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I understand the the arguments against it a la taking rigs O.O.S leaves places uncovered and its a wastse of taxpayer $$, hell I even get the argument how not everyone gets this sort of treatment. Bottom line though, someone died...I can bet that his family, friends and dept was very grateful. Death is hard, if somthing like this eases the pain and pays a little respect, how can we not do it?? It would seem immesurable compared to losing a loved one. The truechallenge to this writer would be to see if he accepted somthing like this on his or a family members behalf.

Rest In Peace

What do you do when the chief officers of an EMS organization are out of touch with the EMS world and the staff and are killing the organization? Are there any DOH requirments for being in charge of an EMS organization in NYS (as in the the chief must be an EMT) and if so, how are they enforceable? Has anyone had this problem where the leadership is doing serious damage to the organization but cannot be removed at all??? Any opinion/help would be welcome

Thanks for all the suggestions and support...just an update to keep the juices flowing, changes to the bylaws must be approved/voted upon by none other than, you've gussed it...the board. Your right, we do exist for the public good, which is the main reason many of us (other than love of the job) have not left or staged a sick out.

Chiefs terms (and all officers for that matter) are unlimited/at the discretion of the board

Agreed, all odd. The board does not see an issue with it. As for removal, we have been told that anyone who does not like the admin or their decisions can and should resign. There is no legitimate way to remove w/in the squad's constituion or bylaws...which is why I am asking about other alternatives or past experiences.

Yes that would seem logical that the top person be certified and that is what many of us have been saying. Without going into too much detail, the chief (in charge operationally) has no current medical certification except CPR, used to be an EMT but has not recerted in several years.

Not a part of the FD....strictly a volly EMS squad w/ no municipal ties.

Voting is not a an option as they are not elected, but picked by the board, who in turn votes in their own members....

I'm glad that 15v will be on the road until FDNY gets their act together, hopefully it will take them quite a while. OLM Medic is correct, the men and women of that unit (and all of OLM EMS for that matter) are excelellent, having worked along side them in class and on the road. I have also seen them work next to other agencies at a job and treat my family members, there was no comparison. Keep up the good work!

The OLM website tells us what many of us already knew or had been dreading, OLM is becoming a part of Montefiore Medical Center, and will be known as Montefiore North Division. As of last week, they had not changed any signs or repainted any ambulaces, however, I have heard that they are slowly eliminating the Catholic elements of the hospital. I will not go into further details and speculation w/ regards to OLMEMS b/c there are members of the board who are directly involved in the operations...save to say that things are not will not be the same i.e. I am pretty sure they no longer operate 15V, it has been returned to FDNY.

Well, there always the obligatory BP screenings, dont think I've been to a health fair w/o them....but other ideas could be as follows: Have some supplies on hand or donated and help people build first aid kits or home disaster kits, have a trainer/dietician come give a talk about healthy eating/weight loss...contact local chiropracter or athletic training schools and see if they will come donate/demonstrate their students and teachers services, tours of the ambulance, the list could go on, what do you already have, what are you looking for?

May the officer rest in peace. At least Hill did the right thing and stopped her campaign if even for a moment. MFC2257 has got it right, third or fourth time this has happened recently, I think the need for motorcycle escorts needs to be seriously reevauluated, for everyone safety!!

Its unthinkable that a fire chief would be elected or promoted that had not yet taken Firefighter Essentials or Firefighter 1. If you're in the business of putting out fires, its beyond comprehension that you'd have a commander who has no fire training. Agreed, but is there any similar recourse in EMS??? Seriously, if a Chief of a VAC no longer holds any medical certifcation, what can you do? It's innapproriate and probably a liability, but is there legislation or rules from the DOH?

With regards to non emts overstepping their bounds, I agree it is a tough spot. Hands on experience is the best way to learn, no question and they often times provide much needed assistance. However, I realize the need to be experienced and acccurate when dealing w/ patients. I have had my share of overeager non-emts, I have found the best way to handle them is to give them very very clear instructions, starting from leaving from the station. Based on the call type, you can assign what equpment they need to grab and set up immediately, ie : Ok, we're going to a ______ call, your one job/priority is to set up the stair chair and clear a pathway to the door. Bottom line, is if you continue to give them tasks, they can't interfere w/ patient care as much. If you feel there will be an issue in the bus, you could have them sit up front for the sake of pt care (ie you moving around the back taking care of the pt) As for in the ER, the tasks continue, restock, get times etc. Always remember your in charge, don't hesitate to use that to your advange for your and the pts benefit. Talk before a call and make it very clear what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do, and follow up with that after the call. If it continues to be prb, perhaps a supervisor should handle.

Ok so alot of people here are talking about being progressive, new studies so and so forth...thats all well and good and while I agree tha alot of MVA pts are ambulatory, asymptomatic, or have no signifigant MOI, protocol is still protocol. We all can quote study after study on somthing, CPR effectivness on the back, compressions only CPR, compressions on the abdomen...but you don't see anyone being progressive there and doing it b/c they feel its what is best for the pt. I'm not saying current NY protocol is correct, up to standard or anything of the sort, but until it changes, in todays sue crazy society, the sad reality is its much safer for the EMT to stick to the protocols, however outdated they may be.

The Air Force's 442 F-15A through F-15D planes, the mainstay of the nation's air-to-air combat force for 30 years, have been grounded since November, shortly after one of the airplanes broke into large chunks and crashed in rural Missouri. Since then, Air Force officials have found cracks in the main support beams behind the cockpits of eight other F-15s, and they fear that similar problems could exist in others. The grounded fighter jets do not include 224 F-15Es, which have been inspected and cleared. The E models, used to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are about 10 years younger and have a more robust frame. The F-15A-Ds, meanwhile, are responsible for defending the United States, including flying combat air patrol missions over Washington, a job now filled by F-16s This scares me, especially since it it was MSN.com. I mean, I know its obviously not classified but still probably a little too much info out there. I say rotate w/e airpower we need home from the Middle East to keep us safe...time to get our priorities straight! The full story: Flaws may ground older F-15s

I agree w/ ONENYMEDIC...I understand the love of photography I really do...but if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. You've said its stress relieving, well unfortuately its time to keep it local until you get some money back in the bank. You never know, that suggestion could be based on experience, not a need or desire to bash you. As for people suggesting things, I also agree, most (not all) have been both professional and well intentioned; and while you don't agree w/ suggestions its even more ignorant to dismiss what professional and or extensive knowledge they might have about the general area ...not your site. Its ironic because I can't tell you how many times I've seen posts admonishing other memebers for doing what you have just done. As for donations, I too would love to help. However, like some others have pointed out, the service fee is really a turn off but more of a turn off is the lack of any information about the dispositions of donations, and further the inescapable fact that when your not transparent, the logical person would assume that the money is going to more immediate things than a website...I'm sorry for your situation; but if you expect perfect strangers to give you their money, don't ask them to not only suspend logic, disregard reality and place alot of trust in you all at once...no one in their right mind is going to pay for a hobby while creditors are banging down the door! Look I very much enjoy the website, I think its great and I admire what you have created in 5 years...I also respect and like your decision to keep it free. That being said, we are NOT paying customers, if you need to take some time off to get your life in order, I don't think anyone will mind nor would we feel cheated for lack of services provided. Everyone has been supportive for a long time, those who love this site will keep it running until your able to give it your all again!

IDK from the face of it, it seems like a good idea. Cuts down on the well let me see your badge number routine, it's a nice little perk, sorta like military jets. It also perhaps engenders a little pride in the vehiche ie an officer is more likely to take care of the vehicle and its appearance if they not only have to ride in the same vehicle every day but it has their name on it as well. Wouldn't reccomend this program for takehomes obviously though.

Rest in Peace!

NWFDMedic, I agree w/ the other posters, you cannot be considered ALS (despite your cert) w/o proper equipment and agency licensure to operate at the ALS level, and quite frankly if you try any ALS maneuvers (esp if it goes wrong), you could proably be cited for going above your scope b/c of it. Despite your cert, your agency is still not at the level you are at, and as you are on duty for that particular organization, you can legally only operate at that level of care. If you can't handle not playing medic when you shouldn't be, then you need to remove yourself from that situation. That being said, it is probaly very hard to work BLS as a regular ALS provider. As for the first situation, I don't know how FD works it, but so long as the cert is valid and the skills kept up, the person certified to provide the highest level of care allowed to the agency should be in charge of the pt.

United States Park Police has an active MPU

Love the concept, not sure I can accept it as a good idea in reality. Suppose the cop decides to pull over a supposed good driver and gets somone else. Suppose he pulls over someone, who despite driving well has a record or somthing to hide etc...if the guy gets spooked or tries to run, it caueses a a potentially dangerous situation...I mean we all know criminals don't always stop when lit up...would be hell if it led to injuries or accidents all b/c of a uncessary (however well intentioned) thank you pullover.

I think you hit the nail on the head, we need to get the companies to adjust the dispatch systems to allow for all (PD FIRE and EMS) to accept both landmarks and comments ie...entrance is on a certain side or where the incident is located w/in a largen venue. I think in the absence of a specific address, give the crew as much details from the origional call and then let them do their job as much as possible. Basically keep typing everything the caller said into the system and hope that its enough info to help. I think we also need to realize the limitations of the system: by the time the info gets to the crews on the road its already been filtered through so many peope, from bystanders, to CRO's to EMDS to dispatchers.....the results are not pretty as your aware. Not everyone knows the city, streets aren't labled, landmarks never have addresses listed. I know this could NEVER happen, but having called NYC 911 for a bus several times (as an EMT who works w/in NYC- not for FDNY) I just wish I could talk to the crew on the road for two seconds...Perfect example being I was at Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island and needed a bus, unfortunately I did not know the exact address, only the road...I calmy tried to exlained this to the dispatcher and even said point blank I am directly across the street from the FDNY Academy....still nothing...but when I finally got a bus there I asked the crew if they had troube finding the place , they said no. Had we talked, I probably saved my pt some wait time and me some aggrivation on the phone.

SAN DIEGO - A teenager whose appendix ruptured at sea, hundreds of miles from help, got safely to shore Tuesday after an unusual rescue in which the Navy airlifted her from a cruise ship for emergency surgery. Laura Montero, 14, fell ill aboard the Dawn Princess cruise ship off the coast of Baja California. The Bahamian-registered ship sent out a distress call Friday that was answered by the USS Ronald Reagan, which was on training maneuvers about 500 miles away. Full Story from MSN.com- Navy saves teen with surgery at sea Wow, pretty cool medivac! Congrats to the crew of the USS. Ronald Regan for a great save!