What is required to be ALS where your are?

MMiz

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
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Today I picked up a day shift. Our county requires EMT-Paramedic/EMT-Paramedic (Medic/Medic) to be an ALS unit. All the other ones in Michigan require Medic/BLS to be ALS. What's required in your area?

I'm all for Medic/Medic. I think it allows a basic to get ALS experiece before they take the next step, and I don't think Medic/Basic really leads to a lower level of care. I actually know Medics who would rather work a trauma with an EMT-Basic, they do the ALS stuff, and we take care of BLS.

Any thoughts?
 
In Pennsylvania, ALS staffing for an ambulance must be the following:

EMT-P or PHRN & EMT-B or any combination as long as EMT-P or PHRN is on-board.

For a ALS "chase unit" (non-transporting), staffing has to be the same UNLESS, minimum staffing can be met onscene which is the case when a BLS ambulance responds.

The ALS unit in my hometown runs a Paramedic and EMT-B and the two ALS unit's where I work both run two paramedics and sometimes a PHRN.
 
LA County requires ALS units to be staffed by a minimum of two Paramedics or Mobile Intensive Care Nurses (MICNs) or a combination thereof. Most ALS units in the County are ambulances, though some agencies (like the LA County FD) use non-transport Paramedic squads.

However, the county does allow for "ALS unit extension personnel" where a single Paramedic responds prior to an ALS unit arriving on-scene and "assessment units" where a Paramedic and an EMT respond prior. Extension personnel would be like a rapid response unit with a single medic (not aware of any actually operating). Assessment units are generally a fire engine with one FF trained as a Paramedic (and the rest of the crew EMTs) that's dispatched with an ALS unit simultaneously dispatched. The engine medic will initiate care as necessary, and if ALS care is not required, may cancel the responding ALS unit. If not, they'll hand of the patient to the ALS unit when they arrive, or if a rapid transport is required, may transport with a BLS unit if they're available prior to the ALS unit arriving.
 
In Washington, you have to have a minimum of one paramedic on board. The other person can be an EMT, EMT-IV, EMT-ILS, and so on.

Most ambulance services run a EMT/Paramedic combination, simply to keep costs down. In order to be a paramedic, you have to be sponsored into the class, which has a limit of 24 people per school that offers it. In my driving area (two hours one way), there are only two schools licensed to have a paramedic program.
 
In New York, as long as there's one Advanced Life Support Certified person (EMT-CC or EMT-P), you're ALS. Medical Control is considered to be our second medic if we need help.

I always have more fun with another ALS provider though, especially when you have a good relationship and can finish each other's thoughts or use facial expressions for communication.
 
In my area, you just need one Medic on board to be ALS. the other can be EMT B or I.
 
Originally posted by ResTech@Jun 30 2004, 11:42 PM
In Pennsylvania, ALS staffing for an ambulance must be the following:

EMT-P or PHRN & EMT-B or any combination as long as EMT-P or PHRN is on-board.

For a ALS "chase unit" (non-transporting), staffing has to be the same UNLESS, minimum staffing can be met onscene which is the case when a BLS ambulance responds.

The ALS unit in my hometown runs a Paramedic and EMT-B and the two ALS unit's where I work both run two paramedics and sometimes a PHRN.
Click to expand...
Minimum staffing for an ALS bus as is written is 1 EMT-B and 1 EMT-P

Minimum staffing for a BLS bus as it is written is 1 AFA, CPR, EVOC and 1 EMT-B
 
We do not seperate ALS/BLS units here. They all have EMT & Medic on board.

A Medic/Medic truck is SO rare, and when you get one, everyone tends to gather round and see the "dual medic truck"

Kind of funny, like 2 medics in the same unit is something special and divine to behold.
 
Originally posted by EMTPrincess@Dec 29 2004, 06:55 AM
Kind of funny, like 2 medics in the same unit is something special and divine to behold.
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Well it is... how do they get anything done? There's no EMT to do the schleppy work!
 
Or they both want to be in the back on the "really good calls"....so who drives....
Or who gets stuck in the back on the "really PUKIE calls"

I would like to be a fly on the wall for that arguement...
 
:unsure: Okay I'm going to probably be the bad person here but.......I hate having third riders with us. Only because it cuts in on my partner and I ummm chatting about things that piss us off and things that keep us going during the day if that makes any sense. When you work 24 hours together you get into a routine and anything else just kinda sets the whole routine off. I know, I know I was a third rider once and they probably thought the same thing about me so I guess I am entitled to think that way

Happy New Years
Be Safe
MassMedic1052
 
We have only ALS/ double paramedic MICUs.
No arguments regarding who gets what call - flip a coin in the morning, call it and then rotate calls. If you get stuck with a pukie call, then so be it!
We don't work with EMT-Bs on the MICU - what is considered "schleppy" work? :huh:
 
Originally posted by Firechic@Jan 4 2005, 10:08 PM
We don't work with EMT-Bs on the MICU - what is considered "schleppy" work? :huh:
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Hehehe... carrying things, setting up equipment (putting together the bvm, etc), cleaning the rig after a call while I do the paperwork. :D

Mostly I'm kidding - I do everything because I'm trying to show my probie the proper way to do things. But I know plenty of medics and CC's who only start lines push drugs and monitor - EMT-B's do everything else.
 
Originally posted by rescuecpt+Jan 4 2005, 10:31 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (rescuecpt @ Jan 4 2005, 10:31 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Firechic@Jan 4 2005, 10:08 PM
We don't work with EMT-Bs on the MICU - what is considered "schleppy" work? :huh:
Click to expand...
Hehehe... carrying things, setting up equipment (putting together the bvm, etc), cleaning the rig after a call while I do the paperwork. :D

Mostly I'm kidding - I do everything because I'm trying to show my probie the proper way to do things. But I know plenty of medics and CC's who only start lines push drugs and monitor - EMT-B's do everything else. [/b][/quote]
Thats funny. One of the Medics I have ran probaby 9 of my last 13 codes with always cleans the unit. The EMT on board kind of does her own thing - getting any paperwork, going potty, getting drinks, ect - and he cleans the back.

After the last code we ran together (this guy died too), I climbed in to talk with him. After about 5 minutes of just sitting there, kind of staring into space he started cleaning.

I asked why he does it and his partner does her own thing. His response - He made the mess, why should she have to clean it up.

Nice guy....I still think I would get up there and help him if I were her.
 
in va as a volunteer we dont have that many medics so we just need one medic onboard to be a medic unit
 
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