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Wow.
I take a day off and I miss this thread. Wow.
OK... I'll self identify... I'm Jew-ish... (that is to say I was raised in Conservative Judisam, now vote Conservative, try to eat to the general principals of the laws of kashruit, and occasionally go to Shul - but with school every Saturday morning, it isn't easy. (Yeah... who else would find a way to link Fiddler on the Roof to a discussion on Volunteering).
In Philadelphia, there are several Russian-American owned ambulance companies that cater to a very large population of Russian and Ukrainian born 1st generation immigrants to Philly. Additionally, many of the involved are Jewish, because the socio-political views of communism made being a Jew in the USSR difficult... so they left.
Anyway... these "Russian Ambulance Companies" do a lot of the standard transport work... Dialysis, Dr's appointments, etc. Their customers are often foreign born, and many of their drivers and EMT's were raised in the same community, and many are fluent in Yiddish, Russian, or other regional dialects, therefore they have an easier time communicating with the patients.
These companies advertise at community fairs and festivals, and look for customers. They also distribute business card magnets with their phone number and accept emergency calls from residences - because this community is more comfortable reaching out and getting help from people who speak their own language and know the local culture. (Of course, not all of the crews really work for that... like the time PARescueEMT and myself took one of these residence calls in my short tenure with the one company - we both ONLY speak English).
Anyway... long story short - they operate state-certified BLS ambulances. There is at least one service that operates ALS rigs. Philly says that no one except the City's Fire Rescue is supposed to do emergency prehospital calls... but the city is so busy that no one cares if this population works it out themselves like this, within reason.
I think the big difference between the Philly "Russian Ambulance Companies" and Hatzola is that Hatzola simply dedicates itself to serving a small segment of the population's prehospital EMS needs, while the Philly companies usually do routine transports within and outside the small group, BUT they will do emergent prehosptial runs when asked. Further, the "Russian" companies aren't religion based... yes, there are lots of Jews in the population segment, but their are lots of other religions too.
I don't have any issue with Hatzola functioning to serve a small population segment that would otherwise be underserved. I won't attempt to justify the cases of them failing to render aid when flagged down. I assume they have some sort of mutual aid agreement/M.O.U. in place with the local 911 service(s)... that is an issue that must be handled locally.
Deeply religious Jews have many rules about how and what they wear, how and what they do, and when they do it. And it is all traditions. These have evolved over the years as technology has changed, but they are very limited in what they do.
One way of explaining some of the Jewish cultural mores is that over the years, the religious thinkers have built a wall AROUND the rules, so there is no risk of violating them accidentally.
However... most of the rules go out the window "to protect life".
Going back to the OP's question - you say that the "driver" doesn't provide patient care, and simply drives the ambulance and opens power doors for the crew - but he writes the chart (because writing is creating and work and work isn't allowed, because G-D rested on the 7th day).
What is the rules with the state regarding when a chart must be completed? PA has a 24-hour limit, officially, but that is somewhat flexible. Around here, I'd suggest that the driver would gather patient demographics, then the EMS providers would be responsible to stopping by the station after the day to write the narrative and sign the paperwork.
Again... Going back to the OP's question... if all you are doing is driving... and you have minimal to any patient contact, then you probably have limited to no liability.
If you are documenting the call.... your liability increases. If something goes wrong, the providers and the patient could probably both jam you up... because you didn't have lots of patient contact. I think this is a great question to take to the state OEMS and get their opinion.
OK... this topic is reopened... try to keep it on topic... based on the OP's question.
Jon
I take a day off and I miss this thread. Wow.
OK... I'll self identify... I'm Jew-ish... (that is to say I was raised in Conservative Judisam, now vote Conservative, try to eat to the general principals of the laws of kashruit, and occasionally go to Shul - but with school every Saturday morning, it isn't easy. (Yeah... who else would find a way to link Fiddler on the Roof to a discussion on Volunteering).
In Philadelphia, there are several Russian-American owned ambulance companies that cater to a very large population of Russian and Ukrainian born 1st generation immigrants to Philly. Additionally, many of the involved are Jewish, because the socio-political views of communism made being a Jew in the USSR difficult... so they left.
Anyway... these "Russian Ambulance Companies" do a lot of the standard transport work... Dialysis, Dr's appointments, etc. Their customers are often foreign born, and many of their drivers and EMT's were raised in the same community, and many are fluent in Yiddish, Russian, or other regional dialects, therefore they have an easier time communicating with the patients.
These companies advertise at community fairs and festivals, and look for customers. They also distribute business card magnets with their phone number and accept emergency calls from residences - because this community is more comfortable reaching out and getting help from people who speak their own language and know the local culture. (Of course, not all of the crews really work for that... like the time PARescueEMT and myself took one of these residence calls in my short tenure with the one company - we both ONLY speak English).
Anyway... long story short - they operate state-certified BLS ambulances. There is at least one service that operates ALS rigs. Philly says that no one except the City's Fire Rescue is supposed to do emergency prehospital calls... but the city is so busy that no one cares if this population works it out themselves like this, within reason.
I think the big difference between the Philly "Russian Ambulance Companies" and Hatzola is that Hatzola simply dedicates itself to serving a small segment of the population's prehospital EMS needs, while the Philly companies usually do routine transports within and outside the small group, BUT they will do emergent prehosptial runs when asked. Further, the "Russian" companies aren't religion based... yes, there are lots of Jews in the population segment, but their are lots of other religions too.
I don't have any issue with Hatzola functioning to serve a small population segment that would otherwise be underserved. I won't attempt to justify the cases of them failing to render aid when flagged down. I assume they have some sort of mutual aid agreement/M.O.U. in place with the local 911 service(s)... that is an issue that must be handled locally.
Deeply religious Jews have many rules about how and what they wear, how and what they do, and when they do it. And it is all traditions. These have evolved over the years as technology has changed, but they are very limited in what they do.
One way of explaining some of the Jewish cultural mores is that over the years, the religious thinkers have built a wall AROUND the rules, so there is no risk of violating them accidentally.
However... most of the rules go out the window "to protect life".
Going back to the OP's question - you say that the "driver" doesn't provide patient care, and simply drives the ambulance and opens power doors for the crew - but he writes the chart (because writing is creating and work and work isn't allowed, because G-D rested on the 7th day).
What is the rules with the state regarding when a chart must be completed? PA has a 24-hour limit, officially, but that is somewhat flexible. Around here, I'd suggest that the driver would gather patient demographics, then the EMS providers would be responsible to stopping by the station after the day to write the narrative and sign the paperwork.
Again... Going back to the OP's question... if all you are doing is driving... and you have minimal to any patient contact, then you probably have limited to no liability.
If you are documenting the call.... your liability increases. If something goes wrong, the providers and the patient could probably both jam you up... because you didn't have lots of patient contact. I think this is a great question to take to the state OEMS and get their opinion.
OK... this topic is reopened... try to keep it on topic... based on the OP's question.
Jon
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