MerlinMedic

I thought they were joking about this when I was told this at AMLS yesterday. Lets face it, it IS the punch line to a blonde joke!

Not taking sides in this mess, being from NY, but what Wisconson did appears to be just what the Feds did years ago. Federal employees are unionized & don't have collective bargining rights. They also appear to do rather well. As a former union member it agravated me that my dues went to candidates that I didn't support. And that, I think is more of an issue than people realize.

Since we are talking about professionalism, how about letting the Sups & Management know when someone does right? The transport crew is early? They help clean up an other patient, help the techs lift a patient into bed? Just yesterday I had to order an EMT badge for our newest EMT. Unfortunetly, I lost the number of the company we order from, BUT, I had the name of manufactuer of the badges. A very nice & patient young lady dug thru 12 years of orders to find out which company we order from (can't go direct, Washington State requires Letterhead etc). She found the company we do biz with, their number & who I needed to talk to. Needless to say, I put a call back to her boss to compliment him for his employees hard work. He was very happy to hear about this, AND she will be very happy with the $50 bonus in her next pay check. So, nurses, docs, not just from the ER, but the floors & whereever you see EMS: when you see us screw up, deal with it, when you see us doing right, let our bosses know!

Can we say "license"? The time to act is now. As NY cuts re-cert classes all over (SUNY Ulster & Cobleskill/Bassett) to name 2 that have ended 'locally', it is time for the State to grow some guts , stand up to SIEU 119 nurses & let EMS get licensed. I know it wont happen this year. But the shortage of classes now means a shortage of EMS providers in the near future. Oh well, NY hasn't been progressive in thought for nearly 70 years, and looks like that wont change any time soon.

Recently I saw a notice that SEMAC would require all ALS agencies to have 12 lead capability by 7/1/10. Can anyone confirm this AND provide documentation? I searched the SEMAC web site & could not find this as a mandate. Please note: this is NOT a discusion on the merits of 12 leads, I well know their worth. Thanx

How about all the ER expansions lately that never consult with EMS? Kingston's looks great, but like Vassar's, you have walk-ins crosing were ambulances are moving thru, and the transport rigs are trying to move people out. St. Francisis? C'mon folks, before you build, ask those who use it what we would like to see, suggestions. Architiects are generally not EMS providers, and often have no hospital experience. Vassar's nice computers look great. They have a nice CiC, except ... the charge nurses' backs is towards the door EMS door, and it is at ground level. Raising it 6 inches would give them the ability to oversee what we are doing and have better command and control. AND, I didn't mention those $%^&**^$@# loading docks from the daze of the Caddys!

I hope the Court makes the family pay all the bills on this one. When you read the article it becomes clear that the patient died from a pneumonia, as the death certificate states, not any treatment or lack of treatment by EMS. The family was trying this as a Civil Rights case! What Rights were denied, abused or anything? EMS was abused by this one. :angry:

What happens if you work for an all paid & volly at an all volly?

Most likely someone hadn't changed uniforms yet or just having some fun. Many of us have Velcro patchitis. I suppose the county dispatchers love it when we (read I) say "County Ala... no, who am I today? ... "

I have to laugh when I see hospitals/agencies that try banning items of clothing worn outside of work (not uniforms). I recall in the days of yor when hospitals had a major problem with scrubs walking. A certian Albany hospital put "Property of AMCH" all over their scrubs so they wouldn't walk. Albany has a thriving adult softball leage. I drove by one field and saw a complete team dressed in green scrub with -- yup -- "Property of AMCH" stamped all over them.

LOL. I wont mention those who once called out as XYZ 'Heavy' 1234 responding. I nearly bust a gut laughing. Don't know what county thought, but it was funny. Of course, the guilty in this case HAVE dropped a lot of weight. As, <cough. cough> have others who didn't like the mirror.

OK, so what is the answer? rehabs feel that they cannot limit the food intake of these patients because it would violate their basic rights, BUT the patient is often on a 6000 + calerie a day diet. All too many are on public assistanc because they cannot work. Eating $40 a meal of Cardiac Arrest Burger (as my fav delhi now calls one sandwitch!) while on the dole, then calling 9-1-1 because ... . So we go out the wherever, pick them up in a unit that has more stress because it is used soley for the bari pt., a cot that has metal fatuge for the same reason, and a 2 person crew, one of whom has a bad back from that crash way back when with Henry Ford, and the company get paid $80 to $150 + $2.00 per mile. The company can't afford a new specialty unit because of this, they can't afford more crew. So ... what do we do? There is no quick answer. But we need to do something. I just read that they hope tohave government healthcare by the end of next wek, and healthcare still hasn't come up with an answer for the bari or the person who wants a taxi cab from Fishkill to Poughkeepsie & calls 9-1-1 & then books out of the ER. :angry:

Thanx, 2 of them do have EMS specific markers: Fireawards & G'burg. Price is similar. Both are a cadeucious w/ EMS on it.

With Memorial Day just over, the local grave yards are newly cleaned & decorated; the American Legion, VFW & youth groups placed new flags on the Veterans Graves, and the FD did the same on the deceased firefighters graves. One family member asked why there aren't any markers for deceased members of the rescue squad. A few years ago we looked into the bronze grave markers for EMS & discovered there are none made. I was hoping that someone might have found a foundry that will cast a Star of Life gravestone marker, or know of a business that sells them. Being cheap, we don't want to have to pay a casting fee (iircc is over $400). If anyone has any info or can suggest a company, please do so. Thanx.

Ckroll, thanx for the info. Moose also described our local, hill billy ALS fairly well.