Hall Ambulance and Paramedic Coverage - concernedcitizen's Blog

Hall Ambulance and Paramedic Coverage - concernedcitizen's Blog - Tehachapi News http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/concernedcitizen It's time to provide adequate coverage.... It's time to provide adequate coverage.... en-us Harvey Hall Fighting Paramedic Service By Firefighters http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/concernedcitizen/21522 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/concernedcitizen/21522 <p>Here is excepts from an article on the internet from 2007 about Hall resisting Kern County residents attempt to provide paramedic service by firefighters.  For the entire article, go to: http://mountainenterprise.com/atf.php?sid=2408&current_edition=2008-02-15</p> <p> </p> <p>At one point, Elliott indicated that only a small proportion of rural emergency medical calls required advanced life support (ALS) paramedic intervention, compared to 15.7 percent of urban emergency calls. <b>Fire Chief Dennis Thompson said his figures showed that 15.1 percent of rural calls required paramedic assistance.</b></p> <p>Kern County Fire Fighters Union President Derek Robinson said that Hall Ambulance Service data shows that 47 percent of the calls in Pine Mountain required ALS intervention during the period studied. "There may be less calls, but the percentage of calls where ALS care is needed seems to far exceed" urban averages, he said.</p> <p>Robinson said Elliott's report was "rife with errors, omissions and one-sided statistics," citing a study from Washington state showing that paramedic intervention for some kinds of heart attacks within eight minutes increases patient survival by 32 percent. With ALS delay of 20 minutes, survival decreases to only seven percent. "What that means is that survivability quadruples with early intervention," he said, noting that Elliott's own study showed that paramedic firefighters could be on scene an average of 25 minutes sooner than ambulance paramedics to rural ares such as Pine Mountain.</p> <p> </p> <p><b>Thompson said that Kern County has the 10th largest fire department in the state (out of 600), but is the only department out of the top 15 in the state without a firefighter paramedic program.</b></p> <p> </p> <p><b><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">If 15% of calls require paramedics, then 15% of the time the pt. is not treated in a timely, appropriate manner before Hall Ambulance gets there--which can take up to an hour in a rural area.</span></span></b></p> Move our EMS standards from the Amish level tothe current century! http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/concernedcitizen/21499 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/concernedcitizen/21499 <table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td height="35"> <div class="bako_breadcrumbs"><a href="../../../home/User/concernedcitizen">concernedcitizen</a> - > <a href="../../../home/Blog/concernedcitizen">Hall Ambulance and Paramedic Coverage</a></div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <div class="blogbody"> <div class="blogbodyheader"><a href="../../../home/PostNow/Blog"> Below is a blog that I posted in August 2007.  I thought it relavant to repost it as Kern County's BOS is deciding whether to allow Kern County firefighters to become paramedics.  Refer to the original blog to read what people commented then. </a> </div> <div class="blogbodycontent"><b>Some little known information (from my point of view) about EMS (Emergency</b> <b>Medical Services) in Kern County:</b><br /> Some of the Kern County firefighters as well as those working for the City of Bakersfield are Certified Emergency Paramedics.  However, when they respond to a medical aid call, they are restricted from performing their duties as a Paramedic--they are only allowed to perform as an EMT, which is basically administering first aid  and using the automatic defibrillation units that anyone with a current CPR card is trained to use.  Their paramedic skills, including starting an IV and administering life saving fluids and drugs, are unable to be used.<br /> <b> Why , you ask?</b><br /> Well, that is because Hall has the contract to provide ambulance service in this county  and is not allowing anyone other than his paramedics to provide advanced life support services.  So, the firefighter/paramedics that respond and arrive first on the scene of a medical aid have to wait until the Hall paramedics get there.<br /> <b> Why is he doing this? </b> <br /> The only reason I can think of is perhaps he is afraid someone else is going to get a piece of his pie.  He may be afraid that if  Kern County trains firefighters to be paramedics or allows the firefighters that are currently paramedics to use their skills, that they may eventually want to put ambulances at their fire stations, putting his sweet little monopoly to an end.  Now that the problem has been identified...<br /> <b> What is the solution?</b><br /> Kern County firefighters need to be able to function as paramedics. In most California counties and cities, firefighters are paramedics also. They already respond to all medical aid calls, so providing advance life support services could easily be implemented.  That way, the Kern County firefighter/paramedic could immediatley begin to provide the advanced life support care that the people of Tehachapi and especially the outlying areas, need.  Once Hall's ambulance arrived on the scene, report can be given, both the Kern County firefighter/paramedic and Hall's paramedic can work together to stabilize the patient.   Once stabilized, care is transferred to Hall's paramedic and the patient is transported to the hospital by Hall's ambulance.  This frees the Kern County firefighter/paramedic to return to his fire station, and keeps the level of EMS/fire supression at the level it has always been.<br /> <b> Why isn't this being done?</b><br /> Well, do you think the City of Bakersfield, with Hall as their MAYOR, are going to complain?  Who would they complain to?  The MAYOR, WHO ALSO OWNS THE AMBULANCE COMPANY?  Do you really think the Kern County Board of Supervisors are going to rock the boat and go up against Mayor Hall?  It would probably be the end of their political careers.<br /> <b> What are some other considerations?</b><br /> Well, training a firefighter to be a paramedic can be costly to the county.  It takes that firefighter out of service while he attends the 6 mth paramedic program.  It would be a huge expense covering his shifts and paying for the program.  To minimize the financial impact, some cities/counties are now requiring  that any new firefighter recruit hired must have already have completed paramedic training as well as the required Fire Science degree.  But if the firefighter/paramedic training had been implemented years ago as it should have been, the impact would have been spread over a period of time.  However, it is not too late to begin to provide the same level of service that most Californians, even those residing in rural areas, receive every day.</div> <div class="blogbodyfooter"><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href="../../../home/ViewTopic/27929">Hall's</a>, <a href="../../../home/ViewTopic/17761">ambulance</a>, <a href="../../../home/ViewTopic/27930">paramedic</a>, <a href="../../../home/ViewTopic/27931">EMT</a>, <a href="../../../home/ViewTopic/27932">mayor</a>, <a href="../../../home/ViewTopic/22420">EMS</a>, <a href="../../../home/ViewTopic/22316">Emergency Medical Services</a><br /> <div class="bloggreytext">posted by <a href="../../../home/User/concernedcitizen">concernedcitizen</a> on Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 02:14 AM <br />  Viewed 1098 times</div> </div> <div align="center" style="margin-top: 8px;"><img border="0" alt="" src="../../../graphics/arrow-2lg.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="" src="../../../graphics/arrow-lg.gif" /> <span class="listindex"> 1 </span> <img border="0" alt="" src="../../../graphics/arrow-rg.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="" src="../../../graphics/arrow-2rg.gif" /></div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> Move our EMS standards from the Amish level to the current century... http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/concernedcitizen/13708 http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/Blog/concernedcitizen/13708 Some little known information (from my point of view) about EMS (Emergency Medical Services) in Kern County:<br /> Some of the Kern County firefighters as well as those working for the City of Bakersfield are Certified Emergency Paramedics.  However, when they respond to a medical aid call, they are restricted from performing their duties as a Paramedic--they are only allowed to perform as an EMT, which is basically administering first aid  and using the automatic defibrillation units that anyone with a current CPR card is trained to use.  Their paramedic skills, including starting an IV and administering life saving fluids and drugs, are unable to be used.<br /> Why , you ask?<br /> Well, that is because Hall has the contract to provide ambulance service in this county  and is not allowing anyone other than his paramedics to provide advanced life support services.  So, the firefighter/paramedics that respond and arrive first on the scene of a medical aid have to wait until the Hall paramedics get there.<br /> Why is he doing this?  <br /> The only reason I can think of is perhaps he is afraid someone else is going to get a piece of his pie.  He may be afraid that if  Kern County trains firefighters to be paramedics or allows the firefighters that are currently paramedics to use their skills, that they may eventually want to put ambulances at their fire stations, putting his sweet little monopoly to an end.  Now that the problem has been identified...<br /> What is the solution?<br /> Kern County firefighters need to be able to function as paramedics. In most California counties and cities, firefighters are paramedics also. They already respond to all medical aid calls, so providing advance life support services could easily be implemented.  That way, the Kern County firefighter/paramedic could immediatley begin to provide the advanced life support care that the people of Tehachapi and especially the outlying areas, need.  Once Hall's ambulance arrived on the scene, report can be given, both the Kern County firefighter/paramedic and Hall's paramedic can work together to stabilize the patient.   Once stabilized, care is transferred to Hall's paramedic and the patient is transported to the hospital by Hall's ambulance.  This frees the Kern County firefighter/paramedic to return to his fire station, and keeps the level of EMS/fire supression at the level it has always been.<br /> Why isn't this being done?<br /> Well, do you think the City of Bakersfield, with Hall as their MAYOR, are going to complain?  Who would they complain to?  The MAYOR, WHO ALSO OWNS THE AMBULANCE COMPANY?  Do you really think the Kern County Board of Supervisors are going to rock the boat and go up against Mayor Hall?  It would probably be the end of their political careers.<br /> What are some other considerations?<br /> Well, training a firefighter to be a paramedic can be costly to the county.  It takes that firefighter out of service while he attends the 6 mth paramedic program.  It would be a huge expense covering his shifts and paying for the program.  To minimize the financial impact, some cities/counties are now requiring  that any new firefighter recruit hired must have already have completed paramedic training as well as the required Fire Science degree.  But if the firefighter/paramedic training had been implemented years ago as it should have been, the impact would have been spread over a period of time.  However, it is not too late to begin to provide the same level of service that most Californians, even those residing in rural areas, receive every day.