NYMedic828
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I would just like to point out that there are places in rural US that are still entirely bls volunteer ambulance services. I would like to use covelo, ca as an example: it is an hour and a half drive to the nearest town from there let alone to the nearest hospital and als ambulance. The folks up there are mostly dope growers and natives. Handfuls of ambulance companies have looked at staffing that town but no one will touch it because its so secluded. They usually rely on air transport if the weather is nice other than that hour plus als rendezvous. Now, doing away with the emt-b cert entirely would mean the FD would have to figure out a way to motivate their volunteers into taking expensive classes that are hours away and all for something that they get no financial reimbersment for in the first place. Covelo is lucky to even have the service they have right now and forcing bls out of the picure would just elimate healthcare there entirely. Just saying something to think about.
Or as Vene stated, just have two untrained regular joes drive them to the hospital. They can still be volunteer fireman they don't need EMS training.
For an hour and a half ride what is an EMT going to do other than take vitals 100 times and give O2 which probably isn't even indicated for the condition let alone the length of time it would be on the patient for. Even if the patient degraded enroute an EMT can still only provide CPR and ventilate which is a futile effort that far from a hospital and CPR training is widespread and far less costly than EMT b.