Horse show wants to hire me for their events. Legalities?

[Kdul92]

Hi all! I am a brand new EMT-B, just signed on as a volunteer with my local fire dept and have been certified since September. I have been a lifelong equestrian and the owner of the barn where I board my horse is also on the committee of a large horse show association. She has asked to hire me as a standby EMT for their shows this summer, paying $700 per weekend. She says I would need to carry liability insurance (obviously) and my own bag. Now all of this sounds great, and I know that they have a standby EMT every year as well as many other horse shows I have attended. However when I spoke to my EMT instructor about this he said I would not be under any medical control and therefore cannot do it. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of scenario? Legalities? If I provide my own insurance and equipment, would I be permitted to provide standby care?

 

[Kdul92]

I am in CT if that helps.

 

[NomadicMedic]

The short answer: You can't freelance as an EMT.

I own a company that provides event EMS services, and while I'm in Georgia, the rules are similar.

The minute you start charging for the service, all the rules change. And if you have anyone else helping you, it becomes an even bigger ball of wax.

For $700 per event, she should be able to hire a local stand by crew that has operational authority, medical direction, training and equipment.

It sounds enticing, but I'd stay away. Every thing could go totally fine... right up until it doesn't and then it's bad, bad news.

Here's a thing. Approach a local agency and tell them you have a contact that wants to spend x number of dollars for EMS standby and that you'd be interested in working for them. That way, you'll get an EMS job and help out your friend with legitimate EMS coverage.

 

[EpiEMS]

She has asked to hire me as a standby EMT for their shows this summer, paying $700 per weekend.

Depending where you are in CT, you could contact AMR, Nelson, Aetna, or one of the other commercial services.

I would also guess that your fire department or a local volunteer EMS agency would be more than happy to take that standby, but obviously there wouldn't be much financial benefit for you.

You could conceivably call OEMS about this. They (sometimes) pick up the phone. Check the region coverage map for who to call.

 

[Kdul92]

I thought it sounded a little too good to be true and sketchy! I figured I'd ask around anyways. I will let her know who to contact.

 

[hometownmedic5]

The liability angle has been explained thoroughly. I can't expand there.

Also consider that with a doc authorizing you to practice, at least in my state, you are not an emt. Without your emt card, you can't do much more than slap on a bandage and call 911 before you're practicing without a license; and at that level they might as well hire a factory worker to do the same job for a pack of marlboros and a few tall boys.

Stay away from this type of thing until you're ready to do it right(i.e. Start a business, get the permits and such, get a doc...)

 

[Kdul92]

I have my EMT cards, this just kind of popped out of nowhere and I figured I learn a little about it before I turned it down or said yes. But I know I wouldn't have medical direction or anything, so it sounded off to begin with.

 

[DrParasite]

Here's a thing. Approach a local agency and tell them you have a contact that wants to spend x number of dollars for EMS standby and that you'd be interested in working for them. That way, you'll get an EMS job and help out your friend with legitimate EMS coverage.

Here is a better idea..... approach the local agency, and tell them you want to contract them to provide the services you need for $500. you will be the barn owners point of contact, but they would be the actual grunts (with most of the liability and resources that you would need).

This way the agency provides the service, you get to pocket $200, and everyone ends up a winner.

 

[EpiEMS]

@DrParasite, I love the idea, though the notion that the agency is willing to cover the bulk of the risk for $500 of a practitioner they don't know/haven't vetted is a relatively weighty assumption in my (albeit very conservative) mind.

 

[hometownmedic5]

What I meant was if you take away your authorization to practice, your emt card is a coaster. No doc, no card, no BLS care. You're in effect handcuffed at the first responder level, an in some places even less than that.

 

[Bullets]

I think that you should have personal insurance anyway. You could do this as an onsite medical person but you couldnt act outside what amounts to boy scout level training. You probably know the kid of injuries youll see at a horse show, and the injuries riders usually get when tossed into an oxer are things that you could splint while waiting for 911. Your basically an educated bystander who can call 911 and give a good report to transporting EMS

 

[DrParasite]

@DrParasite, I love the idea, though the notion that the agency is willing to cover the bulk of the risk for $500 of a practitioner they don't know/haven't vetted is a relatively weighty assumption in my (albeit very conservative) mind.

I think you misunderstood..... I meant to have that agency provide the actual ambulance, along with the personnel, their equipment, they bill for services, and you essentially are subcontracting the services to the other agency, while providing the friendly face to the horse owners if they have questions.

I don't know if anyone would do it, or what the actual costs are from the provider's side. I know some volunteer agencies won't even charge to provide an ambulance, they do it for the PR and helping the community, or will do it in lieu of a donation to the organization.

Every agency is different, but you won't know until you ask.

 

[EpiEMS]

@DrParasite, oh, this idea makes very good sense - I just wouldn't be so sure it costs less than the $700, (probably more?).

 

[NomadicMedic]

The going rate for EMS event service in my area is between $75 and $200 an hour, depending on what you want. I charge an average of $125 per hour, with a minimum of three hours.

 

[EpiEMS]

@DEmedic, thanks for the market color! Sounds like $500 isn't so unreasonable for a couple of hours.

 

[Giant81]

And if you have some Volunteer organizations around, they may be willing to do it for less than $500 in the form of a donation. Good PR, they bill insurance for any transports, and they may even have some equestrians that wouldn't mind taking the rig out to watch a show.

 

[Doomedtheory]

I know in PA, an EMT can act as a First Aid or safety officer or similar capacity and perform an EMT scope of practice minus anything that requires medical command approval—meds, cpap, etc. I know some places are fine because they only need a person there because the overall authority requires someone with a license be there. I’ve also seen rulebooks etc where it says with the ability to call an ambulance, which officials have interpreted as 911.