleyArtist]

@Mufasa556

 

[Amberlamps916]

This is super helpful info- I was wondering how does it work for part-time guys up there? I have a full-time job now, but I'm looking to jump on a rig part-time to keep up my skills, do they hire part-time or does everyone have to start full-time? What is the shift requirement? Any info would be much appreciated, thanks!

They do hire part-time. If you don't have much medic experience, then you can only pick up dual medic shifts for the first year of your employment.

The part-time shift requirement is a minimum of one shift a month and 10 shifts a quarter. It's not really enforced unless you never, ever work.

 

[CTMD]

Alright, let's see if I can answer a few questions for you regarding Santa Barbara. There is quite a large amount of people on here referring to Kern county as the mecca of California EMS. Seriously though, I'd rather stay away from the desert and not work amongst the most poorly educated citizens of California (actual fact, look it up).

The quality of life is much better here.

This is coming from someone who worked other parts of Socal that were extremely ghetto with high call volume and low morale. I made the decision to work here a while back and it ended up being the best thing I've ever done.

Where else in California can you live and work by the beach, with mostly BLS fire departments and absolutely zero bed delay?

1. The pay is pretty good in my opinion. You're not going to be making a million dollars but compared to the cost of living, it's reasonable.

There are two shift types, 12s and 24s. There is a night differential for the 12s.

Depending on experience, EMTs start out around $15-19 on 12s, $13-15 on 24s. Medics start around $20-25 on 12s, $16-18 on 24s.

2. Compared to other operations, management is spread relatively thin. There are six supervisors, three for North county and three for South county. There is only one operations manager and that's it when it comes to management. Also, there are no VSTs or mechanics.

3. The relationships with fire are great. It's understood that AMR is the main medical provider in the county, unlike other counties where they are seen as the redheaded-stepchild. Most departments are BLS here and the ones that are ALS aren't big headed and work well with AMR. It's also nice to train together.

4. The county is split in half. South county has the nicer areas with the beaches: Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito, Santa Barbara and Goleta.
North County has Solvang, Buellton, Lompoc, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Orcutt, Santa Maria, and Guadalupe.

You can pick up shifts in either part of the county. Seniority is county-wide as well. The two deployment areas are about an hour apart.

5. There are a total of 7 24 hour stations, 5 north and 2 south. It's pretty hard to get on a 24 as a medic due to it being highly desirable. The lowest seniority for a medic on a 24 in the south county is 10 years. It's easier for an EMT to get a 24 though. Also, there are many 12 hour cars Most of the 24s don't post and when they do, it's only when it's low levels. Almost all of the 12s post aside from one in Lompoc.

6. There are mandatories and force hires here. It's not like other AMR divisions that broen out units constantly. The county stipulates how many ambulances need to be on the road so that's why there are mandatory overtime shifts (assigned in advance when they can't find anyone to fill them). The nice thing is that these shifts are double-time and triple-time on holidays.

Also, call volume is below average in this county. There is one 24 hour station that averages 3-4 calls a month. As a result, the 24 hour stations in the north rotate every two months so their skills won't diminish.

7. The system is great. There are no MICNs. Most of the time you can talk to the physician directly. There are five hospitals and they are all base hospitals. Paramedics can have their EMT partner ride in the back on 911 calls that they deem BLS.

The county has a pit crew cpr system. They have ventilators on the ambulances as well.
Protocols are pretty good compared to LA and OC, but similar to Icema, Kern, and Riverside. Most traumas are flown by helicopter to the main trauma center in Santa Barbara.

They reimburse your meals on long distance transports.

They are in the midst of developing a CCT-Paramedic program.

Anything else, just shoot the questions this way.

Wow thanks for such an awesome analysis of AMR SB! How hard is it to transfer into SB from another division? Is it pretty much impossible to get on a 24 as a medic transferring from a different division without putting in multiple years?
Also how is the equipment? What kind of vents do you guys use and are you in boxes or mods?
thanks

 

[aquabear]

Wow thanks for such an awesome analysis of AMR SB! How hard is it to transfer into SB from another division? Is it pretty much impossible to get on a 24 as a medic transferring from a different division without putting in multiple years?
Also how is the equipment? What kind of vents do you guys use and are you in boxes or mods?
thanks

I left there last October, but I'm pretty sure all of this information is still fairly accurate. Santa Barbara is a great operation to work for, good mix of calls, operating areas, and I never held the wall longer than 20 minutes.

If there are hiring Medic sand your current operation will release you, transferring is allowed. I'm almost positive Addrobo did it, so he could probably provide more insight into the transfer process. The likely hood of a transferring medic getting onto a permenant 24 hour spot is slim to none unless you "subsequent bid" during a shift bid. All bids are based on seniority and expect to lose all of bid seniority when you transfer based on the union contract that was in place when I left last year.

Equipment is great by AMR standards. Ford Transit and Econoline type IIs, with county mileage caps of 200k miles for front line and 250k for back ups. The only Mods are the CCT unit and NICU/PICU units. Lifepac 15s and Stryker PowerPros on every truck. When I left they had the Autovent 3000, it's pretty basic and I only used it when I had an intubated PT.

 

[CTMD]

I left there last October, but I'm pretty sure all of this information is still fairly accurate. Santa Barbara is a great operation to work for, good mix of calls, operating areas, and I never held the wall longer than 20 minutes.

If there are hiring Medic sand your current operation will release you, transferring is allowed. I'm almost positive Addrobo did it, so he could probably provide more insight into the transfer process. The likely hood of a transferring medic getting onto a permenant 24 hour spot is slim to none unless you "subsequent bid" during a shift bid. All bids are based on seniority and expect to lose all of bid seniority when you transfer based on the union contract that was in place when I left last year.

Equipment is great by AMR standards. Ford Transit and Econoline type IIs, with county mileage caps of 200k miles for front line and 250k for back ups. The only Mods are the CCT unit and NICU/PICU units. Lifepac 15s and Stryker PowerPros on every truck. When I left they had the Autovent 3000, it's pretty basic and I only used it when I had an intubated PT.

Very nice thank you for the info! I didn't think I would be able to get on a 24 but there was always a hope lol

How was the call volume/aquity? Is it a pretty sleepy division or do you still get some decent calls?

Also how long are the average transport times and how bad is the transfer scene up there?

 

[Nick15]

I just put in an app to transfer there as an emt. Does anyone know how long it can take to hear back? Would I start off part time before getting full time or do I get to choose? Lastly how are the 24 stations staffed? Is it a split rig with a medic/emt or are they all dual medics?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[aquabear]

I just put in an app to transfer there as an emt. Does anyone know how long it can take to hear back? Would I start off part time before getting full time or do I get to choose? Lastly how are the 24 stations staffed? Is it a split rig with a medic/emt or are they all dual medics?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For the most part, shifts are Medic/EMT, there are a few Medic/Medic day shifts due to overlapping schedules.

 

[CodeBru1984]

Can we bump this thread as I am also wondering about AMR Santa Barbara. My application on file with them currently says "declined/closed" as of 05/25/2017, however on 05/31/2017 their HR department emailed me asking for a hard copy of my H-6, as opposed to the copy that I had obtained via the DMV website. When I expressed my interesting in seeking employment with them, the HR representative stated that as soon as she knew the testing dates, she'd let me know. I don't want to bother her, but I'm anxious to get back onto a truck, and I'd love to work for AMR-Santa Barbara as it's a 45 minute drive from my immediate family, and I'm really familiar with at least the northern part of SB Co. As of right now there have been no testing dates set that I am aware of, however I also know that SB Co is a desirable county and operation that a lot of EMT's/Medic's transfer into internally.

 

[Amberlamps916]

Can we bump this thread as I am also wondering about AMR Santa Barbara. My application on file with them currently says "declined/closed" as of 05/25/2017, however on 05/31/2017 their HR department emailed me asking for a hard copy of my H-6, as opposed to the copy that I had obtained via the DMV website. When I expressed my interesting in seeking employment with them, the HR representative stated that as soon as she knew the testing dates, she'd let me know. I don't want to bother her, but I'm anxious to get back onto a truck, and I'd love to work for AMR-Santa Barbara as it's a 45 minute drive from my immediate family, and I'm really familiar with at least the northern part of SB Co. As of right now there have been no testing dates set that I am aware of, however I also know that SB Co is a desirable county and operation that a lot of EMT's/Medic's transfer into internally.

Check your PM.

 

[Cp86]

I'm currently a medic for AMR in San Bernardino county and I'm interested in transferring to Santa Barbara. Most of my family is in north county or further north in SLO county. What's the likelyhood of being able to work in north county? Possibly on a 24? Also, our benefits here in San Bernardino county have gone down the drain and this is a huge concern for me since I have a family. Is there anyone who would be able to supply me with a copy of the union contract and/or benefits package options? I'd like to look the options over before submitting for a transfer. Any other info or advice about Santa Barbara division would be appreciated as well. From what I've heard and read so far, it seems like a great place to work. Thanks!