Conneticut EMS

[masterofmetal85 10]

ok if anyone could provide some help with a little information. I am in the process of getting my CT paramedic license through reciprocity from NY. I did some research and found some names of agencies within the state and most are hiring at the moment so I'm waiting for the license to come through online so I can start applying. In the meantime if anyone can shed light on these companies such as: 911 vs transport, salary, benefits, overall pros and cons

Campion

ASM

Aetna

AMR (bridgeport)

AMR (New Haven same company but from what I heard run completely different from bridgeport)

Hunter

Access/Nelson

Greenwich EMS

Stamford EMS

Madison Ambulance (town of madison)

Thanks

[joetnymedic 43]

just an fyi, nelson and access are primarily transports. they had some 911 when I was there back in 96-02 but mostly transports now. They have the VA contract so you go all over the place including quite a few runs to west roxbury mass. Danbury ambulance hires but they do primarily transports too. located at 14 Walnut St in Danbury. You also have Danbury Hospital Medics which is a pretty good place but you need a decent amount of experience to get in there but they do mostly 911 and you might want to check into vintech also as they provide medic service to a few of the vol ambulance services in the area

[IzzyEng4 427]

Campion is based in Cheshire and serves Cheshire, parts of Waterbury and New Milford areas.

ASM - Ambulance Service of Manchester covers the town of Manchester and other towns in the area.

Aetna is out of Hartford serves the city and some surrounding areas.

AMR us totally based out of New Haven which is also the comms center for New Haven. Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury / Southing, ect. Yest Bridgport ops is totally different thatn New Haven, primarily because they are in a different region.

Hunters is out of Meriden and services Meriden, Middletown, parts of the shoreline area Middlesex county.

Nelson / Access like Joe said do a lot of transports but they do have their primary service areas ffor 911 are are availiable in New Haven county as a primary responder for M/A.

All the private services above are contracted to be primary transports for several towns or at least part of a town.

Greenwich, Stamford and Madison are towbned based EMS services for their respective PSAR (town).

[masterofmetal85 10]

is ASM/Aetna relationship similar to the Nelson/Access relationship. I spoke to an HR person at Nelson they said they do a 2 week rotating 911 schedule for a town that starts with a T cant remember the name though but thats their only 911 contract

[masterofmetal85 10]

do any of the above stand out in working for them vs the others

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

Vintech and ERM as well, all 911

[ncfd3224 0]

Nelson Rotates with Trumbull every 2 weeks. Bridgeport AMR is the only non union AMR division in the state.

[IzzyEng4 427]

do any of the above stand out in working for them vs the others

Not sure what you mean. As for the previous question of ASM/Aetna, ect, I'm not sure.

Also VinTech is a staffing service. They will staff a town's ambulance corps for them. Derby and North Branford are two i can think of who's paid staff is is provided by VinTech. I know their EMTs are, as for North Branford's medic, I think they are also but I'm unsure (Derby is a BLS and Intermediate service, a regional paramedic service is in the area).

[masterofmetal85 10]

I mean if you were given your choice out of all those mentioned which one would you choose and why? ie which ones stand out as companies that emts and medics would run to go work for

[Ladder44 73]

Also VinTech is a staffing service. They will staff a town's ambulance corps for them. Derby and North Branford are two i can think of who's paid staff is is provided by VinTech. I know their EMTs are, as for North Branford's medic, I think they are also but I'm unsure (Derby is a BLS and Intermediate service, a regional paramedic service is in the area).

ahhh the true meaning of earn money sleeping.....we at vintech covers Brookfield and North Brandford for medic services, as well as new milford, georgetown, litchfield, morris, harwinton, north canaan, winsted, canton, thomaston, glastonbury, derby, and a bunch of others west of I-91 that i cant think of at the moment. Medic pay starts at $21/hour

At amr-waterbury division we cover half of waterbury as well as all of watertown, medic intercepts with thomaston, morris, plymouth, becon falls and anyone else who calls, also cover the towns of southington, plainville, farmington and avon. the medics here start at $24/hour and we are in a union.

Edited January 12, 2012 by Ladder44

[WAS967 97]

If you have your medic in NY and you live near that area, might look into Northern Dutchess Paramedics (NDP EMS). They do work in both NY and CT and might be willing to help you get your foot in the door in CT. The only station that does any CT work is Amenia.

[nfd2004 750]

If its ACTION you want, certainly AMR in Bridgeport and New Haven are the places to be. I have a brother-in-law who works at AMR in Bridgeport and he's got stories to tell every time I see him. But he also does routine transfers, however he is an EMT and not a Medic. Maybe that makes a difference.

Besides, most of AMR covers the surrounding towns which are busy within themselves. Another thing is I believe AMR is a Nationwide Company. I would GUESS that you could transfer throughout if you ever wanted to.

I live in Norwich, Ct about 120 miles from NYC. We have American Ambulance as our primary responder/transport, and they also do many paramedic intercepts with many surrounding towns. However, I know they also do many routine transfers.

Have you considered working for a city fire dept ? I know here in Connecticut, many are looking to hire Paramedics. I think New Haven is short about 70 Firefighters and may be giving a test soon. They probadly will need paramedic/firefighters as they are also planning on adding another ALS response unit. I have a good friend who just left one fire dept to go on another. They hired him in a heartbeat because he is a medic. He gets a nice extra payment for being a medic too.

Edited January 12, 2012 by nfd2004

[masterofmetal85 10]

So new haven als is through amr or FD?

[mikeinet 37]

Also agencies like VEMS that does a shared paramedic fly car in the valley (shelton, derby, ansonia, oxford, etc.)

AMR is primary 911 but I believe FD also does 1st response with certain Priority 1's (cardiac, etc.).

AMR also covers areas up and down the coast out of NH/Bridgeport (Milford, Fairfield, etc.)

Norwalk EMS may also be one to look at.

How far are you looking to travel?

Edited January 12, 2012 by mikeinet

[masterofmetal85 10]

I guess nothing past Hartford someone mentioned Norwich thats to far

[medic25 0]

So new haven als is through amr or FD?

Both. New Haven FD has 2 Emergency Units staffed by paramedic first responders. AMR New Haven is the transport service for New Haven, so assuming they send an ALS ambulance both services are providing ALS. Depending on the EMD process, they may sometimes just send an ALS ambulance without the FD (such as a health care facility).

[longtrail106 0]

Stamford EMS and Greenwich EMS are great services, however you need at least two years in a high volume high trauma service before they will even look at your app. VEMS and Norwalk have the same requirments last I heard.

AMR Bridgeport covers Bridgeport and Fairfield for 911 calls, along with medic intercepts and mutual aid for all surrounding towns. We do about 55k calls including routine transfers and STAT transfers. None of the FD's in our area are ALS, so you will be the first in medic on all calls. As far as pay goes medics start off very well, but as with any commercial service, you will earn every dime.

ASM/Aetna is not the same as Nelson/Access. They are separate company's with Hartford Hospital being the silent partner in both company's. Aetna splits hartford with AMR.

Nelson/Access is very transport heavy with trumbull being there only somewhat 911 contract. They pay pretty well, I can't speak to exact ammounts. On the plus side, they do have quarters so your not out on a street corner, and most nights you will sleep.

Hope that helps.

[oc344 0]

I guess nothing past Hartford someone mentioned Norwich thats to far

You can come apply at NDP EMS like previously stated we do work in NY and CT (Litchfield County). We handle Canaan, North Canaan, Salsbury, Sharon, Falls Vilage, Cornwall, Cornwall Bridge, Lakeville and mutual aid to Kent, Warren and New Milford when Medic 4 is out.) We also handle transports out of Sharon Hospital. If you're looking for a fast paced work place come join us.

George

[IzzyEng4 427]

If you want to work your butt off, then work in New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury, Stamford or the Lower Naugatuck Valley areas.

Also N.D.C.P. covers medic service in many parts of Litchfield County and like it was previously stated, it can be a good foot in the door.

[nfd2004 750]

After reading these post and knowing what I know, I think I'd put my priority in Bridgeport AMR. They get plenty of action. Not that far from NYC, and Fairfield and Bridgeport Fire Depts respond only as First Responder BLS. You would get to use those paramedic skills all the time.

About the only problem I would see there is I guess no union protection. Where as in some of the other AMR Offices like New Haven, I guess there is. These tight economic times, it just might be something to consider.

But the doors are open for you. The entire medical field is about the only place these days with some type of job security and fairly decent pay and benefits. If I were a young guy myself, thats where I'd be looking into. I think I'd really enjoy working in the streets, espically a busy area like Bridgeport or New Haven. Later, I'd probadly look into becoming a firefighter/paramedic or a nurse.

Everybody can't be a nurse, firefighter or paramedic though. Then I would probadly turn towards a "911" dispatcher. Pretty much the same thing. Job Security, pay, benefits etc. And with all of the above, the biggest benefit comes from helping people everyday you work.

[ncfd3224 0]

Making a full time career in EMS is dead end. Like stated before, if you go on for Firefighter/Paramedic or Nursing you can have a good career. It is very tough to find people that have worked a full EMS career and are happy and not burnt out. Most of these private ambulance companies run you in to the ground. Especially the cities. You very rarely get out on time, constantly held over due to shortage on ambulances that management drops every day due to budget restraints. Good luck if you get to even sit down and start a run form, let alone finish one. With the new MEDS program for run forms, every call is 10 to 12 pages. I hope you plan on using EMS as only a stepping stone. Good Luck

[masterofmetal85 10]

But being a medic is part of ems so that makes your statement a little confusing as far as pay (not that I should base it all on that) does anyone know pay rates for companies like campion,hunter,asm/aetna I know amr bridgeport starts@25 danbury ambulance is 20.98

[Goose 188]

If you have no experience as a paramedic i can't imagine you would be getting paid more than low 20s/hr - if that. As far as EMS as a career - in this area, it's just a job and as soon as you get into it you should be looking towards a way out - whatever that may be. Often, down south and out west it is a respectable career w/ a salary and benefits that are on par with other emergency services.

As far as union shops, i'm not sure there is any EMS union - 1199 excluded (and thats not really a EMS union) - worth paying dues to.

Get some experience in a private and you'll be able to build your resume and clinical database to move on. Good luck.

[Ladder44 73]

But being a medic is part of ems so that makes your statement a little confusing as far as pay (not that I should base it all on that) does anyone know pay rates for companies like campion,hunter,asm/aetna I know amr bridgeport starts@25 danbury ambulance is 20.98

Campion is on the lower end....my girlfriend make $4 less an hour then i do and we do the same thing, but there also non-union.