Paramedic Openings in Tulare County

CentralCalEMT

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As most people know, Hall and American have multiple paramedic openings. Both are excellent companies to work for. However, some people do not have the ability to move to start working 12s in a metro system. For those people who are unable to move, there is one other option in the county just north of Kern County. At least one Tulare County provider (Imperial Ambulance out of Porterville) is currently offering out of area medics who come work for them a compressed work schedule consisting of fixed days of the week stacked back to back. For example, one week a medic would work a 48 Monday/Tuesday and the next week a 72 Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday. That ensures that out of the area paramedics only need to commute to work one time a week and gives alternating 4 and 5 day weekends. While the drive is 2 1/2 hours or so from LA, if it is only once a week it is more doable. Tulare County is a busy system with the same types of calls and same chance to get good experience as the larger systems to the north and south of it. Tulare County is part of the CCEMSA system so the protocols are the exact same as Fresno American and similar to Kern County. While Tulare County is a smaller system and often overlooked in comparison to the larger systems, it remains a viable option for commuting paramedics.
 

Jim37F

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I'm def one of those LA guys whose not in a position to move yet and is very intrigued with that schedule. Hows the call volume, i.e. 3-4 calls ea day or 20? Do you guys run dual medic, 1&1 (EMT and Medic) ALS, dual EMT, a combo? What kind of rigs are you in? Ford E series vans, Transit or Sprinter vans, F350/Dodge Ram Mods? Is the hourly pay enough to support a full tank of gas each way coming from LA?
 

VentMonkey

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At least one Tulare County provider (Imperial Ambulance out of Porterville) is currently offering out of area medics who come work for them a compressed work schedule consisting of fixed days of the week stacked back to back.
I'm def one of those LA guys whose not in a position to move yet and is very intrigued with that schedule. Hows the call volume, i.e. 3-4 calls ea day or 20? Do you guys run dual medic, 1&1 (EMT and Medic) ALS, dual EMT, a combo? What kind of rigs are you in? Ford E series vans, Transit or Sprinter vans, F350/Dodge Ram Mods? Is the hourly pay enough to support a full tank of gas each way coming from LA?
I'll do the neighborly thing here and add this:
http://imperialambulance.com/
 
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CentralCalEMT

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I'm def one of those LA guys whose not in a position to move yet and is very intrigued with that schedule. Hows the call volume, i.e. 3-4 calls ea day or 20? Do you guys run dual medic, 1&1 (EMT and Medic) ALS, dual EMT, a combo? What kind of rigs are you in? Ford E series vans, Transit or Sprinter vans, F350/Dodge Ram Mods? Is the hourly pay enough to support a full tank of gas each way coming from LA?

The call volume is moderate. You will average 8 or so per unit in a 24 if you are at our main post which has 3 ALS 24 hour units. We also have a slow post with 1 24 hour unit which runs 4 calls on a busy day. That post is rotated between all medics so every medic gets a chance to work the slow post on a regular basis. The usual is 1&1 staffing although there are dual medic shifts from time to time. Fire is BLS only in our coverage area and some of their people aren't even EMTs. We have E series vans along with two Transit vans. The hourly pay should be enough to support a full tank. We currently have two employees who commute from LA and we used to have one who commuted from Sacramento and they seem to not have any issues. Shift change is at 0800 so it's not too early. The area covered is huge. Transport times range from 5 minutes in town to 2 hours from some remote mountain areas. We have 1 community hospital in our area but our nearest trauma and STEMI center is at least 30 miles away so those are extended transport times. We also have an air ambulance based in the county. Right now there are several medic spots open. I don't think there are any EMT spots open, but they do open up from time to time.
 

VentMonkey

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SkyLife has a base in Tulare Co. now?
 

CALEMT

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Generally Tulare Co. is a slow county (my experience). My experience has been... well... very rural Tulare Co. Like a hour and a half away from Porterville way up in the sticks. Back when I was in Tulare AMR still had P-ville and Imperial was... I forget... but I've talked to some of the imperial guys when I would work a different station and they seemed happy there. The 48 and 72 defiantly makes it appealing for someone that commutes. Just a reference I live in the Coachella Valley and commuted to my station (Tyler Creek/ California Hot Springs) which was 300 miles from my driveway to the driveway of the station. I would get up at 0220 and leave at 0330 and get to the station around 0730. In the morning it took generally 4-4 1/2 hours cause no traffic. Driving back took about 5-5 1/2 hours cause traffic. Granted my commute was 10-210-5-99-65-mtn rd 56. I would compare it to driving to Visalia for time. P-ville would be about another 20 minutes from my turn off at Ducor. Not a bad commute from LACo for a decent paying job for a decent shift IMO.
 

VentMonkey

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Skylife 3 is now based out of the Visalia airport. That was the bird that went down last year near the Kern/Tulare county line.
Yes I am familiar with this, but was under the impression they were based out of Hanford.
 

VentMonkey

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They used to be, but were moved to Tulare County since we use them in the mountains more often than Kings County used them.
They're no longer seasonal either I take it? We get the blue moon auto launches up that way. Posey comes to mind off the bat, but there are occasional Tulare Co. MA launch requests.
 
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CentralCalEMT

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They're no longer seasonal either I take it? We get the blue moon auto launches up that way. Posey comes to mind off the bat, but there are occasional Tulare Co. MA launch requests.

Yeah they are year round. Fresno has 2 and we have 1. If all three are unavailable we will call Medivac 1. I have also requested them before in far south Tulare County when my helo was coming from Fresno since Medivac 1 is way closer to us at that point.
 

CALEMT

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Wow thats a good driv.... flight for you guys from Bakersfield I'm guessing is where you're stationed at Vent? I know when I was up in that area we had a preplan to have KCFD launch one of their birds from... oh let me think here... Glennville? I could be wrong though.
 

VentMonkey

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Yeah they are year round. Fresno has 2 and we have 1. If all three are unavailable we will call Medivac 1. I have also requested them before in far south Tulare County when my helo was coming from Fresno since Medivac 1 is way closer to us at that point.
Do you guys do launch requests, auto launches, stand-bys or any of the above depending on the calls EMD code?
Wow thats a good driv.... flight for you guys from Bakersfield I'm guessing is where you're stationed at Vent? I know when I was up in that area we had a preplan to have KCFD launch one of their birds from... oh let me think here... Glennville? I could be wrong though.
Lol, pretty good memory, CAL. Yes, Glennville is closer to the Tulare Co. border and they often get dispatched before, or simultaneously with the Tulare units.

If they get dispatched first, depending on the nature of the call---medical or trauma---they ask for us on standby. Those guys are pretty good up that way, and on it.

Yes, we're based out of the Bakersfield International Airport, or Meadows Field. Flight time off the top of my head is about ~20 minutes, maybe a bit more. Considering we backfill for Mercy Air when they're out and those flight times can be in the 30's, it's not that bad at all.
 

CALEMT

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Lol, pretty good memory, CAL.

Had to man, I was the first due engine to Kern Co haha. I though they had a bird out of Glennville. Wasn't sure if it was Glennville or Kernville, but I knew it was one of the other. When we would get the 1 medical aid every 2 weeks or so it was a toss up on the ground ambulance. TCFD was pretty good about letting us (CAL FIRE) know who was responding and from where. My side of the shift I never had a helicopter on the initial dispatch for a medic aid or a trauma. I just knew if **** went down we would launch KCFD's chopper and land it at one of the predetermined LZ's.
 

VentMonkey

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I just knew if **** went down we would launch KCFD's chopper and land it at one of the predetermined LZ's.
KCFD's, and KCSO's helicopters are hoist rescues only. With the exception of perhaps large-scale wild land fires, they're BLS-level in county for us and rendezvous with us or MA if the patient requires medical transportation to the hospital via air.

They do have medics on them from time to time, but don't function in county as such. They even have purtty cardiac monitors, etc. The KCFD helicopter is based out of Keene, in between Tehachapi and Bakersfield.

To put the thread back on topic, for those interested in this type of exposure as a paramedic or EMT, these are the areas to do it in. They're not infrequent, and definitely something I wasn't used to with "inner-city" EMS.
 

CALEMT

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They're not infrequent; definitely something I wasn't used to with "inner-city" EMS.

Very cowboy EMS in the more rural parts. Which was cool. Great experience as a EMT cause I was the highest medical authority (depending on what ambulance was responding). This thread is making me miss the central valley...
 
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CentralCalEMT

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Do you guys do launch requests, auto launches, stand-bys or any of the above depending on the calls EMD code?`

Lol, pretty good memory, CAL. Yes, Glennville is closer to the Tulare Co. border and they often get dispatched before, or simultaneously with the Tulare units.

If they get dispatched first, depending on the nature of the call---medical or trauma---they ask for us on standby. Those guys are pretty good up that way, and on it.

Yes, we're based out of the Bakersfield International Airport, or Meadows Field. Flight time off the top of my head is about ~20 minutes, maybe a bit more. Considering we backfill for Mercy Air when they're out and those flight times can be in the 30's, it's not that bad at all.

We have auto launch based on EMD Code or other information dispatch receives. County Fire, CalFire, CHP or any other agency is also free to request a helicopter if necessary.

I wholeheartedly agree with what VentMonkey said. This is an excellent area to get experience in. I enjoy long transport times and the wide variety of calls that we get. I did my EMT time in LA County and had no idea this area existed until I went to paramedic school in Bakersfield.

I now wish I had come up here a lot earlier. I think because Central California has a reputation as a boring, or redneck or poor part of California, it keeps a lot of people down south. However, with 48 and 72 hour shifts, the commute is doable. And if someone does decide to move up here, what it does have to offer is anything that someone who loves the outdoors could want. The Sequoia National Forest is literally in your backyard in Tulare County. My coverage area, once you are outside the town we are based in, has multiple giant sequoia groves, a lake, rivers, and tons of mountain wilderness. We have year round fishing, hiking, hunting, camping, etc.
 
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CentralCalEMT

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Very cowboy EMS in the more rural parts. Which was cool. Great experience as a EMT cause I was the highest medical authority (depending on what ambulance was responding). This thread is making me miss the central valley...

I assume you worked TUU? Those stations have been auto responding on a lot more than they used to. It's a huge help with county fire being so understaffed.
 

CALEMT

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It's a huge help with county fire being so understaffed.

Don't get me started on TCFD. Staffing 1 man engines is not a better way to do things.
 
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