LAFD Fire chief drama

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ITBITB13

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So apparently the LA City mayor has asked the LAFD fire chief to step down in an agenda to improve response times. Opinions?

http://www.jems.com/video/news/mayor-asks-lafd-fire-chief-step-down

I wouldn't be surprised if a company like Care (Falk?) took over their 800 units in the very near future.

Maybe even their Ambulances all together... If I were Care I would be marketing like crazy to the LA City council..
 
I would absolutely be shocked. Anything that smacks of FF jobs lost will get the union machine geared up.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3ZOKDmorj0[/YOUTUBE]
 
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Highly unlikely.
 
usalsfyre said:
I would absolutely be shocked. Anything that smacks of FF jobs lost will get the union machine geared up.
[YOUTUBE]http://youtu.be/O3ZOKDmorj0[/YOUTUBE]
Click to expand...


But in the end, it's all about money. I could totally see the 800 rigs being bid out to private companies, and even willing to bet that it will happen sometime next year. Because that alone will save the city of Los Angeles tons and tons of money. The cities of La Habra, Anaheim, and Fullerton for example, have fire department Ambulances, but the crew is made up of two care employees who are in-housed in the fire station. I could totally see the same thing happening in LA. Just my opinion though.
 
Not to mention LA probably wouldn't be the most profitable undertaking. Large city 911 doesn't usually have the best reimbursement rates. I think ours is only somewhere around 40%.
 
I don't know where exactly in the policies, but I believe LA City is grandfathered in for transports. They might be able to release transport, but I don't think taken away.

Whether I'm correct or not on the info above I would be shocked if a private got LA City..... There's just no way
 
Private companies doing 911? I've yet to be convinced that a company that has to show a profit for the shareholders (and Wall Street) will consistently make decisions in the best interests of the patient when it comes to issues such as choosing between, say, replacing trucks or equipment vs. paying a dividend at the end of the year.
 
Ivan_13 said:
But in the end, it's all about money. I could totally see the 800 rigs being bid out to private companies, and even willing to bet that it will happen sometime next year. Because that alone will save the city of Los Angeles tons and tons of money. The cities of La Habra, Anaheim, and Fullerton for example, have fire department Ambulances, but the crew is made up of two care employees who are in-housed in the fire station. I could totally see the same thing happening in LA. Just my opinion though.
Click to expand...

Only la ha bra has its own ambulance that is staffed with two care employees. The others are care ambulances that are in house with the department.
 
Rano Pano said:
I don't know where exactly in the policies, but I believe LA City is grandfathered in for transports. They might be able to release transport, but I don't think taken away.

Whether I'm correct or not on the info above I would be shocked if a private got LA City..... There's just no way
Click to expand...

Grandfathered in?
 
MrJones said:
Private companies doing 911? I've yet to be convinced that a company that has to show a profit for the shareholders (and Wall Street) will consistently make decisions in the best interests of the patient when it comes to issues such as choosing between, say, replacing trucks or equipment vs. paying a dividend at the end of the year.
Click to expand...

This..

Most private companies are about what to do that fills the wallet at the end of the day
911 reimbursements are low. definitely not going to fatten the bottom line.
 
unleashedfury said:
This..

Most private companies are about what to do that fills the wallet at the end of the day
911 reimbursements are low. definitely not going to fatten the bottom line.
Click to expand...


At the end of the day it's not much different than the fire departments whose sole mission is to save union jobs. Example? The recent debacle in Orange County regarding private IFT paramedics.
 
JPINFV said:
At the end of the day it's not much different than the fire departments whose sole mission is to save union jobs. Example? The recent debacle in Orange County regarding private IFT paramedics.
Click to expand...

Fire Department based EMS is another bad idea that I would correct were I king for a day, but it would be harder to fix; in part due to the union angle you've touched on.

Now, you'll excuse me while I go don my flame suit - I think it may get a bit hot in here. :unsure:
 
Ivan_13 said:
So apparently the LA City mayor has asked the LAFD fire chief to step down in an agenda to improve response times. Opinions?

http://www.jems.com/video/news/mayor-asks-lafd-fire-chief-step-down

I wouldn't be surprised if a company like Care (Falk?) took over their 800 units in the very near future.

Maybe even their Ambulances all together... If I were Care I would be marketing like crazy to the LA City council..
Click to expand...

I don't think a lot of people are understanding what happened? He's not stepping down to improve response times. He lied and defrauded reports to show that their response time is still within good limits even though he's browning out stations.
 
exodus said:
I don't think a lot of people are understanding what happened? He's not stepping down to improve response times. He lied and defrauded reports to show that their response time is still within good limits even though he's browning out stations.
Click to expand...

Yes, that was actually all over the news not too long ago.. Him stepping down in its own will not improve response times..
 
unleashedfury said:
This..

Most private companies are about what to do that fills the wallet at the end of the day
911 reimbursements are low. definitely not going to fatten the bottom line.
Click to expand...

<not an endorsement>

On the other hand, when looking at the raw numbers, privates can get away paying paramedics much less, don't need to give pensions, etc.

Privates can more effectively short trucks for call volume and back flow when necessary, and can use larger purchasing power when buying equipment, drugs, etc. (Although they do pay taxes).

Private services (while profit-hungry) are also generally more geared towards advocacy and customer service, whether the customer is the patient or the contract.
<\not an endorcement>
 
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