Which is better: public or private EMS?

[RocketMedic]

Two things: first, you forget nonprofit privates. I work for a 501c3 and it is amazing. Way better than the private for-profits or the municipal services nearby.

Second, a public service is not necessarily better at healthcare. Take McAlester Fire in McAlester, OK. They are a BLS-only fire department that covers a city of 50,000, people, but refuse to add ALS. Pafford EMS covers the county 911, has ALS and mutual aid into McAlester, and renders far superior care.

 

[Bullets]

@Tnaemt94 Im not going to quote all your posts, but theres a number of things i want to address

I work for a municpal PD based 911 service as well as a side gig working for a private nonprofit

If you think that the municipal job is not concerned with the dollar, with our bottom line then you are sorely mistaken. Regardless of an EMS agencies structure, they are concerned with cash flow. And while the money may not be going into a CEOs pocket, its going into a business administrator, finance officer, ect or just the towns general fund, so its being used to the DPW guys boots or the cops ticketbooks or personal cars for the chief officers or any number of other things around town.

The private nonprofit i work for has a great relationship with the township it covers and they have the same concerns as we do at the municipal job, it just manifests in different ways.

 

[Tnaemt94]

@Tnaemt94 Im not going to quote all your posts, but theres a number of things i want to address

I work for a municpal PD based 911 service as well as a side gig working for a private nonprofit

If you think that the municipal job is not concerned with the dollar, with our bottom line then you are sorely mistaken. Regardless of an EMS agencies structure, they are concerned with cash flow. And while the money may not be going into a CEOs pocket, its going into a business administrator, finance officer, ect or just the towns general fund, so its being used to the DPW guys boots or the cops ticketbooks or personal cars for the chief officers or any number of other things around town.

The private nonprofit i work for has a great relationship with the township it covers and they have the same concerns as we do at the municipal job, it just manifests in different ways.

But the money goes to the public services itself and paying regular salaries.

 

[cruiseforever]

But the money goes to the public services itself and paying regular salaries.

More than likely any extra income will go to the general fund. The service can request for more money in the next budget cycle.

 

[Bullets]

More than likely any extra income will go to the general fund. The service can request for more money in the next budget cycle.

Correct, which i said, all township income goes into the general fund. Purchases must be obtained via purchase order and any expansion of the EMS budget only occurs at the beginning of the new fiscal year (july)

But the money goes to the public services itself and paying regular salaries.

 

[46Young]

My county FD could take in one trillion dollars, and we would still have the same budget. We don't get to keep it, it all goes into the general fund. If the BOS says our budget gets a haircut, the budget gets a haircut.

 

[Tigger]

This is also overall a silly question. There are a) more than just public and private models and b) it doesn't actually matter as every municipality is different. What works for one place may not in all, and sometimes a private contractor is the answer.

 

[46Young]

The only thing is that I would be hesitant to plan an entire career around working for that one private contractor, due to job security. The municipality isn't going to go anywhere. Although layoffs can happen, the muni job is still a much better bet for staying in one place for the long term. The private contractor may be a better fit for someone in more of a transient position, more of a stepping stone thing.