Vehicle and Cardiac Monitor Replacement Plan

[Mobile Medic]

I am looking to see if anyone has a formal plan/process of:

1) Fleet replacement - in this I am looking for age/mileage or other markers that would trigger a replacement..

2) Cardiac Monitors - again other than age alone as the cause. Of if that is the only cause, at what age?

Thanks to everyone...

 

[MMiz]

1) The ambulance service I've been with started in late 2000, so I can only tell you what I've seen.

They say: Ambulances are rebuilt every 3 years, and type II vans are replaced every three.
What I see: Generally through a need for a new ambulance or severe accidents (hey, they happen!), we get a 3+ ambulances each year.

The old ones simply sit in the lot in case of MCIs or just for general crew needs. They're rarely used for patient transport.

Cardiac Monitors -
They're replaced when a need arises. I don't think age is the issue, but of normal wear and tear definitely is. Our service started out with LifePak 12s back in 2000 and still uses them. Our BLS units started out with LifePak 500s and still uses them (though supply is very limited).

Hopefully others have more to add.

 

[Jon]

gee... I missed this.

Our squad is looking to have 2 Type III's as front-line units, with a Type III in reserve, as well as a 4WD Type I and a 4WD Type II

Our 3rd Type III comes in next month. The plan (as I understand it) is that our oldest Type III (A1) will be rotated in/out of daily service to prolong its life. it has over 100,000 miles on it... and is 5 years old.

We are planing on replacing a Type III every 5 years... with A1 next up to be replaced in 2007.

A4 (4WD Type I) is a 2005, but is a re-chassis, and has a VERY high box hieght... bad for loading.

A5 (4WD Type II) is a 1992... but doesn't get used much.

the "planned" lifetime for A4 and A5 is 10 years... but A5 will probably be kept for a while... we don't use it much. We'll probably replace it when it breaks, or after A1... whichever comes first .

 

[MMiz]

Hey Jon,

Do you know what A--'s plan is for ambulance replacement? I've seen the local service get newer vehicles from other places that shut down. Is there any such policy?

When I did my ride alongs with them we had new vehicles (Type II). I just wonder if that's a local or national thing.

 

[Jon]

At my part-time gig, they shift surplus units around the country based on need. 2 weeks ago, we had 5 units in our back lot headed to a new base south of us.

We also got 1 brand-new ambulance that replaced one totalled in September 2005. I think we also got 3 older ones from someplace in California. (They just lost part of a 9-1-1 contract in CA)

Some of our ambulances were brought in back in 2004 when they took over locally... several came from Pinellas County, FL. Most of our vehicles were assets of the local Co. that was bought out.

back in september in Louisana... several bases brought "older" back-line rigs... Many of the rigs we were in were 1996-1999 vintage Leader vans... with the "western" package... no front cab flashers, and switch panel above driver. Las Vegas had just gotten brand-new rigs, so we had 10 or 15 blue/white Las Vegas rigs that were "new" - 2002/2003 'ish.

In short... I think every base has "older" spare/surplus rigs... Numbers depends on call volumes and/or availible space. Trucks/equipment get moved around when bases open/close