EMS in New York City

[emt seeking first job]

http://www.fdnyemswebsite.com/

I stumbled upon this.

 

[akflightmedic]

It has been around for years....

Used to be called FDNYsucks.com

Then had to change after many legal issues....

 

[emt seeking first job]

It has been around for years....

Used to be called FDNYsucks.com

Then had to change after many legal issues....

It seems as if the author has put a lot of work into it.

My observation of EMS subculture in NYC is it is most of the same people holding consecutive or concurrent positions in various privates, vollies, and hospitals as well as FDNY.

Most people seem mostly indifferent to these issues. They more or less judge their peers harshly over skills/personality.

Many people have side jobs or future plans outside of EMS.....

 

[46Young]

It seems as if the author has put a lot of work into it.

My observation of EMS subculture in NYC is it is most of the same people holding consecutive or concurrent positions in various privates, vollies, and hospitals as well as FDNY.
Pretty much. EMS in NYC has as much turnover and burnout as anywhere else. The FDNY and hospital people are the ones currently on the job; the others have already left the field. The vollies kind of do NYC 911, and those in the privates would die to have a 911 job.

Most people seem mostly indifferent to these issues. They more or less judge their peers harshly over skills/personality.
Many in NYC EMS care only about how much their paycheck is, and if their partner is going to get them fired. If your partner sucks at their job, and skells out on a regular basis, you'll eventually get jammed up along with them, and lose your job and maybe your cert. Also, no one wants to work with a tool every day. That's why judge one's skills and personality so much.

Many people have side jobs or future plans outside of EMS.....

Of course they do. You can't work any one single EMS job in NYc and be anywhere near to well off. You're working two or three jobs (like I did), and eventually look to get out when you start to show signs of burnout. Case in point - I worked for a well respected hospital, NS-LIJ, and I relocated out of state for a better life.

FDNY EMS employees on the whole are bitter about being treated like an afterthought by FDNY. Pre-merger in 1996, they were quite happy. Afterward, many left for the better paying hospitals, or got out of EMS altogether. They lack funding, their deployment sucks, and they see their hospital based peers getting paid more, with better working conditions, less mandations, and getting away with a lot more in the field then they do. They get crapped on regularly by the FDNY FF's since they're wearing their patch, and therefore are posers. Never mind they don't want FDNY patches in the first place. They didn't even have uniformed status until just a few years ago. Their pay, years of service to get their pension, their final percentage based pension benefit, etc. are well below that of a FDNY FF. The FDNY EMS website is one manifestation of that bitterness.

 

[emt seeking first job]

Now FDNY is wanting to charge a fee for the hospital run ems services.

The hopsital ems people are trying to organize against that.

The FDNY people accuse the hosp people of steering and claim some of the hosp people are unemployable by FDNY so that is why they protest, if the hosp give them up no place to be a 911 emt.

I do not want to write about what goes on in the vollie I am at, good or bad, it would out me.

Looking back, I was in a law enforcement job, not NYPD, low pay and benefits, working conditions compared to NYPD, but it was better than any EMS job......I should have stuck that out and appreciate what I had.

Story of my life.

 

[46Young]

What fee are you talking about, exactly? Do you have any links explaining this?

Is it the Local 2507 looking to out the hospitals, or is it FDNY EMS?

I worked FT for NS-LIJ. They told us not to steer. I worked per diem for Flushing. They expected us to steer, although they didn't officially say it. Same for Victory back in the day. I've seenquite a few heavy hitters that would never pass the FDNY EMS PAT, which is easier than the CPAT. I know, because I took it. It's sad to see someone don a 35# vest, do 60 steps/min on the stepmill for only three minutes, and vomit afterward.

If you want another decent LE job, then why not apply to the Northern VA depts? Or get your medic cert and apply to the numerous fire depts?

 

[emt seeking first job]

Here is your link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...2606.html?mod=WSJ_NY_MIDDLELEADNewsCollection

Viriginia is a very nice area. One of my favorite places to travel to is VA Beach.

 

[emt seeking first job]

In the vollie I am in, many people have paid EMS jobs which they often hide from to work for the vollie.

It is very spiritual, sort of like a church, in a way. In the church I go to, the married priests are unpaid, they all have other means of support, pay to go to semminery school and purchase their own vestiments.

 

[tazman7]

Interesting site. It shows its not all flowers and rainbows in the big cities like most think.

I have heard numerous stories from a retired Chicago medic and it makes you kind of wonder why people still put up with the firefighter vs medic jargon.

 

[46Young]

Here is your link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...2606.html?mod=WSJ_NY_MIDDLELEADNewsCollection

Viriginia is a very nice area. One of my favorite places to travel to is VA Beach.

Northern VA is where you want to look for employment. There's no residency, so you could actually live in VA Beach if you wanted to. This would be on a fire schedule, not a PD one. In fact, a few of our FF's live down there.

I don't see how the city thinks that these hospitals are making money off of EMS. NS-LIJ runs in the red for 911 EMS every year. They keep the 911 division as training for their employees, prestige, a lure for applicants, and for advertising. Look at the St. Vincents CMC hospital chain. They fell like dominoes. Other health systems aren't much better off. The same uninsured individuals draining the system are now filling the ED's in the surrounding area, costing them as well. Hospitals that are NYC 911 participating members save FDNY and the city money. If these hospitals are already running in the red with 911 EMS, then that negative cash flow will fall to the city. This measure is both bizarre and troubling. I suspect this is the Local 2507's doing, to get the hospitals out of their system. RCC, the disptchers, the Conditions Bosses, etc and so on would be in place whether or not the hospitals were there doing 911. I don't see how the city's making it out that they're laying out the cost for this diuspatch and command structure. They would need the same resources if NYC 911 was 100% FDNY personnel.

 

[emt seeking first job]

That is the link.

I do not understand what is behind it.

I am just focusing on building my skill set up.

I could live on a salary from a private.

I am single, no kids, and I live in a rent stabilized building.

My social life is my vollie and my church.

 

[46Young]

That is the link.

I do not understand what is behind it.

I am just focusing on building my skill set up.

I could live on a salary from a private.

I am single, no kids, and I live in a rent stabilized building.

My social life is my vollie and my church.

See my new thread in the employment section. NS-LIJ isn't going to pay. They're already huge, they're continuing to grow, and need to hire. Get on it!

Also, there are plenty of churces in VA, and all you need to get on at Alexandria Fire and EMS as single role EMS is either your NR EMT-I or NR EMT-P. They're hiring in Oct. They work a 24/48, 24/96. You could live in NY and work for Alex if you wanted to. There are buses that are $50 round trip that leave Arlington for Midtown Manhattan if you want to leave your car in VA.

 

[dixie_flatline]

See my new thread in the employment section. NS-LIJ isn't going to pay. They're already huge, they're continuing to grow, and need to hire. Get on it!

Also, there are plenty of churces in VA, and all you need to get on at Alexandria Fire and EMS as single role EMS is either your NR EMT-I or NR EMT-P. They're hiring in Oct. They work a 24/48, 24/96. You could live in NY and work for Alex if you wanted to. There are buses that are $50 round trip that leave Arlington for Midtown Manhattan if you want to leave your car in VA.

With NSLIJ and others stating they will outright refuse to pay... won't this end up costing NYC money in the long run? It sounds like they're going to have to pick up the slack on a pretty substantial volume of calls.

 

[46Young]

With NSLIJ and others stating they will outright refuse to pay... won't this end up costing NYC money in the long run? It sounds like they're going to have to pick up the slack on a pretty substantial volume of calls.

Yes. And yes. Not to mention the substantial cost of the hiring process, the academy, the new employee medical and pension benefit, 353 vehicles just to cover those added tours, plus reserve buses, and the need for more mechanics, and perhaps more facilities to handle the increased volume for repaires and PM. What about all that medical equipment, drugs, and such tha need to be purchased? My brain hurts from trying to see how this makes good business sense for NYC to do this.

 

[emt seeking first job]

It seems strange.

The city let hospital EMS take 911 calls to save money.

Now they want more money by billing the hospitals to help them.

The next move is to start charging community based volunteer services a fee....by the way, the city did give 911 calls to vollies during the blizzard. Now I see why they are allowed to exist.