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I believe it is all part of Empire's ongoing effort to enhance their services and develop their training program (several members of the class were NYSP dispatchers). EMD is good training to have even for non 911 dispatching centers as it helps you prioritize calls and think in a linear fashion making sure you don't miss any key information. I have not heard of any plans for Empire to become a 911PSAP now or in the future but you never know what might happen that could precipitate 911 calls being answered at any number of "unusual" places.

The idea is to have the paid EMT ride the call in if a Volly rig can respond with at least a driver and leave the medic in service. In the event of absolutely no response from the Volunteers then the paid bus would transport the patient.

Empire could absolutely handle it with the resources they have now. As far as being against ESA in Putnam, thats your personal opinion that you are entitled to have. I can tell you that you will be very surprised with how successful ESA will be in the county. Childish bickering aside, Empire is a new place with new management that is more than capable.

Before we start throwing stones. Every service has their problems. Volley agencies have been shut down and had their CON's suspended in our region, other Commercial providers have had serious narcotics issues in the not so distant past. Empire's problem had nothing to do with misuse or abuse of narcotics but was a paperwork error that delayed the renewal process. All narcs were accounted for and their were no deficiencies in their Part 80 plan. As far as interfering with Volly operations there are two sides to every story and I won't entertain the debate since we all know that this industry is full of ego and the majority of parties involved in whatever incidents you may cite have no more involvement with Empire State. It would be greatly appreciated if we could stop digging up old "issues" and focus on the future of Putnam County and the Company that Empire has become. Our doors are always open and you may stop by any time to see what actually goes on here.

Every commercial service bills as do many VAC's. Not everyone has tax districts supporting them. To characterize Empire as any different than any other EMS agency is unfair.

66ALPHA, I agree with you totally. It's funny that governments will say running EMS costs too much money. How much does it cost to run full crews with all apparattus to a fire call? Probably a whole lot more than it costs for an ambulance run especially since EMT's and Medics typically make far less than your average firefighter. It's sad that with the increasing demand for EMS with the changing population demographics etc. that more municipalities don't realize the need for a professional (not that the volley's aren't) EMS service. Civil Service status would do wonders for the status of EMS providers. Unfortunately, to too many people we are just ambulance drivers. As an aside, ever notice how on the news or in the papers Police and Firefighters are always mentioned during an emergency or a disaster but EMS just gets relegated to "other emergency workers." The sad truth is that people don't understand or appreciate what it is we do until they need our help. Good thing none of us got into this for the recognition huh?

Nursing home or not if you call 911 you deserve a quick response. It is unacceptable to only provide fast response to the "glory" calls because thats where the war stories and newspaper articles come from. Remember, every person in that nursing home is someones mother, father, brother, sister, etc. People call 911 for a lot of reasons and yes, a lot of things people call 911 for are things we wouldn't classify as emergencies--regardless of our personal opinions we all have a responsibility when we decide to become an EMS professional to provide the fastest and best service we can when someone picks up the phone and the tones drop. We don't choose the job the job chooses us, and if you're not willing to go to a nursing home at 3am for an injuries from a fall but you're willing to leave Christmas dinner for the 5 car PIAA with entrapment you're in it for the wrong reasons---my two cents.

I don't think anyone here is anti-WEMS. The town is just exploring its options as far as providing the best EMS service it can to its residents. Full time paramedics aren't cheap and neither is ALS gear or a vehicle but the reality of today's EMS system is such that it might be best to pay a little more to get the service you want. If a dedicated fly car for the town saves even one life then its worth every tax payer dollar spent. As far as getting a CON. Municipalities typically do not have problems getting them and any commercial service who has operating authority in that part of the county can staff the medic fly car. I think this is a bit of an eye opener in terms that one of the richest counties in the country still is having problems with such an essential service as EMS.

Summer Camps are definitely a great place to make easy money handing out bandaids and putting icepacks on booboos but not so great for experience. I would reccomend starting out with a paid transport company like Alamo, Empire State, Transcare, Westchester, or one of the million others that are out there and then volunteering with your local VAC or VFD to get some 911 experience in early.

I just heard a rumor that a new law was passed that prohibits a state trroper from reducing a speeding ticket in court. Whatever the speed is on the ticket is what you get fined for no reductions. Can anyone back this up?

Empire State Ambulance Corp. "Our Passion is Caring" We would like to invite everyone to our first ever American Red Cross blood drive at our Fishkill Headquarters, 38 Rt. 9 (Next door to Cablevision) on Saturday March 25th. Donations will be accepted between 9am and 2pm. There will be breakfast served, give-aways, and an open house where you can meet some of our excellent staff and check out our equipment and vehicles. You can make an appointment by calling Empire State Ambulance Corp. directly at (845) 621-9300 or 800-632-2113~walk ins are also welcomed. We look forward to seeing you there and hope that we can all make this event a big success.

I agree--the point of this is that this guy got arrested for having badge. This isnt a debate on wether he should have had one in the first place. To me badges are a dime a dozen since everyone and their mother has one, sanitation, code enforcement, security guards, notary publics, meter maids, etc... I think the real issue is that there are no legal prohibitions to an EMT carrying a shield and it appears that this person was acting appropriately and not misrepresenting that he was a detective or something he was not and yet he was still arrested. For all of you out there who say police are the only ones who should have shields I'd like to ask a simple question--does having a badge make a better a police officer or identify you any better? If a man with a gun tells me to stop I'm gonna stop if he has a badge on or not. If someone tries offering me assistance after I've just wrecked my car it would be reassuring to see some sort of id that was a little more professional looking that was DOH gives out.

There are many VAC's in NYC that do 911. There are also many collegiate VACs that are the primary ambulance providers for their campuses as well as being part of the NYC EMS system. Fordham University EMS, of which I am a member and officer does both. We've been around for 27 years so I have no idea how to start a VAC. My advice would be to talk to some FDNY brass, NYC REMSCO, DOH, or some of the other VACs that exist. Here's a list with some with contact info for each--http://www.emrnyc.com/vac.htm. Another good resource for collegiate EMS programs is the National Collegiate EMS Foundation--they can be reached at www.NCEMSF.org Good luck and if you need any help feel free to contact any of us at Fordham EMS, we are always willing to help.