Is Hawthorne Hiring EMT's?

[helicopper 1,050]

This is not about getting rid of volunteers - and that is not what partyrock is saying nor what he is about. The fact is If you cant get a bus on the road, its time to swallow pride and let the paid guys handle it. Its about providing your community with the best possible service. If you have an ambulance, but no one wants to take the call in, what good is it?

I'm really at a loss as to why this is such a big issue for alot of people. Look at Spring Valley EMS in Rockland County. They have 2 full paid crews on during the daytime mon-friday, the volunteers provide 2 crews during the nights and on the weekends and they have like 5 ambulances and do probably 5K + calls a year.

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Wow, did this topic ever take off! Great discussion but let's not forget that whether we're lobbying here for volunteer or paid services, the overall goal is or should be the same: quality patient care! That should be the #1 issue.

The situation in Hawthorne was in a word - horrible. For whatever reason(s) they couldn't get out the door. Maybe it was because they were spending an inordinate amount of time at one building or another on the Grasslands Reservation - I've never been able to understand why you need to dial 911 to transport a dialysis patient (who's under the care of a medical professional already) to the ER but that's for a separate thread. Maybe its something entirely different, like everyone is working two jobs to afford to live there. It's really immaterial.

Hawthorne recognized the problem and addressed it and now the mutual aid responses and delayed response times should be a thing of the past. If it is still a problem, they'll have to deal with it further.

Having worked in both Rockland and Westchester, I don't understand why the addition of paid personnel to a system in need of support is such an issue to us on this side of the bridge. Rockland is a great example of a system (maybe not the best, but certainly a good one). Vollies had a hard time getting out during the day (sound familiar?) so they hired paid crews for weekdays. Vollies cover additional calls when they can during the day and cover everything on nights and weekends. There's pride with the paid crews and pride with the vollie crews. They all participate in the QI program to make sure everyone is delivering quality care and they have paramedic support via the fly-car system for ALS jobs. To me its a win-win situation.

And as an aside, I really don't understand why the Mt. Pleasant medic needs to bounce all over town on every job - such as the "injury" or "sick" or "Taylor Care transfer". That's not very good use of such a limited resource.

The responses here also answered another question from another thread... Why is EMS always the ba$tard stepchild of emergency services? Read back over this thread and you'll see the answer. We're not all in this together - by any stretch of any imagination! We're bashing each other even though most of the comments are trying to make improvements.

Good job Hawthorne! You fixed a problem and your constituents will benefit from it.

[NYMedic37 22]

Hawthorne has paid EMTs now, we went with empess Monday-Friday 6am-6pm. Since we are not a V.A.C we can not bill, and yes the EMTs are available for mutual aid, whatever the call is the ambulance will roll on.

Mark Voeltz

Hawthorne FD

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Mark,

So how is it working out with the paid EMT and Paramedic staff? Is it better for the community and overall patient care? Also, How many paid EMT's and paid Paramedics do you have? I work as a part time paid EMT in Tarrytown and a paid Paramedic for a large private hospital in Manhattan that does 911 service for the city of New York.

Paul Aiello

[NYMedic37 22]

Does anyone know how much the EMT's and Paramedics get paid?

[Guest voeltz 234]

Sorry bout the last post by VAC GUY, i was on his computer and diddnt realize i was signed on as him, but everything in the reply under VAC GUY is correct.

Mark Voeltz

Hawthorne FD

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

OK so everyone can be happy with HFD now. GREAT. I don't care where the EMT came from I just wanted to know if the board talked to any other agency. It just seemed a little smarter to go with Transcare since VVAC uses them during the day, you have Medic 1/2 and 87B1/87A1. You do get my point right? Why not keep everyone working together from the same agency. Like I said, Hawthorne will do what Hawthorne will do.

[ex-commish 490]

i agree w/ partyrock, having a "bad day" in ems or fire is unacceptable, yes it happens, but as officers its our job to make sure it happens as little as possible.  As for oneeyedmic, I also understand where you are coming from, but becoming a municipal agency tough, trust me I tried to get the details.  When I first heard of mt pleasant ems, I thought it was going to be municipal; needless to say…I was wrong.  To make it municipal takes a lot of work on the legal end.  But you know what the biggest problem is?  vac/fire members are VERY TERRITORIAL!  In my opinion, that’s why its not municipal.  Too many members only prefer THERE vac or fd; well guess what??  Fire and ems isn’t about YOU, it’s about THEM!!  If that’s not your reason for doing this…especially ems…please tell me why you do it?  …and I really hope no one says to drive lights and sirens. 

In my last post I was not criticizing hfd, im very happy they did what was necessary to get there bus out the door and I leave that kudos to the new officers- GREAT JOB!  I just don’t understand how the past régime could just sweep this under the carpet for almost 3 YEARS!!!  That’s the only upsetting thing

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VACGUY....I would be extremely careful on your accusations. You are making serious accusations against another organization. You seem to "claim" to know what is going on in Hawthorne and I see you are from Valhalla and are an officer in volunteer ems which you should know better not to make claims unless you have facts and are willing to stand by them. I was part of the past "regime" and I find it offensive that you bash my organization as you had in your last two posts.

I am 99% sure of who you are and like another issue recently I will find out for sure. If you choose to be part of a small grouo of cowards who still are intent on bringing our house down don't do it in this forum....come to Hawthorne FD and tell us in person what you think of us.

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

I don't see any critizing by VACMAN. I see his/her point. The fact is for the last couple of years HFD has been a joke with EMS. If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen. Whatever politics you have within your DEPT you have, but there was/is no reason the public had to deal with it. And if you think the public didn't have to deal with it your wrong. Everytime you couldn't get a crew out and there tons of times, the public suffered.

Now I don't know why you lost some of your members to neighboring VAC's and I personally don't care. I will say that if I was and officer or on the board it would have made me think about revamping the system. It seems you may have done that with getting a paid EMT during the day but it and it is a start. Don't think that you can fix years of problems with one solution though.

HFD your own memeber agrees with VACGUY. There ya go in BLACK AND WHITE.

Sorry bout the last post by VAC GUY, i was on his computer and diddnt realize i was signed on as him, but everything in the reply under VAC GUY is correct.

Mark Voeltz

Hawthorne FD

[Guest]

VACGUY....I would be extremely careful on your accusations. You are making serious accusations against another organization. You seem to "claim" to know what is going on in Hawthorne and I see you are from Valhalla and are an officer in volunteer ems which you should know better not to make claims unless you have facts and are willing to stand by them. I was part of the past "regime" and I find it offensive that you bash my organization as you had in your last two posts.

I am 99% sure of who you are and like another issue recently I will find out for sure. If you choose to be part of a small grouo of cowards who still are intent on bringing our house down don't do it in this forum....come to Hawthorne FD and tell us in person what you think of us.

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Im sorry, but I never made an accusation of the past regime. There is nothing factual in my last post, it’s just my opinion. And since it is my opinion, yes I will stand by it. As for being a coward, I think that’s funny! If you looked at my profile, and are from mt. pleasant, you could probably guess who I am…and I know who you are. Im not trying to hide who I am, nor be anonymous. I’m just doing what this whole emtbravo thing was set up for, reading facts and opinions and giving my two cents. Just because you don’t like my opinion doesn’t give you the right to call them facts, they’re not. And I DO NOT want to see hfd fail, that would be a terrible thing. Hfd, I think, is the busiest company in mt pleasant for both fire and ems. To see it fail would be a burden on the mutual aid companies and I sure as hell don’t want that. Good luck figuring things out on this forum…

[Guest]

the "territorialism" is not something that is unique to anyone agency or locality, i would argue its common to the vast majority of volunteer agencies

Edited April 4, 2007 by 66Alpha1

[Guest voeltz 234]

what i typed on VAC GUYS name diddnt appear yet, the next post that comes up by him will be the one that i wrote on his name. what it said was, Hawthorne has 1 emt in quaters, we dont have any paramedics, transcare provides them to the town of MT. Pleastent, 37-M1 and 37-M2.

[Guest partyrock]

becoming a municipal agency tough, trust me I tried to get the details.  When I first heard of mt pleasant ems, I thought it was going to be municipal; needless to say…I was wrong.  To make it municipal takes a lot of work on the legal end. 

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Which ever one of you two wrote this, are you able to enlighten with details? Getting the involved agencies to share is one problem. Once you over come that hurdle...Don't all of these vacs all ready recieve municipal support? Once you spin off Hawthorne from the FD each agency can start billing for service. If you can get them in integrate into a single facility, sell the other two facilities and the extra vehicles, and bing bang problem solved. I figure they start now serice can begin by 2030. Getting their own ALS established is more daunting, but far from impossible once they all get together. I'm sure you could even look too Mt. Pleasnt PD for support. From what I'm told the leadership there would be quite receptive towards a unified EMS for the community.

[ONEEYEDMIC 68]

Which ever one of you two wrote this, are you able to enlighten with details?  Getting the  involved agencies to share is one problem.  Once you over come that hurdle...Don't all of these vacs all ready recieve municipal support?  Once you spin off Hawthorne from the FD each agency can start billing for service.  If you can get them in integrate into a single facility, sell the other two facilities and the extra vehicles, and bing bang problem solved.  I figure they start now serice can begin by 2030.  Getting their own ALS established is more daunting, but far from impossible once they all get together.  I'm sure you could even look too Mt. Pleasnt PD for support.  From what I'm told the leadership there would be quite receptive towards a unified EMS for the community.

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I will be long retired and probably dead by the time that ever happens. Would be nice though.