Goose

Hudson River Psychiatric Center (HRPC)

Interesting topic and nice to see at least the inklings of consolidation floating around. I'm seriously tired of seeing tax dollars be thrown into new chiefs trucks every other year and overzealous apparatus acquisitions. Hopefully an honest and realistic plan comes out of this which maintains proper round the clock staffing, effective resource allocation and positioning. Fact is, this could never happen overnight it would be massive effort that would take time and money to establish. As far as the politics, i think that the study is going to have to show some very serious savings or something equivalent before it would even be considered at the County Government level. I don't know too much about the politics of Andy Spano, but he seems like a reasonable guy. Likewise, any plan would have to explicitly include volunteers. The biggest thing is, right now, many people feel " well, the fires get put out and the FD comes when i call about an odor of gas." Most people don't know an adequate response from an inadequate response, at least thats what I've seen on the EMS side of things. So a massive re-education effort would have to be undertaken in order to point out where the current system fails. Like i said, glad to see this first step, would love to see my tax dollars go to it, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Interesting program, reguardless of whatever the intentions may be. But, to be honest, i would much rather have an H1 or military grade Hummer come to my rescue than a civilian H2 or H3. Don't know if anyone has seen the H2 or H3 model up close, but the majority of it is plastic....definitely not something i would entrust my life to.

Rest in peace brother

Happy and safe Christmas and New Year to everyone and their families! For those of us that are working this holiday season, please be safe!

Hope the crew enjoys a speedy recovery.

I think EJS is in the right area, mobilemedic is definitely a New York Company.

Cute When i first started out in EMS 4 or so years ago one of my buddies i rode with often just started calling me that...couldn't tell you why thought, ha.

Or we could all go out and become meteorologists. It's the only job where you can go on TV, get paid at least six figures and be consistently wrong without fear of getting fired

I understand your argument Oneeye, however i would offer that the vast majority of FD runs these days are EMS related. While I'm sure there will never be a decline in the number of AFAs, COs, gas odors and stuck elevators or lockouts the number of fires is down nationwide. While i don't know if EMS calls have risen nationwide, i can only assume they have at least maintained themselves at a number greater than FD runs minus EMS runs. I don't know much about PD so i can't speak to it. But, that is not to say EMS should get paid over any one service and i don't think that is what was being advocated. I think more generally EMS, FD and PD need to earn a livable wage, in other words raise them all (minus those that already are fortunate enough to make a decent salary). But, out of the three EMS is probably the worst off. Measly pay, lackluster benefits, little recognition and representation on all levels - all for a job that maintains a pretty high demand. Again, i don't think anyone is saying that EMS should be paid more than any one service, but at least on par with what FD and PD get paid and generally everyones salary should be realistic.

How many runs do you do a day? It has got to be a pretty low number... If i was payed by the call, i would average about 225 dollars in 12 hours. I get paid just above that for the two 12 hour tours i work a pay period. I would say that every tour i average about 5 calls, with the fewest being 3 and the most being about 12. There is no way any high volume agency could afford paying its employees by call. It just doesn't make sense in a career capacity...how would you account for accrued PTO/Vacation, doesn't seem like you could have shift differentials, and with all that was being paid out i couldn't see a company looking to offer an honest health and retirement package. I think the hourly wage makes far more sense....but it would be nice if it were a bit more in line with the responsibility and cost of living.

Facts? I hate to beat a dead horse but didn't you post that Alamo lost the City of Poughkeepsie to MLSS? The biggest problem with this thread is fairness and honesty. There shouldn't be bashing of any company, be it management or employees. What exactly does that prove or resolve? Nothing. You know, Alamo is not the only company to run out of units. Alamo covered MLSS when the Town of Fishkill had a structure fire over the summer and we went M/A to East Fishkill a handful of times as well. Likewise, i can't recall the last time a City job had to go M/A. Like i said earlier, its not exactly easy to bust your a** for 12 hours and then see some of the stuff that is being said around here, some of it by people that have no first hand knowledge but simply find it easier to pick out the bad and disregard any good. No one company is perfect, each has their problems i don't think anyone can deny that.

ALS - Not sensitive, I'm just tired of people throwing out rumors that have to do with whether or not I or others have a job. First you've got people saying Alamo lost the City of Pok. then you've got others saying they are going to lay people off. I'm not in the business apologizing for what was or may have been the case at one point or another. All I'm saying is that for those of us on the street we do the best we can with what we have and its tough to come here and see some of the crap thats being thrown around, especially when you've got people who haven't been in our shoes making some of the more visceral comments. My comments are not concerning the company, but the people on the street.

I take personal contention with this comment and a few others previously posted. First and foremost what is the purpose or point of posting rumors about people potentially losing their jobs? You are talking about peoples livelihood here. THERE WILL BE NO LAYOFFS!!!! Likewise, working primarily in the City of Poughkeepsie, i can tell you that the patient care is of the utmost. We do our very best for the City of Poughkeepsie residents and do our best to keep the Fire Department in service. The fact of the matter is no company is perfect. Every one has it's can of worms, good eggs and bad eggs. There is no question that some have a lackluster legacy/history. But what pisses me off the most about some of what is written here is the total disregard for the average employee. The vast majority of us work very hard and are very good at what we do (that goes for every company). For those that have worked for some of the commercials in the area can attest to that, for those of you who have no first hand knowledge i suggest you do one of two things: 1) keep your mouths shut and fingers in neutral or 2) come out and get to know us. The patch on my shoulder does not speak to the kind of care provider or person i am.

City of Poughkeepsie FD requires their members to be EMTs (not sure if its at the time of hire though), Arlington FD (Town of Pok) has Career FF/EMTs and FF/Paramedics, Lagrange FD also has FF/EMTs and FF/Paramedics.

Old news. This was being reported back during the summer and has been going on long before the summer. Not quite sure what this has to do with Bush, as it's not the federal governments responsibility to fund the operating costs of every fire department in the country. Likewise, political contributions like this occur on both sides of the isle all the time.

Don't lump me into that category, I'm responding to and on scene at the majority of my assignments in under 5 minutes. It's the volunteers who aren't holding up their end of the bargain and all too often have too much "pride" to admit it. Cut the bull, enter into the 21st Century, get the truck out or pay someone to.

In all honesty, this is a non-issue. Funeral processions have been going on for decades with few problems as far as I'm aware. Unfortunately, i have been in a number of processions, all with PD escort, and have never felt unsafe. Likewise, i have been on the road as they approach or pass me, i just pull over as i would for PD, FD, EMS.

Boneheads for sure! Got what they deserved if you ask me!

TR54, Just curious if you guys trained on the granulated product or the bandage product. Did you guys find/learn anything interesting about the product? NYMedic, Any word on how much heat the bandage generated? I had heard that heat was a byproduct of the application of this product....likewise, did the MD have anything to say about it?

Oneyeyed, I hear what your saying here, and i do agree that when looking to fill a void in leadership you need to look at qualifications, time served and experience. However, I'm 21 and have been involved in EMS in a career capacity since 19. At work I'm tasked with the health and well being of my patients during their time in my care, sometimes that means making quick or difficult medical decisions. While i don't claim to know everything ( i learn something new every tour), i do feel as though i am fully capable of handling just about everything that comes my way. I've seen 40 and 50 year old EMTs who i wouldn't trust with a flea! I'm not contesting your comments, because i think that your correct at some level, but at the same time I don't think its completely fair to write someone off because of age alone.

Ckroll, i agree wholeheartedly with above and i appreciate that response. So, it looks like this bill expires after 2 years sadly...better than nothing i suppose As a side bar what is corporate EMS? ...did you mean commercial?

Anyone know if this legislation has a sunset provision?

Well said! Button down or polo, job shirt/jacket, duty boots, belt and your choice of blue uniform pants (straight leg, cargo) is all you need. Anything more is frivolous and too expensive to have a realistic replacement policy. A duty uniform is not going to buy EMS the respect it deserves. But, hey if you've got money to burn go for it...

Just curious if anyone knows if the military is conducting war games this weekend in or around the Hudson Valley? I've seen a number of fighter style aircraft and military helicopters flying low and fast for a few hours now. Either way, free air show