EMS in Recession?

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Anu

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Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if those currently working in the field may be able to describe how the current 'economic crisis' is affecting emergency medical organizations. Seeing as how millions of jobs are being cut across the board and lays-offs occurring by the thousands, is this a good time to seek employment in ems?
 
Luvadea said:
Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if those currently working in the field may be able to describe how the current 'economic crisis' is affecting emergency medical organizations. Seeing as how millions of jobs are being cut across the board and lays-offs occurring by the thousands, is this a good time to seek employment in ems?
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My company is very smart. They say they have enough money to remain financially secure for a year if the economy completely collapsed. We're actually currently hiring, buying new ambulances, and they just sent all of us 50 dollars for Christmas.

EMS is relatively recession resistant, but then again, an ambulance bill is the last thing struggling people are going to pay, so we'll see.
 
My company just hired 6 new people for a town of less than 110,000.
 
I think this line of work is safe.If medicare and medicaid keeps paying.Of coarse this money will one day run out because nobody will be left working to pay for it.
 
My company is trying to cut some of the O/T shifts. If it is slow out there, O/T trucks are going home first.
 
We're pretty much conducting business as normal. On one hand you have the facts that others have mentioned about it getting harder to get money in. However, EMS is still a service that people expect to have available when needed and there is a slight increase in call volume with recession due to depression and people turning to alcohol.
 
Just remember Last Hired, First Fired.

I wouldn't recommend a career change at this point. If you have a stable job with seniority and some stability, stay in it!

But if you have no job, EMS is as stable an industry as any. People get sick no matter what the stock market is doing. I'd even suppose that the increased stress of the uncertain economic climate might increase illness.
 
One of the reasons I got into this business. Job security. People will always get sick and hurt. Here the ambulance service is operated by a private company under a contract to the government but is government funded. With the public crying for more health care I can't see funding being cut back even at this time.

I can see where private services may have trouble though and I hope none go under. Cash flow is a large part of private business. If the cash isn't flowing, even though its owed, busineses can go under. Its the old "I can't pay you until they pay me" syndrome.

We'll have to wait and see how it all ends up.
 
I think private companies will make out alright through this. Many privates do interfacility transfers which as far as I know since they're generally non emergent you can refuse for a patients inability to pay. 911 services are different but Medicare and Medicaid aren't going anywhere and while they don't pay a whole lot for our services it at least offsets our costs for the trip.
 
Do all trips in an ambulance cost money in the states? Here I could call a bus for a paper cut and they would take me in free of charge. I agree though people are always going to need EMS, money problems cause stress and that call lead to a whole host of new problems, ie, depression, Heart attack, suicide attempts, just to name a few major ones. I think we are all going to have to watch our money a little but beyond that EMS is a pretty safe industry.
 
My service is going the other way. We just bought a few new trucks and added another 24 hour shift! They were really glad to have me come back and work just a few weeks during my holiday break from school!
 
Medicare etc can and will stop paying as much, and processing will slow down.

Federal Homeland Security money is drying up. If the middle-eastern wars slow up we will have a bunch of vets arriving back into the job market. Tax evenues for municipalities and special services districts alike are drying up.With the absence of credit, private insurers who are not pushed under by hurricanes and wildfires will need to jack up premiums, slow payment and challenge every charge they can.
Private EMS and public EMS will be stretched thin and try to outcompete to stay alive (it isn't an infinite pool of business, it is a zero sum game). Volunteer will be forced to find more low-level funding, forego repair and replacement.
Emergency receiving facilities are already experiencing upsurges in uninsured and unemployed people seeking primary care through ER's, many of said patients already very sick when they arrive. Your wait times will climb and slots to admit pt's will shrink.

I hope very sincerely that we don't get hit with avian flu or etc in the next three or four years.

PS: this is my one thousandth post. Wish it were happier.
 
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I started this thread because I am concerned how these changes in the economy will affect EMS systems and personnel. At the moment, I am still a student. I took the course during the summer, passed with a good grade, but opted not to take the practical/written exams for several reasons, one being that I was under a lot of stress and was afraid of doing poorly. As a result, I had to sit in for the refresher course during the fall, and take the challenge examination, which I passed. I'm currently waiting to take the written certification test in March, because the January date was completely filled up.

I'm worried that this process is just taking too long.. more concering is that by the time I'm ready to start working in the field EMS is going to be on the rocks, potentially not even wanting to hire newly certified technicians.

<_<

Should I be feeling this anxious?
 
I have posted about this at length on another forum.

medicare takes a loss in 2010 and is insolvent at current pace by 2019. So the current way healthcare is funded will have to be altered or it will simply become pay to play. (which I do not think society will allow) Private insurance is well on its way to price itself out of the market, and healthcare facilities are not going to be able to accept the pricing demands insurance companies levy.

There are 2 schools of thought on the idea of what to do with EMS. Many (especially physicians an nurses with no EMS involvement) say cut funding to EMS because hospital/clinic staff and jobs are more important. Plus the Us will have to shift from emergency based care to primary based care, so more money will have to be allocated that way.

The other group which I count myself in, are trying to push EMS to a larger role of public health with some primary care responsibilities. This will help to solve the healthcare problem by, reducing expensive emergency care, helping to reduce system overcrowding, and demonstrating that EMS has considerably more value than an expensive taxi ride. (which is rapidly becomming fiscally irresponsible boardering on impossible no matter what our altruistic values are.) I should also add that it will improve access to care for patients.

There is a lot of resistence. By the usual parties that resist change in EMS.

Personally unless some evolution of EMS is embraced, I expect to see a lot of layoffs and closures. If the concepts myself and my peers advocate are embraced, positions and job descriptions will change, there will be some reductions, and it will not be as bad, but right now the dinosaurs of the old way are getting their way, and it is only going to hurt the younger or newer generations of EMS providers. As Bossy (sorry, don't like calling people a cow) said, first hired, first fired.

If you still want to be in this profession, I would say don't hesitate, but you may want to take it upon yourself to get education above and beyond what is required most places now. In most societies, the more education you have, the more valuable you are. It is much better to apply for a job with a degree than a certificate. Plus should you choose a different or have to switch your healthcare profession, you will be ahead of the curve.
 
Dobo said:
Do all trips in an ambulance cost money in the states? Here I could call a bus for a paper cut and they would take me in free of charge. I agree though people are always going to need EMS, money problems cause stress and that call lead to a whole host of new problems, ie, depression, Heart attack, suicide attempts, just to name a few major ones. I think we are all going to have to watch our money a little but beyond that EMS is a pretty safe industry.
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Free of charge? Check your taxes. Nothing's free.


Later!

--Coop
 
Healthcare should be able to weather the economic storm.

The company that I work for is a progressive hospital based system, that appears to be very solvent admist the current economic stuggles that the rest of industries in the US seem to be facing. This hospital based system is enlarging current facilities and developing many new ones encompassing many alternative avenues of healthcare. Also for the last 4 years the annual profit sharing bonus has been $850. for every full time employee. We have also just placed Stryker powerlift stretcher in all the ambulances and the overtime is there if you want it. Of course every business needs to be conscious of where the money goes and stop any leaks before they become a problem, but I do not see healthcare as seeing layoffs anytime in the near future. Yes, we must address issues with MediCare/ MediCaid and private insurance renumeration guidelines, but if everyone does their job correctly, including obtaining required signatures, there should not be a problem for quite some time. As was previously said... People will always get hurt/sick no matter what the economic forcast is looking like.
 
Here comes the ranks of the unemployed, gonna get me a job in EMS yeee haa.

Health care jobs=JOB SECURITY
 
My prediction, because of the credit squeeze and the amount of foreclosures (which equals less taxes to municipalities):

1. AMR will go under this year.
2. Most hospital based providers will be privatized or go under.
3. Municipalities will have to run more non-emergent calls as privates go under.
4. New mega-services will develop as the strong private services either merge or buyup their competitors.

Hope i am wrong, but I have already seen several news stories about ems services having to cut back.
 
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