harold1981
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Does anyone have experience with hospital-based EMS? What are the pro's and contra's of having your whole EMS-system being part of a hospital?
Private, governement, fire or hospital-based
- Thread starter harold1981
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Two of our systems here are hospital based ie they are run by the same entity that runs the hospital system in the area concerned.
I would immagine that the quality improvement/feedback cycle is greatly improved because the systems are one-in-the-same and there is greater access to follow up information.
Now this may be the same elsehwere I do not know but our hospital based providers are extremely poorly funded and must compete with an even greater degree of competition for funding from the District Health Board and the Ministry of Health.
You may want to look into the northeast (NY/NJ) as I believe hospital based EMS still exists in New York City (as part of NYC*EMS) and elsewhere in the State, and is required for Advanced Life Support in New Jersey.
I would immagine that the quality improvement/feedback cycle is greatly improved because the systems are one-in-the-same and there is greater access to follow up information.
Now this may be the same elsehwere I do not know but our hospital based providers are extremely poorly funded and must compete with an even greater degree of competition for funding from the District Health Board and the Ministry of Health.
You may want to look into the northeast (NY/NJ) as I believe hospital based EMS still exists in New York City (as part of NYC*EMS) and elsewhere in the State, and is required for Advanced Life Support in New Jersey.
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BigPoppa
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My first five years of EMS were hospital based, with the exception of seven months or PT IFT preceding that. My hosp had two divisions, NYC 911 and IFT. The city 911 shifts were seperate from the IFT shifts. As an EMT, I had two 12's on 46 Eddie, and a 16 in IFT. As a medic, I had two 12's on 46 Young, and two 8's in IFT, all nights. OT in the city was copious as well.
Pros included being able to do both IFT and 911 on different days, to see both sides of EMS, and also to see what happens to your pts after you treat them prehospital. The pay was near the top for the area (over 20/hr for BLS, low 30's/hr for ALS), top of the line equipment, uniforms and apparatus, great benefits, and opportunity for advancement within the health system in general if you're properly educated. Speaking of which, my old hosp system was very pro education and was always willing to change your schedule to accomidate classes.
Cons include limited career advancement within EMS itself, no pension system only 401k, no job security, the very real threat that the hospital could close, putting you out of a job. This happened recently with St Vincent's in the city, Mary Immaculate an St John's, both in Queens. If you hate IFT, you can't escape it. Promotions are subject to favoritism instead of promotional lists, like on many municipal FD's.
For NYC in particular, a major pro for 911 EMS is that all ALS units are double medic, and they only get ALS job types. No stubbed toes or flu like Sx. Just diff breathers, arrests, cardiac pts, APE, unconscious/AMS, etc. The learning curve is steep.
A major con is the mother may I system for deviating from protocol to follow best practices. There are so many different agencies doing EMS in the NYC 911 system along with FDNY EMS that it's necessary to have that control. You need to present a solid case to the doc in the box to get their blessing to do what you need.
Pros included being able to do both IFT and 911 on different days, to see both sides of EMS, and also to see what happens to your pts after you treat them prehospital. The pay was near the top for the area (over 20/hr for BLS, low 30's/hr for ALS), top of the line equipment, uniforms and apparatus, great benefits, and opportunity for advancement within the health system in general if you're properly educated. Speaking of which, my old hosp system was very pro education and was always willing to change your schedule to accomidate classes.
Cons include limited career advancement within EMS itself, no pension system only 401k, no job security, the very real threat that the hospital could close, putting you out of a job. This happened recently with St Vincent's in the city, Mary Immaculate an St John's, both in Queens. If you hate IFT, you can't escape it. Promotions are subject to favoritism instead of promotional lists, like on many municipal FD's.
For NYC in particular, a major pro for 911 EMS is that all ALS units are double medic, and they only get ALS job types. No stubbed toes or flu like Sx. Just diff breathers, arrests, cardiac pts, APE, unconscious/AMS, etc. The learning curve is steep.
A major con is the mother may I system for deviating from protocol to follow best practices. There are so many different agencies doing EMS in the NYC 911 system along with FDNY EMS that it's necessary to have that control. You need to present a solid case to the doc in the box to get their blessing to do what you need.