Goose

It's just the way it is here - its a microcosm of where we live really. As far as discussing and learning there are two issues. Most people don't give a crap about the real issues (i had posted twice about a DC organization that speaks to congress about EMS and our needs and i don't think there was one reply in it) and dissenting opinions are scored upon. The second i convey my opinion i'm either too young and thus inexperienced to have one, don't know what I'm talking about, or too harsh (i only use me as an example because its easy). But hey, when a plane lands on 684 or a commuter train derails and it takes a year and a day to get the job done, we can pat ourselves on the back here and say how great we did and then go back to business as usual. Point is, no one wants to address, discuss or debate the meat and potatoes stuff - how do we get ambulances out, how do we get properly staffed fire trucks out, how do we provide better service to our community, etc. etc. etc. Oh well.

Vista is overkill for an ePCR unit. XP is far more stable and familiar. And no, do not buy a mac. This isn't a home computer, this is a working computer. There are no rugged options from Apple as they are simply not in the public safety market and really have no interest to enter that market. And, no, i'm not a MS fanboy, i'm writing this on my Macbook.

Good ol' Medic 25.

You're kidding, right? Broad, sweeping and the truth. From top to bottom the county is not prepared. ~150 911 ambulances in the county and not enough personnel to staff them, god knows how many pieces of fire apparatus...but i guarantee it exceeds the amount of fully qualified firefighters. One ambulance call overwhelms most EMS agencies and most fire departments respond with a chief's car on routine alarms - forget major emergencies we can't even handle the bread and butter in Westchester. What exercises have we done? Oh, you mean the airport drill at 10 AM on Sunday morning? What's the County's emergency operations plan? Oh...wait...there isn't one.. And no the Indian Point and Airport "plans" don't really count because they are requirements of the NRC and FAA respectively. Any County-wide threat/hazard assessments and mitigation plans? We've got a LONG way to go before we can even think about handling any disaster.

Yeah, the assumption here is that you requested it the question was is it a service they can and are capable of providing. Thanks.

When i say third service i am not referring to commercial EMS. My idea of third service EMS is a County wide/run system and if thats not possible, a regional system would suffice - ie: a handful of municipalities serviced by 1 EMS system. As far as the quality of providers, i think you're being unfair. It's always a lot easier to think back and pick out the bad rather than the good. No question some are skells but there are a lot of great people that have and still work for these companies. Most of us got our start in commercial EMS, it's part of getting your sea legs.

It's a rescue medic truck. From my understanding they are Paramedics trained extensively in crush medicine and operating in technical rescue situations. They carry a host of specialized equipment given this role. I believe they existed prior to 9/11 but were disbanded shortly before the attacks and then quickly put back into service post attack.

The guy who owns this place used to be an old partner of mine...damn... Also hope 911 Uniforms wasn't effected too badly...they always hooked us up...

Isn't 60 control supposed to assist with alerting hospitals and gathering information as to what hospitals can handle what patient volume? I thought i recall hearing that some place... Sounds like a cool system...you would probably have to call and tell the ER to actually listen to the radio first though

Vast majority of places ive worked never had FD response and i never saw patient care suffer - with the exception of a handful of incidents where i was being requested M/A to a distant town with no ALS fly-car FD first response would have been helpful to bridge the gap. On an arrest the shift supervisor would be requested if he/she didn't already respond upon dispatch. As for making the medic ride a job in, i moan and complain about it all the time. Pay people, period. Is it really all that big of a surprise that in some systems patients receive appropriate pre-hospital care without a fire department response? Having less than 4 years experience does not necessarily make someone a bad provider. There are people out there with cards 10+ years who are less than stellar. Just because a firefighter doesn't put out 3rd Alarm fires every other day are they bad firefighter? No, i think that would be an awfully unfair assessment. Likewise, there will be crappy experiences on both sides, no matter where you go. About 5 years ago i did a "man down," pulled up FD told us the guy was DOA...turns out he was very much alive, hypothermic but alive. Bad experience for sure, but who cares? We can sit here all day and go back and forth - there are knuckle heads on both jobs. I never accused anyone of not having a clue, but I'm tired of hearing how i need or should have a fire department respond because without them i apparently can't do much but drive the freaking ambulance.

I think he was making light of an earlier comment (a very condescending comment) about commercial (what being commercial has anything to do with it is beyond me) EMS canceling municipal fire.

Saints must be paying well.

The bottom line is EMS can do their job - and do it well- without the Fire Department, despite what some here may think. Given that, EMS should have full discretion of what resources they require on their assignments.

Thats great but the fact is, when the City got busy, I was not going to tie up an engine on some sick call or someone who wants to be transported because they lost a tooth (actually had that there). Like i said, i cancelled them on a few occasions, and while i apparently wasted air time and my breath i never got an ounce of grief from anyone. In fact, on at least one occasion i was thanked by them. I think 137 had a solid reply that really gets to the heart of it. But i'm biased, i'm a proponent of a third service. Just glad i don't have to deal with it now.

I dunno, 129, when i worked the city i cancelled PFD on a few occasions in which i happened to beat them. I never got any grief about it...

The empire toughbooks were intended for the cad, they never had anything to do with EPCR or patient care. And yeah, they never ever worked as originally intended. As far as patient care - it doesn't suffer. Paper or electronic you treat and then document your treatment. If the EMT/Medic is more concerned with writing the job up than treating the patient - paper, plaster or digital the patient will suffer. It's state law in Connecticut that all PCRs are electronic and they seem to be doing pretty well. Besides, like it or not, it will be mandatory within the next 10 years.

Good thing he had that hood on!! Hope he recovers quickly. Out of curiosity how bad were his burns with the hood on?

the simple answer is the following: Westchester County is not prepared for any disaster, big or small, be it man-made, terrorist, accidental or natural

no T-shirts? I'd like to pick one or two up as to support you guys and remember my time in the city!

Yeah, i was going to say...BLS and ALS get inspected and have to display the NYS DOH certified sticker on 3 sides and the inspection sticker on the left. Hatzolah can do whatever the hell they want, i remember when i was working across the river once i saw an Acura TL with red grill lights and a siren.

Can't speak to fire, but as far as EMS is concerned, doesn't the state need to inspect your car if you are going to use it as a battle wagon with red lights and a siren?

I thought that FDs had the ability to bill repeat AFA offenders, just like some PDs bill home owners/businesses whose alarms go off constantly. I think i read this hear a while back, don't remember. But, something like your taxes covered 1 or 2 responses after which you would be billed.

I suppose it depends on your system. Most systems a crew needs to log on and if they log out jobs are only accessible once logging back in - each with their own unique password. As far as sending jobs to a sever, it is encrypted. Like with anything else electronic, the proper safety measures need to be taken - firewalls, data encryption, etc. Definitely something you want an IT professional/company to assist you with. Zoll Data Systems (division of the company that makes Zoll monitors, defbis, autopulse, etc) is also a popular software package of choice for a number of EMS agencies. Not only do they make ePCR software, but they actually make scheduling and employee tracking (ie: expiration dates of certs, etc.) software. Other companies include ESO, RAM Software, CodeRedEMS...the list goes on and on. You're probably looking at a year to year and a half lead time until things hit the streets. It's a big conversion that takes a lot of time, money and thought.

If you are going for ePCR you are going to have to build a server to store all your PCRs. This alone is a multi-thousand dollar investment. What ePCR software are you looking to use - remeber much of the software comes as a rough outline and you adjust/build it up to your state/agency needs. Next you have to figure out how you are going to get the info to the server - wi reless or wired? If wireless explore the options of carriers with solid network coverage - what type of wireless modems do they offer? Once you have those things squared away, choose your field computers. Toughbooks are alright (worked in systems that had major issues with hard drive failures on them) General Dynamics also makes a tablet field computer with a touch screen. You have a few options available and your looking at a huge investment. Get in touch with some agencies in westchester that are electronic and get some feedback from them as well. Also, don't forget to talk with your recieving ERs, the state and the region and you will need permission from them. Generally it will be a bumpy transition and there a strenghts and drawbacks to both paper and digital.Best of luck!

I remember my girl's father (27 years on the job) telling me an old war story about some old salty FDNY old timer who refused to wear his hood until he lost half of both his ears in a basement fire. Seems kinda silly to not wear it, no?