kulemt "-It was ill advised to mention such a personal account as this and then to be so righteous in steering comments of others. Not to mention the caviler mention of an actual HAS employee by name. If you have a complaint, I urge you like so many patients that wait until they receive the bill to find fault by the crew in hopes that HAS will lower the bill or drop the bill entirely. This is a common tactic and shows poor judgment on your part in mentioning it in this format. I have worked with the mentioned paramedic and have found this paramedic to have a kind and caring bed-side-manner. I start from the beginning of the rest of your inaccurate statement. First, the statement that you waited until 11:45pm is a common statement from EMS crews. We're are, along with rendering medical care, employed to educate the public in the uses of the 911 System. Although I was not on your call, I feel confident in stating that this was an attempt to educate you that perhaps you shouldn't have waited so long with your symptoms to activate the 911 System. Yes, it is an error in not introducing yourself with the beginning of patient contact. This is a common error that even I overlook. Not everyone in life is blessed with the best social skills, but I think this can be overlooked when given the best in care by a nameless EMS crew. The style of patient care you describe with the crew sitting in your driveway for 20 minutes is a by-product of the short transport times crews have when responding to 911 calls in the city limits or Golden Hills. When an EMS crew response to any call for service, one of the first and most vital assessments a paramedic makes is whether the patient is stable or unstable. With stable patients, a paramedic might chose to "stay & play", i.e. work the patient up and start vital care prior to beginning transportation to the hospital. This is a huge benefit for the patient once the crew arrives at the hospital. With an unstable patient, EMS crews "scoop & go", i.e. waste very little time of the Golden Hour and get the patient to definitive care ASAP.  If you speak to someone that has used HAS in Bakersfield, you'll probably hear that the paramedic on that call did the same thing. Although, I highly doubt that your crew sat on-scene for 20 mins. I back-fill Tehachapi crews from my station in Cal City and usually I'm not lucky enough to make it into town because the 3 crews staffed at Post 12 take pride in the speed of which they are able to provide excellent service. This speed allows the back-fill crews to return to the community they normally service. You speak out of both sides of your mouth in your comments made here. These claims would best be made to HAS Administration, not here. Please respect the job we do for the community and not personally insulted because the paramedic or EMT misplaced your name in all the other facts that are stored during a call. I'm sure this paramedic on your call knew why he responded to your call for help. The simplest of reasons is that the staff at Tehachapi Hospital would not allow such lack in care of a patient from one of our crews. Perhaps the medic used vernacular of the profession that you did not understand when he was giving his report to the Nurse. "

I am the person that made the above commit about the  Hall Ambulance Paramedic. I called for a service not to be educated by anyone.  He did wait more then 20 minutes in my driveway maybe even longer. I was giving the guy a time brake. I was in the Medical field in the Navy, I know the vernacular. He was short, he was rude, he did nothing for me that I cound not have gotten from a cab. For your information I started complaining about this guy that night. The nursing staff agreed with me. I called EMS as soon as i was out of the hospital. Your commits show the disrespect for your customers just like that guy did.

I did not mean to make this a divisive issue.  Informing the public that if you live in the outlying areas of greater tehachapi you will wait too long for an ambulance to arrive was the main point.   The only way to help protect our public here is to apply pressure on the provider and or a solution.  People have given ideas on solutions to this problem such as Fire Medics which would provide life saving drugs and procedures while waiting for the one ambulance in Tehachapi to arrive.   This was not intended to insult or inflame anyone just help make our community a better place by seeing that we have an Ambulance with an appropriate response time when your at you time of most need.

KULEMT,  Down boy! I see you read it. I did not mean to offend you, and its cool you wish to speak your mind. To let you know that there have been quite a few times that I have been in the area and seen engine 54/14/11/42/or 45 and even Truck 41 covering Station 12 while that engine is on a fire. I have to drive by there almost every day. Yes they do backfill. I merely used that for an example as to show that Fire/medics only is NOT the only way to go. I believe in having them here as a support/assistance role and having medics on there engines is not something I would object to no matter where you work in the county. I do agree with you in the regards to using a person name on this blog to critique there care is not right. Last time I checked we were all grownups here and badmouthing someone is not what this blog is for. I am very sorry that person gave bad service. No patient deserves bad service! How many times is Hall "First In" in Bear Valley or Stallion Springs. Well not to often but I have seen it. Now to the "Stay & Play" term - I for one would never "play" with a patient! You try to make so many good points only to make it look like we "play" with our patients lives. Simply stated we may stay on scene and begin ALS (Advanced Life Support) procedures but we never "play" with a patients life! Yes folks we may stay on scene for a few minutes but at no time do we play and waste time. EMT's and Paramedics are there to take care of you. Not "play". And yes HAS does arrive before fire on occasion. It doesnt matter really if you ask me as long as we all work together to get the patient taken care of with the proper care and get that patient to the closets appropriate medical facility for their condition. That is what matters! Does all this griping above matter though? NO! All we all know is that the citizens of the Greater Tehachapi Valley area need and deserve another ambulance.

Hey folks, if you have such strong complaints, start an ambulance service and try and obtain the contract. Or, just start an ambulance service and stay in business. To rail on a private business seems like a waste of energy. Active4People had a point, even as limited as it might be. It's one thing to take a public entity to task like City Hall, the Fire Department or anything else where taxpayer dollars are used extensively. But, a private business (even with a contract for service) is a private business. If folks are upset, this is a free country so to speak with free enterprise. Go into the ambulance business and compete and render the kind of service being demanded by the writers here.One other point I noticed regarding the amount billed by one blogger. Does that blogger (or anyone here--and, I assume there might be some) donate an annual contribution to Hall's? I have always voluntarily donated to them every year since my moving here in 1981. Fortunately, I only needed them once, but for that annual contribution I did not owe anything. I always deemed it my civic duty, as part of a community, to support the service--and the community.

There is no free enterprise in the ambulance world. Hall has a county sponsored monopoly. Now he has gotten his 100 call rule. How many lives will be lost in PMC or BVS waiting on 100 calls to be ran?    

We need a 2nd ambulance even the Hall employees are posting that! 

Yes, KCFD does backfill during structure/grass fires. I was trying to say, and failed, that KCFD does not backfill for every call for service. They backfill during extended issues. Tehachapi is backfilled with another ambulance every time a call for service is made, with a unit either en route or already in the area. For example, when we transfer patients into Bakersfield, a "cover car" is sent from Mojave or CalCity, but the transferring ambulance will not make patient contact at the hospital until the cover car is within a certain distance from Tehachapi. I was trying to point out that no agency, private or public, will be able to cover every area of service at all times. There's just not enough resources available for such coverage.

If asked, almost every HAS employee staffing East Kern areas would love to see a 2nd ambulance in Tehachapi. I just don't think this will be accomplish by blasting Mr. Hall. Or making a statement like "There is no free enterprise in the ambulance world. Hall has a county sponsored monopoly. Now he has gotten his 100 call rule. How many lives will be lost in PMC or BVS waiting on 100 calls to be ran?" 2 or 3 years ago, the accusation of a monopoly was investigated by the California Attorney General's Office. This investigation found no evidence of a monopoly. But then again, there really is no need for factual statements to be made here, now is there.

If you really want a 2nd ambulance in the Tehachapi Valley, please try a different tactic. I know "flaming" Mr. Hall won't work.

KULEMT

But then again, there really is no need for factual statements to be made here, now is there. All the facts are true you just don't like them.

I was trying to point out that no agency, private or public, will be able to cover every area of service at all times. There's just not enough resources available for such coverage.  Having Fire Stations in BVS, SS and Keene show they have more resources then the ONE Hall ambulance. 

 I know "flaming" Mr. Hall won't work.    Your right nothing will work, hes the man.  He will do what he wants with no regard to what is truly needed.

"kulemt" you only defended your back fill commit, what about all the other misinformation you have stated? (see page 3 posted by citylady on Dec 9, 2006 at 10:33 AM ) Or have you learned your lesson?  The more you try to defend the worst you and your cause looks!

We need a 2nd ambulance thats what we are talking about here.  It's Not about poor Mr. Hall and kulemt!

LMAO  Well let me try to bring this car crash back on the road. 

 This blog is about the need for a second ambulance. Lets all do are part to keep it clean and nice. We don't need to be talking about who can do a better job then the other. (We can start a different blog for that. lol) Please call your city and county leaders and ask for them to make/get Hall to provide what is needed!

I want to thank the Tehachapi News for starting this blog page. It's more entertaining then anything on TV.  lol

To the Wonderful Citizes of the Tehachapi Area, Yes we all deserve a second Ambulance in this area. I know that Mr. Hall is well aware of this blog. I think instead of going all out on "Mr. Hall" "The Man" "His Mayorship" and every other thing he has been called in here. I think we should get a community meeting set up where we invite the Admin staff of Hall Ambulance and the Mayor & City Council of Tehachapi, the Kern County EMS Director, Mr. Mayben, the KCFD Chief and all of the Battalion 1 Chiefs, Tehachapi City FD and PD, and KC Sherriff/BVPD/SSPD to have a discussion about the community getting a second ambulance in the area on a Full Time basis. Actions speak louder than words and there is power in numbers. I know its hard to get all of those persons together in the same place due to conflicting schedules but with this issue it needs to happen. Who wants to set it up? It looks to me that there are quite a few people on here that are quite capable of getting numbers together.

To involve the entire community the best thing would be for the Tehachapi News to do an article on this subject.  Blogs have a limited ability to reach the community at large.  Tehachapi News will reach the entire area. This Blog has generated some good discussion and unfortunately gone off course and created bad feelings at times.  Through this discussion we have shown that another ALS service is needed in Tehachapi.  Whether it be a Hall unit, Fire department, or Another Company, lets just get it done.  People are not turf and should not be viewed as such.  The main point here is that the outlying areas are serviced with 15 to 20 minute response times.  This is an absolute fact and should not be accepted.  So please Tehachapi News do an article.  Public records of 911 dispatches and ambulance arrival times for all the outlying areas are available. 

thepain is right.  This blog has gotten very entertaining.  The call volume has justified putting a second ambulance in the Tehachapi Valley for a number of years.  If Harvey Hall really wanted to put a second ambulance in the area he would have done so years ago.   The small one bedroom house they're in now will not accomadate a second crew.  How hard can it really be to find a bigger house to rent.  Harvey doesn't want a bigger crew quarters or he'll have to add another ambulance.  It's cheaper for him to send one of the two ambulance out of Cal City to cover when the Tehachapi unit gets a call. 

As for the supposed new 4x4 ambulance for Tehachapi in Bakersfield.  Why is it just sitting in Bakersfield.  That sounds like a waste of money.  I know Harvey isn't into wasting money.  The box unit in Tehachapi is a great ambulance with automatic chains and is quite capable of covering the area.  Someone is just blowing smoke on that one but who cares, we have a good ambulance here now.

anonymous-  You state that you have been voluntarily making donations to Hall Ambulance for years.  I hope your referring to the prescription service Hall has offered in the past where you pay a small yearly fee for the program, then if you use the service the amount of your bill that insurance didn't cover is written off.  I hope you didn't mean your just giving them a donation every year.  Hall Ambulance is a Fee-for Service private company.  If your giving out donations to them, then they're just laughing all the way to the bank.  As a private enterprise Hall Ambulance has every right to bill for services and make a profit in doing so.  The rates for ambulance service in Kern County are even regulated by the EMS Department, so Hall can't just charge you what ever they want.  But with that right to bill for services comes moral responsibility.  They need to properly service the communities that they have the exclusive right to cover.

As for the Hall employees.  I know that they all want what's best for the patients.  They wouldn't be in the field if they didn't.  Not all, but most would even support a Fire Medic program.  As for their boss, he will do anything to stop that from happening.  Just look at his actions in the past.  He'll even waste a boat load of money the prevent Fire from going ALS.  Cal City and Pine Mountain Club come to mind.  I'm just telling you, if you really want a second full-time ambulance up here then just push the Fire Medic issue and the predictable Harvey Hall will provided better ambulance coverage as he has in the other county locations.

Someone also stated that we should stick to the facts.  I agree.  Someone stated that Keene runs 1000 calls per year.  that's about 3 calls per day.  Yeah Right! That's a good one.  Even I'll admit that one is WAAAY off.

Mrguy, yes. I am referring to the prescription service where you send in an annual amount, small as it may be, and anything that insurance did not cover is written off. That is really a good deal and I always thought it made good sense. It certainly would pay for itself when one had an ambulance call (and did for me). Many community's with ambulance services offer that arrangement, and it seemed like a way to also support and supplement the service. No, I don't view Hall's ambulance as laughing all the way to the bank. That seems like a very narrow view of a one particular way to lower one's cost and participate in helping the service.

anonymous-  You're right the prescription service is a great deal.  The "laughing" comment was only for if you we're blindly making donations to Hall.  Thanks for clarifying that.  You never stated why you were making the donations to Hall in your original post.

I think Mr.Harvey Hall is a greedy man who only wants his pocket book filled. If there is a law out there that states there should be so many ambulances with this amount of population than Mr.Hall is breaking the law.

I dont know about anyone else but i dont appreciate someone playing Russian roulette with people's lives like that. The general public needs to make this public and get this man off his duff and get another ambulance up here before it costs someones life.

 

I think eekitsaspider is a greedy person who only wants his/her pocket book filled--see I can have an opinion too. Get a life. If you feel that way start your own company so that folks with similar views and outlooks as yourself can throw barbs and narrow minded comments at you. Oh wait, that's too hard and one's own money would have to be invested and put at risk--its easier to toss rude comments and complain. It's so easy to call someone greedy (and who knows, the person that does it may be even more greedy than those who they toss such barbs at). So, shall we all really get nasty and rude with our comments? And, yes I do think we should have, and would appreciate, an extra ambulance.