Tehachapi now has a second ambulance and it sounds like you folks really needed the coverage.  However, do we know if Hall added a new ambulance and staff to his business or did he simply remove coverage from another rural community?  The odds are that part of your second ambulance coverage came from the removal of our weekend service in Pine Mountain. 

Does anyone know how many ALS ambulances Hall has to cover his portion of Kern County? 

I agree with Firemedic and concernedcitizen that we need to be working together.   How can we get a group action off the ground?

The station in Golden Hills was up and running before Pine Mountain closed and the staff is completely different. It is a completely new station. I hate that Pine Mountain had to lose their ambulance coverage. It really sucks for everyone there. Like I have to tell them that. Unfortunately money talks in the private ambulance business.

For an excellent followup article on the ongoing manipulations of Hall Ambulance, please read the articles in our local newspapers last two issues (http://www.mountainenterpri...). 

Kern County has a mutual aid agreement (fire and ambulance service) with Ventura County in our mountain communities that includes the area of Lockwood Valley.  Ross Elliot confirms this agreement exists and states that when Kern Fire Department goes into Ventura County, Hall Ambulance per contract must also go; Ross then turns the issue arrround and asks, "why is the Fire Department going"?  Da! Local residents have seen AMR's ambulance responding to Lockwood Valley with Kern Fire Department.  So once again Harvey does exactly what he wants with the support of the powers that be.  So much for a mutural aid agreement in our rural areas!  

I realize my post is a little late, and I haven't taken the time to read all the posts so if my comments are duplicating a apologize. I'd like to clear something up though. The statement that a FD Paramedic is only allowed to provide BLS treatments to patients is WRONG. If the Engine/Truck/Patrol vehicle they respond in is equipped with all meds & equipment County EMS requires for ALS response, the Paramedic can provide ALS treatments.

Kern County EMS Policy # 4200.3599: Paramedic First Responder Polices & Procedures

I. General Provisions:

A.  The Paramedic First Responder Program is an optional prehospital advanced life support program administered by the Kern County EMS Department (Department) through Department authorized Kern County Paramedic First Responder (Paramedic-FR) Providers. The program functions in accordance with state and county Paramedic rules, regulations, policies, procedures, protocols and operates under medical control and authority of Kern County EMS Department Medical Director.

B.  The primary purpose of the Paramedic-FR Program is to provide expedient ALS response and care prior to transport unit scene arrival at emergency medical calls or to provide support for a transport unit already at scene which may require additional emergency medical personnel, equipment, supply or resources for medical operations, communications and patient care. Additionally, the Paramedic-FR Program is intended to provide closet ALS response when the Paramedic-FR unit is closest or can provide the shortest response to an EMS call and immediate ALS access and care to patients in areas inaccessible to an ambulance.

You can find more regarding this issue at http://www.co.kern.ca.us/em....

Also, there was a BLS ambulance stationed in Tehachapi. It is no longer there. It was mainly posted in Tehachapi to respond to non-emergency calls and to cover any BLS transfers out of TCH. To make a comment that a BLS ambulance can not "save a life" is an uneducated comment. Also, the staff at the Golden Hills station DID NOT come from another rural station (i.e. Hall did not close another station to open Post 16). As far as ALS units utilized by Hall Ambulance to cover the County; Hall Amb service 87% of the 2nd largest county in California with 45+ ALS units every day. That does not include Stand-by or special events covered by overtime crews.

And to one of the anonymous posters that thinks all Hall Ambulance employees are stupid (I can't remember if it was stupid or idiots), we love you too!

Uh kulemt.........  When was the last time you saw a fire dept vehicle equiped ith ALS gear???  Exactly.  Although firefighters maybe paramedics, with only BLS gear, they function as EMT's.  (Kern Co. EMS and Fire Dept policy)  Maybe with all those special events the greedy mayor is staffing, is that why he is having trouble staffing his regular units?  For example, pulling out of Pine Mountain?  Oh that's right, that was because he wasn't making enough MONEY.  How about the supervisors staffing ALS rigs in the Metro?  Paramedics burned out because they have to staff special events to make up for the low pay???  How about the BLS cars showing up in the Metro?  Within reponse guidelines??  Hmm...   kulemt, your a few days late, and a few dollars short.  Sounds like the Hall brainwashing wasn't to complete as you seem like a fairly intelligent guy.  We'll see what happens over the next several months.....  Also get your facts straight, Kern is the third largest county in California in terms of geographical size.  Kern is about the in the lower teens in terms of population by size.  AND..........  Most of those counties;  L.A., San Bernardino, San Francisco, Riverside, Contra Costa, Orange, etc.  have fully sanctioned FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDICS.   We'll see in the next several months............

Has anyone looked at the monthly stats on the Emergency Medical Services website?  As of last week the report was from July.  All was perfect, to the best of my understanding, in my area 8 except for the one case ( a child bit by a rattle snake and her parents were told by the Hall paramedics to drive her to the hospital) which hit our local newspaper.  With no apparent increase in the number of Hall ambulances since the policy changed from 75 minutes to 25 minutes - how is this possible?? And why wasn't the policy changed years ago??  I'm suspecting that the response time could be cut to five minutes and the reports would still all be perfect.  How is this done? Karen Bailey

Tehachapidad, If you know what Kern County has planned please let me know?  I totally agree the more ALS firefighter paramedics the merrier.  We had a woman go over a cliff last week and thank goodness it was the trained firefighters who brought her up and not the untrained ambulance personal.  It is my understanding that fire department paramedics have additional training in such rescues - yet I understand you to say that all paramedics are the same? 

What exactly is a first responder?  And how does a Hall supervisor unit differ from one of their ALS unit?  Thank You, Karen

OK Ms Bailey, What I mean is that Kern has ideas and I have heard some of them and think they are great. Sorry I miss quoted myself. Im not perfect. Nobody is. I must say that the "Ambulance Personnel" are highly trained. They are a lot better than back in the old days when a ambulance doubled as a hearse and the "Attendants" just drove up and threw them in the back with their "Basic First Aid"  and prayed they made it the hospital before the pt died. (Didnt see anybody complaining then). This is not those days anymore, so please dont insult the hardworking Paramedics and EMT's that make this county and the nation a safer place along with Fire and Law Enforcement.

A  Supervisor Unit has a Paramedic Supervisor on it. A ambulance has a Paramedic and a EMT on it. A Supervisor unit is usually a large SUV and a ambulance is a modified van. Both have ALS equipment. Some other counties and states only have EMT's as Supervisors(BLS).

HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE - 8

The term "First Responders" refers to those individuals who in early stages of an incident are responsible for protection and preservation of life, property, evidence and the environment including "Emergency Response Providers", as defined in Section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002(6 U.S.C. 101)

HOMELAND SECURITY ACT , 6 U.S.C. 101, (referenced in HSPD-8) defines Emergency Response Provider:

(6)The term "Emergency Response Provider" includes Federal, State, and Local emergency public safety, law enforcement, emergency response, emergency medical(including hospital emergency facilities), and related personnel, agencies, and authorities.  

All Fire, EMS, Police basically are "First Responders" because they respond first (Hence the word "FIRST") in emergencies. This even includes the lay person trained in First Aid and/or CPR.

All "Paramedics" are trained in emergency medical procedures initially. So yes those are the same. Some go on to other things, and that is a individual preference, and NOT a requirement (Like Firefighting). What is different, are Firefighters have more training in the aspect of Rope Rescue, Vehicle and Structure Extrication, and of course Fighting Fires! So yes, it is in their training to go down a hill and rescue possible pts in a vehicle down a hill. If the ambulance paramedic is there than they can give "Possible" lifesaving measures. No guarantees are ever made that just because someone is a paramedic that someone can be saved. A Pt's social history (ie. DRUGS/and or ALCOHOL, etc)  & medical history (cardiac, respiratory, neuro, etc); also the MOI (Mechanism of Injury)Car Crash, Motorcycle, Gun Shot, etc) can all be mixed in and contribute to a positive or negative outcome. I hope all is well with the victim(s) of that accident.