Access Ambulance

[masterofmetal85 10]

I was just watching a movie and it showed an Access Ambulance in the middle of manhattan. I googled and looked into them a lil and found they are located in stamford CT does anyone have any knowledge about this company. Good opinions, bad opinions, do they have 911 contracts or are they just transport etc. Thanks for any and all responses

[wierdid 2]

Access is owned by Nelson Ambulance. They do mainly non-emergency and CCT transports.

[x635 4,066]

Wasn't Access at one time co-owned by Stamford and Greenwich EMS? I know they ran out of Stamford EMS HQ for a while...

[wierdid 2]

Nelson bought it from SEMS in 2007 I believe. Some time after that, the base was moved to the Shippan section of Stamford.

[WAS967 97]

Wasn't Nelson sold by the DeSimones (owners of Danbury Ambulance, and past owners of Westchester Ambulance) to some healthcare system in the Bridgeport area?

[masterofmetal85 10]

Access is owned by Nelson Ambulance. They do mainly non-emergency and CCT transports.

So no 911 at all?

[x635 4,066]

I believe Access briefly had a minor 911 contract in the Fairfield County area way back, but now I believe they don't. If you're a brand new EMT, you're probaly going to have to do some time doing transports, especially nowadays depending on who's hiring. If you're looking for commercial entry level (transports first with chance of 911) in CT, try AMR in Bridgeport or New Haven.

[masterofmetal85 10]

I believe Access briefly had a minor 911 contract in the Fairfield County area way back, but now I believe they don't. If you're a brand new EMT, you're probaly going to have to do some time doing transports, especially nowadays depending on who's hiring. If you're looking for commercial entry level (transports first with chance of 911) in CT, try AMR in Bridgeport or New Haven.

I'm a brand new medic well since august. I live in nyc and the situation is rough down here our hospitals are deadlocked you either have to know someone or get lucky most want a ton of experience and so many medics take up per diem spots for 3-4 hospitals which takes it away from the new guys and if you are lucky enough to land a spot with a hospital which I was lucky enough to do (Brookdale in brooklyn) 99% itll be per diem work. The FDNY is sort of in a mess with the city budget so I could be waiting for a while before I get called. Transcare has several contracts with hospitals providing them with employees and ambulances and putting them into the city 911 system with the employees wearing all hospital markings patches id etc but paid from TC. I kinda went down that route and it didn't quite work out well mostly because TC sucks and there reputation is known to many. There's always the option to working the handful of privates in the 5 boroughs but I'd rather sit at home and do nothing then be a paramedic and drive grandma to dialysis every other day as most privates in the city don't do a lot of ALS transports they are far and few between so the medics get stuck doing the BLS transports on top of who's buddies with or sleeping with the dispatchers and if its not you then you're screwed.

I've expanded my horizon to agencies "upstate" and elsewhere ie AMR in CT MLSS and HV/Regional in Orange/Dutchess Empress in yonkers, mostly looking for a good mix of transport vs 911 as opposed to nyc privates that (exception of TC hospital contracts) do stictly non emergency transport. I just started training with MLSS and will being training with HV/Regional in a few days and my CT reciprocity is pending. Hopefully I'll be able to sort out a decent schedule but I'm still doing my Homework and asking around about various agencies and trying to get the best info there is on them. My only grievance with MLSS HVP and AMR in CT is that they are roughly 80 something miles from my house.

Empress would be the best choice in terms of distance because its the closest agency by NYC but theyre on a hiring freeze as I asked in another topic I posted. I actually passed an oppurtunity to work for them in Oct which was when they had there last orientation I was asked to come in for an interview which I did and then enter the orientation but my response was that I wanted to give my current employer (TC) a lil more notice that I was leaving (Empress required me to quite them) and not to burn my bridges make a long story short I parted ways from TC for other reasons and then Empress turns around and says they're not hiring and since then I've been checking in every so often but still nothing.

[wierdid 2]

Access does not have any 911 contracts; In the past that may have been a different story. Along with the never ending transfers, they share M/A for Trumbull with AMR Bridgeport and provide medic intercepts for Easton. Its a starting point, and the pay is good. Bridgeport AMR has the 911 contract for the city and the pay there is very good, i believe pushing 20.00 dollars for grade A EMT-b's. I hear they will be hiring in May. AMR New Haven's pay is considerably less.

Edited April 10, 2010 by wierdid

[ny10570 745]

Did you call the recruitment number for FDNY? As screwed as the city's budget is, they're regularly hiring EMTs and pick up a class of new medics every few months.

[masterofmetal85 10]

Did you call the recruitment number for FDNY? As screwed as the city's budget is, they're regularly hiring EMTs and pick up a class of new medics every few months.

I took the physical and met with the investigator he did all the paper work and said the psych test is in may probably and the ALS academy for incoming outside medics tentative in july ( which according to the investigator only comes once a year usually around the summer they run 1-2 medic basic classes a year and a handful of internal upgrades for EMTs that got their medic outside the dept) depending on budget needs of the dept etc. So, so far I haven't received any letters about the psych test who knows what could be happening there might be an academy and i might not be picked to be in it for whatever reason, there might be no academy due to budget whatever the case I need to have some sort of job to keep me busy.

[x635 4,066]

Access does not have any 911 contracts; In the past that may have been a different story.

and provide medic intercepts for Easton.

That's the 911 contract I was thinking of. Thanks.