the other problem is in nassau county a heart attack is the same thing as a stubbed toe. fire departments should be alerted for these things especially if they have a paid medic/CC on duty during the day. FD should be notified for the higher priority jobs(chokes,cardiac arrests, unconscious) especially since sometimes its right around the corner and the NCPD bus is coming from 3 towns away. make it a dual response.
and they defintely need more amublances put into the system, and they also need more supervisors. 2 supervisors for all of nassau countys ambulances is ridiculous they cant cover the area. its also hard for these medics/cc's to work alone, start a line and tube, i give them kudos for that.
I did not mean to say that the FD has the same problem of getting people to go to "non glory" calls. But I do have proof but this is not the place to do it. The certain incidents that have caused me to make that statement have been addressed so its a non issue. But there is a problem with the FD, 14, and 14a....people dont like to rush unless it sounds like something other than a automatic alarm or a res. distress at a nursing home. Can I prove it everytime....no...but you don't have to be a genius to see that people react differently to different calls. Is it something we can fix. Probably not.
The main point is that the grant is going to be useful into finding how we can consolidate ems and then maybe FD's later on down the line.
We have to remember that we are in a changing society. Anyone who thinks that we arent needs to get out of the 80's and wake up and realize that times are changing. We can either help with the change and have a say or we can fight it and its gone be done anyway and without our input. Our job is to stop putting up a wall and educate the public and politicans so that if it does come down to consolidation we can try to do it on our own terms.
To most of us, volunteering is about a way to positively effect the lives of our neighbors. Fire Dept EMS is an extension of that, especially now that those runs make up a nice percentage of our "workers".
The Fire based EMS is over strectched because it is fire based. It relies on fire dispatchers, fire proecedures and is limited by arbitrary fire district boundaries. Our response times lag because of this boat anchor. There are other VACs who have a direct responder at the front door in 45seconds.
If there truly was a NC EMS system, then we would have PD ambulance, VAC ambulances, FD ambulances, and private ambulances, as components under a unified system.
PD AMTs want a living out of the job. The Volleys want to help the community, and the privates want to make a buck. All can be satisfied by being part of unified system. But you need a central call taking location for EMS runs, system status based on some sort of login, and EMD.
If the closest FD bus is signed on as BLS, then its given the stubbed toe, or its backup to the PD on a cardiac.
Its not rocket science - it works everywhere else.
North Hemp: please make the 150K check payable to uselesskomish........
If we did not worry about money, or politics, then the answer could be let the county put out 30-35 fly cars on a day, and let the fd run the 105+ ambulances they have. you get rapid response, and everyone gets in on the good, the bad,and the ugly calls.
and just because there is a fire house around the corner from a call does not mean that there is a crew to man it. unless you have a department with alot of shift workers, or very high unemployment you can not always get the bus out. I see it in my FD also. I also work pt for a FD and they have 3 buses, some times all get out some times only 1 with 1 person on it.
It is a large pie out there everyone wants a bite but not everyone helped make it.
A lot of you are making excellent points about this study. Does anyone think that it is a coincidence that the areas in question probably have the highest rate of insured people in the County? That translates into higher revenue for North Shore when they start to contract out their services to these towns.
Lets see: NSUH ambulances transporting insured patients to NSUH hospitals = what..........oh yeah, more revenue for the NSUH health system.
I mean let's call this what it is: the beginning of the end of volunteering on Long Island. First, you had the Liberal Ass Rag do a hatchet job on the fire service focusing primarily on EMS as one of the biggest areas of concern. This "special report" took place about 7 or 8 years ago and used response times from PCRs and personal family reports of how ambulance responses were delayed for various reasons. This is not the "fire alarm" report from last year.
Of course, then came a democratic County Exec. who has no use for the fire service, a County Legislature who is trying to cut funding to the fire service, and now this "study" by the TNH. [All the while, NSUH/LIJ is plugging along like Pac-Man gobbling up hospitals and strengthening their leverage to be the best candidate for providing the services needed. Then you had the former CEO of the NSUH/LIJ system on board in some capacity with the County government; I think head of Health and Human Services. Not long after his arrival in that position, NCMC was getting hammered in the local papers with stories about fiscal mismanagement, staff errors, union issues, they even tried to fire the ED docs etc...and then came the White Knight...NSUH to help with the bail out.[BTW that man later went on to be interim CEO of Stony Brook Hospital...hmmmmm]*** Coincidence? I think not]. In Suffolk, NSUH took over Southside Hospital and as a "condition" of the acquisition they had to provide first responders to augment the EMS agencies in the surrounding communities.
And BTW the editor of the Ass Rag is being a good little stooge and printing exactly what they are told by "The Powers That Be".
Does anyone remember hearing anything bad about NSUH/LIJ in the local news in the last few years??? Not me.
This is turning into a very well organized, well funded and well connected plan by people who stand to make A LOT of money.
So go get a job with NSUH if you haven't already and if you already have a job with NSUH don't screw up because eventually they will own EVERYTHING.
***How many negative stories have come out about Stony Brook in the last couple of years??? Think about it. Are they the next to fall like NCMC was??
I hope their study affords them to go speak to the numerous doctor offices up here in the North that call 9-1-1 for everything under the sun...Double dipping! A patient calls up to inquire about not feeling well, so they tell them to come on in, once in, they can bill for a visit, now they are reffered to an ER. So, that same person who drives themselves in, now requires 9-1-1 transport?? happens ALL the time! Can't tell you how many times I arrive and the person is sitting in a wheel chair, in the treatment room, coat on all ready to go w/o any medical intervention ie: O2, IV, etc or a Doc and sometimes not even a nurse!
When someone feels the need to call the FD or 911 for an ambulance it is because to them it is a "personal emergency". When they get off the phone with the agency they basically expect the ambulance to literally fall out of the sky and be at their front door when they hang up. We all know this isn't reality, but put yourself in the shoes of the person looking for help for a change. They don't care is it says FD, PD or Acme on the side of the ambulance as long as it takes their loved one to the hospital and provides competent help on the way.
The population of the Island is not only growing, it is also living longer. Look at the amount of assisted living places being built and the number of nursing homes being filled. These all will translate into more calls for help. The people who reside in your district pay taxes for services and they expect to have them available when they need them. When I put my garbage can out at night I expect my garbage to be carted away. When it snows I want my street plowed, etc. When I go to the Memorial Day parade in town and I see the FD at the end of the parade with a dozen shiny trucks, 100 guys marching etc. it would be nice if when I called for their assistance at least one of those trucks showed up at my door with a few people manning it to help me.
This is what the average taxpayer sees and thinks. They don't care about the inner workings and politics, they just want help.
It is time for some creative and progressive minds to put their heads together and find some sort of solution. The problem is not going to best be solved by politicians, it's going to be solved by the people that provide the services. If that means consolidating or combining fire districts into ambulance response areas, creating in house stand-by crews or a paid tech, something must be done. The politicians will do whatever makes them look good to the voters, the fire service needs to do what will make them look good to the public.
we went paid full time techs 24/7, and "crew nights" (not in house--simply they are required to go on those nights) for ems crews. However we have the budget for that.
Some of the ones mentioned here: Floral Park Centre, Stewart Manor etc. I doubt would have the $$ or even the facilities and equipment for a paid tech in house.
I know FPC uses county buses now, I am not sure why they are part of the consolidation effort if they don't offer EMS services????
the departments that are primary can do the most to change what happens in there dist. Let the county in, Hire a tech, or internally change things with the current members.
departments that only use the county due to not having an ambulance can yell louder and the county may put a bus in your area. they have 2360 to cover between the 3rd & 6th pct by the city line, but will not put it inservice unless it does not incure OT. but other areas IE 2371, 2375, 2374, 2378 are inservice due to FD and community wanting help in those areas, and they got it.
JMO I SECOND SOME OF THE PRIOR POSTS- LET THE COUNTY IN AND BE 1ST TO ANSWER ALL SIGNAL 9'S IN THE COUNTY FORCE THE COUNTY TO EXPAND THEIR SERVICE - DO DO AWAY WITH THE FD EMS OR VAC LET THEM BE 2ND OR 3RD AND HIGH PRIORITY OR IF THE FD GETS CALL DIRECT -- THE COUNTY WHO IS NOW CRYING A SUDDEN DEFICIT WILL NOT ADD ANYTHING AND JUST KEEP THE BURDEN ON THE GOOD WILLED VOLUNTEERS -- HEY MAYNE MOST OF THE VOLUNTEERSTHAT DO HANDLE THE 9'S WILL GET A NICE PAYING JOB WITH THE COUNTY -- EVERYONE KNOWS A SIGNAL 9 IS AT LEAST AN HOUR OF YOUR TIME PER CALL -- AND THERE ARE A LOT OF LOW PRIORITY CALLS WHICH PEOPLE ABUSE THE SYSTEM FOR -- BUT I DO NOT AGREE WITH ALLOWING A NSUH TO TAKE OVER THAT WOULD NOT BE GOOD AT ALL -- PRIVATIZATION = BAD FOR THE CITIZENS AND THE FD/VAC
Agreed. If NSUH, or any other "outside" agency is allowed to operate out here, the FD/VAC's and Nassau County (government) would have very little control of said agency. Do you think for a minute NSUH or other's would listen to anything the FD/VAC's had to say. Although the current system has flaws, everybody pretty much knows what to expect. Just to state the obvious, why wouldnt you try to improve your current system that works instead of trying to re-invent the wheel. FD/VAC's should be banging on your local politicians doors asking for more help from the County. Hell, it was spelled out for them with the audit by the Comptrollers Office and by the report the Fire Commission submitted to TS. 180K well spent...politics at it's best.
Looking at it from the patients point of view, a private company or agency, such as NSUH, or even a public one such as NCPD becoming primary means that people will have to shell out $600 or so for every ambulance call. That would probably stop some of the non-emergency calls, but what about uninsured people who have a real emergency?
FYI, the county bills patients but only collects what is sent in by insurance companies. Privates are going to want all the money, and will have a hard time dealing with the areas of no insurance, which seems to be the areas they do not want to cover.
Like what 10-75 says, if it comes down to the money, wait till they have jobs like in the movie " Mother, Juggs and Speed" pregnant lady giving birth, then turned away at the hospital, or in this case, the bus doesnt transport, no insurance and a private company.
I just don't like the idea of charging for EMS service. We don't charge to put out a house fire or cut someone out of a car, PD doesn't charge to respond to a domestic or a robbery in progress, why should EMS charge someone who is having a stroke or a heart attack? Maybe they should only charge for non-emergency transports, as a way to stop the abuse of free ambulance service.
I agree, the patient should not be charged for an emergency. Taxi rides, YES. However, since you or your employer is paying med insurance which has ambulance coverage, then why not collect what the ins co is collect and use the money for ther replacement of supplies and equipment.
Like what 10-75 says, if it comes down to the money, wait till they have jobs like in the movie " Mother, Juggs and Speed" pregnant lady giving birth, then turned away at the hospital, or in this case, the bus doesnt transport, no insurance and a private company.
I agree, the patient should not be charged for an emergency. Taxi rides, YES. However, since you or your employer is paying med insurance which has ambulance coverage, then why not collect what the ins co is collect and use the money for ther replacement of supplies and equipment.
Well, what about uninsured people? Also, insurance companies only cover what they can while still making an enormous profit. So lets say all agencies start charging, and maybe even charging more? Insurance companies can easily drop ambulance coverage if it becomes too expensive, or put limits on it. For example, some insurance companies will only cover one physical per year. They could start to say that they will only cover one ambulance transport per year. So then what happens if someone maybe fell once and got sick once in a one year period? The insurance company could refuse to pay for the second call. Just use tax money to cover restocking fees. I dont know how VACs get funding besides from patients, but if they are in the 911 system, they should recieve sufficient funding from tax money, I believe.
Any news on this? When is the report going to be issued? When the project was started they said the report would come out this summer. Have there been any more public meetings?
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North Hempstead E.M.S. consolidation
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