Des Moines, IA
- Thread starter kymedic25
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BandageBrigade
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Your average private for profit transport company. I wouldn't personally recommend them. I have heard semi decent things about the Grinnell and Jefferson county divisions, they are also the only sections that hold a 911 contract. If you live in Des Moines, check out the surrounding towns for decent ambulance work, or apply to Blank Children's, Iowa Methodist and Mercy Des Moines; all of whom hire EMTs as techs as well as medics in varying roles to work in their ED.
MedicBender
Forum Captain
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Oh MWA....
I spent 6 months working for them as a full time PS. They run 4 trucks out of DSM. 2 of them are 24 hour shifts, and the other 2 are 8-10 hour shifts. Ginnell runs 2 trucks, and I left before they took over Jeffereson County ops.
You'll most likely end up on a 24 hour truck. 60% of your calls will be to local nursing homes that MWA has contracts with. 20% will be transporting patients out of Broadlawns hospital or the VA hospital. These will most likely be psych patients going to small hospitals in the middle of no where. The other 10% are 911 calls in the small 911 area they have in DSM. Expect to take a lot of long distance transfers. As much as 4 hours one way. Even at 3am. You will get held over a lot. It's also likely that you or your partner will be pulled off a truck and placed on a wheel chair van.
They run sprinter vans as their main trucks in DSM. Back up trucks are older 90's ambulances that work about 50% of the time. Monitors are LP12s, and they do have 1 vent. The equipment is rough, and some of it doesn't work all the time (monitors included). The local hospitals know this, and are very skeptical if you bring someone in that's having a STEMI or other cardiac event.
The company is run by the Chapmans. When I left Jake Chapman was running the show. He's an EMT-B with little to no experience. His dad started the company and ended up putting him in charge. He has no idea about the ALS side of things, yet insists on being the final word when it comes to operations.
IMHO just stay away. There are a number of great ALS services around DSM, Midwest Ambulance is not one of them. Feel free to PM me if you want more info.
I spent 6 months working for them as a full time PS. They run 4 trucks out of DSM. 2 of them are 24 hour shifts, and the other 2 are 8-10 hour shifts. Ginnell runs 2 trucks, and I left before they took over Jeffereson County ops.
You'll most likely end up on a 24 hour truck. 60% of your calls will be to local nursing homes that MWA has contracts with. 20% will be transporting patients out of Broadlawns hospital or the VA hospital. These will most likely be psych patients going to small hospitals in the middle of no where. The other 10% are 911 calls in the small 911 area they have in DSM. Expect to take a lot of long distance transfers. As much as 4 hours one way. Even at 3am. You will get held over a lot. It's also likely that you or your partner will be pulled off a truck and placed on a wheel chair van.
They run sprinter vans as their main trucks in DSM. Back up trucks are older 90's ambulances that work about 50% of the time. Monitors are LP12s, and they do have 1 vent. The equipment is rough, and some of it doesn't work all the time (monitors included). The local hospitals know this, and are very skeptical if you bring someone in that's having a STEMI or other cardiac event.
The company is run by the Chapmans. When I left Jake Chapman was running the show. He's an EMT-B with little to no experience. His dad started the company and ended up putting him in charge. He has no idea about the ALS side of things, yet insists on being the final word when it comes to operations.
IMHO just stay away. There are a number of great ALS services around DSM, Midwest Ambulance is not one of them. Feel free to PM me if you want more info.