Houston Area EMS

CanadianBagel

CanadianBagel

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Hey’all.

I’m a medic from Missouri looking to pick up and leave for Houston in the next year or so; I’m looking to confirm some rumors and suspicions, and ask some questions I have about the area EMS services. (I’ve dug through the threads and I’m aware there is a similar post about this topic as of recent, but I don’t feel the need to hijack someone else’s thread.)

Cypress Creek EMS is my number one agency. I’ve wanted to work there since I learned about them back when I went through EMT-B, four years ago. I’m aware of the current controversies, and that is something I’m hoping will improve with time, but we’ll just have to wait and see!

Tactical EMS has always been my dream, and Cypress just seems like the place to do it. I really like the sworn LEO tactical medic model that CCEMS uses. (also Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville FD) I’ve always wanted to be a police officer as well as a medic, and this seems like the perfect job for me. I’m a very self motivated person, and I’d be more than willing to put myself through a reserve academy on my off days, at my own expense. I know HCSO has unpaid reserve positions for tactical medics, and that’s what I’d probably go for if I didn’t do TEMS through CCEMS; but I’d rather get paid! Lol

So the reason this job isn’t a slam dunk to me, is the pay. Out of the gate, it’s pretty damn good. Correct me if I’m wrong, but at 25.50 on a 42 hour schedule is $55,029 with two hours overtime per week included. Nice 👍. But it says the salary range only goes up to $29.56 an hour. That would mean that the max pay for a charge medic is $66,095. That’s not very good, compared to MCHD which caps at $87,000 for a charge medic. Fort Bend County EMS also has 66k as their midpoint on the employment brochure on their website. I can’t imagine why CCEMS would be $21k behind MCHD in pay. I know you work more hours at MCHD because of the 24/48 vs CCEMS’s 24/72, so maybe that’s why? Let me know if you have the answer to this, and if there’s OT shifts available on a regular basis at CCEMS to get to more of a 48hr/wk average.

I’m honestly hoping to have a position where I could max at least $75-80k after 7-9 years time in service. My agency I’m at now is an IAFF Ambulance District that maxes at $94k after 7 years, and the closest rural EMS agency that I’ve been encouraged to apply to maxes at $83k after four years. Granted, you have to put in two years minimum on part time with volunteering to qualify for full time, but that’s what I’m coming from. I’m not looking to make an equivalent salary in Texas, I just want to be comfortable. I’ll be coming down with an associates in EMS and I’ll have my FP-C/CCP-C by then.

Are there any other agencies I should look into? I know League City EMS is supposed to be solid as well, with armed TEMS on a pretty good regional SWAT team.

I apologize for the wall of text.. it’s my dream and I have a lot to say and ask about it!
Thanks for listening, and stay safe out there guys.
- JT
 
I will share thoughts tomorrow regarding this. Feel free to PM me as well.
 
SplintedTheWrongLeg said:
Hey’all.

I’m a medic from Missouri looking to pick up and leave for Houston in the next year or so; I’m looking to confirm some rumors and suspicions, and ask some questions I have about the area EMS services. (I’ve dug through the threads and I’m aware there is a similar post about this topic as of recent, but I don’t feel the need to hijack someone else’s thread.)

Interesting dream. The city is pretty vibrant, lots to do. Cost of living for middle class single guy is around 60k, so there’s that. Houston is hot, wet, big and low-key expensive, you’ll do a lot of driving.


Cypress Creek EMS is my number one agency.

Eww. HCEC, MCHD, Cy-Fair are way better. Fort Bend County is good too.

I’ve wanted to work there since I learned about them back when I went through EMT-B, four years ago. I’m aware of the current controversies, and that is something I’m hoping will improve with time, but we’ll just have to wait and see!

Im also interested. They’ve got a lot of friends, but the management team has squandered a LOT of public trust and done something odd with the money. Use of government assets for private loans, weird legal things, the billing company owned by the acting #1 guy now...it’s super shady. And ESD11 agrees. Things have gotten better in terms of fielded resources as Creek is trying to mollify the ESDs, but it’s still 10+ units short.

Tactical EMS has always been my dream

Foot powder, sunscreen and occasional trauma maybe. Are you already a licensed peace officer? If not, the Creek team is essentially closed to you


and Cypress just seems like the place to do it.

they have a reputation, but the ESD sees it differently.

I really like the sworn LEO tactical medic model that CCEMS uses.

It’s an incredibly niche little womeld.

(also Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville FD) I’ve always wanted to be a police officer as well as a medic, and this seems like the perfect job for me.

The Creek team is a full-time job for a very select few and that few is very much chosen for loyalty to the current leadership team. I’ve seen actual peace officer/medics be denied because they didn’t sufficiently please the powers that be.

I’m a very self motivated person, and I’d be more than willing to put myself through a reserve academy on my off days, at my own expense. I know HCSO has unpaid reserve positions for tactical medics, and that’s what I’d probably go for if I didn’t do TEMS through CCEMS; but I’d rather get paid! Lol

Once again, TEMS is not terribly accessbile

So the reason this job isn’t a slam dunk to me, is the pay. Out of the gate, it’s pretty damn good. Correct me if I’m wrong, but at 25.50 on a 42 hour schedule is $55,029 with two hours overtime per week included. Nice 👍. But it says the salary range only goes up to $29.56 an hour. That would mean that the max pay for a charge medic is $66,095. That’s not very good, compared to MCHD which caps at $87,000 for a charge medic.

Correct, and problematic. They say annual raises and retention bonuses help but there’s a massive difference in pay between them and MCHD or FBC. Your earning potential is more limited at Creek than e

Fort Bend County EMS also has 66k as their midpoint on the employment brochure on their website. I can’t imagine why CCEMS would be $21k behind MCHD in pay.

TEMS, “unique” accounting and they can get away with paying less because of dreams. They refused to buy Powerloads and rode in broken old Brauns for years until they were forced to buy Fraziers by attrition. If you’re not a supervisor or TEMS you’re
getting scraps.

I know you work more hours at MCHD because of the 24/48 vs CCEMS’s 24/72, so maybe that’s why? Let me know if you have the answer to this, and if there’s OT shifts available on a regular basis at CCEMS to get to more of a 48hr/wk average.

Sporadic. It certainly wouldnt


I’m honestly hoping to have a position where I could max at least $75-80k after 7-9 years time in service.

That’s doable almost anywhere, especially if you’re working some OT.

My agency I’m at now is an IAFF Ambulance District that maxes at $94k after 7 years, and the closest rural EMS agency that I’ve been encouraged to apply to maxes at $83k after four years.

Where is this utopia? TELL ME I NEED TO KNOW! Houston EMS essentially maxes at 73k ish without going to significantly more over time.

Granted, you have to put in two years minimum on part time with volunteering to qualify for full time, but that’s what I’m coming from. I’m not looking to make an equivalent salary in Texas, I just want to be comfortable. I’ll be coming down with an associates in EMS and I’ll have my FP-C/CCP-C by then.
Unfortunately this only really helps at MCHD. Creek actively doesn’t care and uses the tiered medic system to keep you as an in charge medic from DsI, RSI, blood, etc. gotta be a supervisor for that.





Are there any other agencies I should look into? I know League City EMS is supposed to be solid as well, with armed TEMS on a pretty good regional SWAT team.

I apologize for the wall of text.. it’s my dream and I have a lot to say and ask about it!
Thanks for listening, and stay safe out there guys.
- JT
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Short answer to TEMS- its kind of lame. If you’re wanting to do it for real, join the military and do it for reals. TEMS is basically a self-congratulation circular excuse to play with guns and pretend to be at war.
 
RenegadeRiker said:
Short answer to TEMS- its kind of lame. If you’re wanting to do it for real, join the military and do it for reals. TEMS is basically a self-congratulation circular excuse to play with guns and pretend to be at war.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice dude. Do you know the hourly pay rate for MCHD?
 
How can you wait and call for a supervisor for RSI? If the patient is in respiratory arrest, you don’t really have time to wait around for a super..
 
SplintedTheWrongLeg said:
Thanks for the advice dude. Do you know the hourly pay rate for MCHD?
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High teens. They work a 56-hour base schedule and their in charge pay isn’t really seen until Year 3-4.
 
SplintedTheWrongLeg said:
How can you wait and call for a supervisor for RSI? If the patient is in respiratory arrest, you don’t really have time to wait around for a super..
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Lots of time BVMing. You can tube if they’re fully unconscious or dead, but as we know, that’s not the normal for the respiratory failure population.
 
SplintedTheWrongLeg said:
Are they all unarmed TEMS, or can you be a sworn armed member of the team if you have a post certification?
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Not positive, but I think they’re all unarmed on actual operations.
 
RenegadeRiker said:
Not positive, but I think they’re all unarmed on actual operations.
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Well, that ain’t for me then. Like I said, I’d rather sign up to be a reserve with HCSO and do part time law enforcement as a reserve volunteer, than be paid as an unarmed TEMS guy who just waits in the truck.

I’ll probably start at creek, and leave for FBC or MCHD if I don’t like it. There’s more than a couple of good options there, and I can switch agencies if I want. I’ll be 25 by the time I get down there, so I’m not in any rush to be vested yet. I can explore different places and find my fit. Maybe I’ll love CCEMS and I’ll be able to make a solid living there, or maybe I won’t and I’ll go somewhere like MCHD. Either way, it’s pretty exciting for me. Thanks again for all your help, my dude.
 
Best of luck. Why not just go somewhere good to start?
 
RenegadeRiker said:
Best of luck. Why not just go somewhere good to start?
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Honestly, those other places just don’t have what I want. It may seem stupid to most, but the SWAT thing is just want I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. I’ll look into if MCHD or FBC has the same opportunity, and if they do I’ll probably try out there.

I don’t know anything about HCEC or Cypress Fair.. whatever you called it.. I’ll consider other options if they have good stuff. I don’t want to work inner city though.
 
Honestly? If you want to do tactical stuff, do it for real and join the service. TEMS is silly.
 
Good luck. Working at Creek probably won’t facilitate that but YMMV.
 
I just got a job with Creek. Starting in a few weeks.

Per them, it's a standard 24/72. They will allow shifts if you are off at least 12 hours in between shifts. As a medic you might get more opportunities?
 
CanadianBagel said:
Not an option for me. Even so, it’s what I want and nothing is really going to change that.
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TEMS isn’t all it’s cracked up to be from what you think it is. Very very few departments have armed medics and they are all typically on the LEO side. When EMS is involved it’s to operate in the warm zone, unarmed with a LEO escort. Even with POST certification if you’re employed by an EMS agency it’s highly unlikely to go in armed. If you’re wanting to be in the stack and go in with the team to get the suspect that’s a LEO job not EMS. I’ve waited outside the perimeter of scenes for the situation to be mediated many times before going in and it sounds cool to be all strapped up with the gear. But reality is quite different, it’s hot, uncomfortable, not easy to work in the gear, and the most you’re doing is a TQ, pressure dressing, or maybe occlusive dressing and dragging the patient to the triage area or ambulance.
 
luke_31 said:
TEMS isn’t all it’s cracked up to be from what you think it is. Very very few departments have armed medics and they are all typically on the LEO side. When EMS is involved it’s to operate in the warm zone, unarmed with a LEO escort. Even with POST certification if you’re employed by an EMS agency it’s highly unlikely to go in armed. If you’re wanting to be in the stack and go in with the team to get the suspect that’s a LEO job not EMS. I’ve waited outside the perimeter of scenes for the situation to be mediated many times before going in and it sounds cool to be all strapped up with the gear. But reality is quite different, it’s hot, uncomfortable, not easy to work in the gear, and the most you’re doing is a TQ, pressure dressing, or maybe occlusive dressing and dragging the patient to the triage area or ambulance.
Click to expand...
And even that typically gets outsourced to the police lol.
 
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