South Carolina 911 EMS

rkade2

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Hi all,

Long time lurker on here - have about 10 years full-time 911 ALS experience in the Northeast, in high-volume urban EMS, with RSI experience.

Looking to relocate to SC, and it looks like the largest provider of 911 is CCEMS - Charleston County EMS, who is currently hiring it seems.

I’ve read the threads on CCEMS and the hiring process, but was wondering other than Charleston County, if there were any other agencies hiring 911 Paramedics, and if anyone had any ideas what the average pay rate is.
 

NomadicMedic

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Honestly, EVERYONE is hiring.
Figure our where you want to go and start making phone calls.
 

DrParasite

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Echoing what @NomadicMedic said, everyone is hiring paramedics. I can almost guarantee you that you will take a decent paycut if you are moving from the NE down to SC. cost of living is a lot less, but if you have bills that you are still paying off...

As someone who moved from the NE to NC, I can tell you that it's a huge cultural difference. but that doesn't make it bad, just different. It's likely not going to be as busy as you are used to (with the number of runs per shift), but that doesn't make it better or worse.

I would suggest this: look where you want to live. if you have kids, look at the school system. look at housing prices. look at the distance to amenities that you are interested in. Try the food. And look at what your options are in case the job doesn't work out. then look at EMS agencies. go visit, speak to people on the trucks, stop by stations, and ask them for honest opinions. and ask them what they think of outsiders (some agencies are more welcoming than others). Ask them what the average length of time is with the agency, and what opportunities there are to do stuff besides be on the ambulance.

I moved to NC, and found myself miserable at my agency. I went somewhere else, found myself happy 50% of the time, and miserable 50% of the time. And now I haven't stepped foot on an ambulance since 2015, and I have never been happier with my decision. But I am glad that I checked out those options before I decided to move.
 
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rkade2

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Echoing what @NomadicMedic said, everyone is hiring paramedics. I can almost guarantee you that you will take a decent paycut if you are moving from the NE down to SC. cost of living is a lot less, but if you have bills that you are still paying off...

As someone who moved from the NE to NC, I can tell you that it's a huge cultural difference. but that doesn't make it bad, just different. It's likely not going to be as busy as you are used to (with the number of runs per shift), but that doesn't make it better or worse.

I would suggest this: look where you want to live. if you have kids, look at the school system. look at housing prices. look at the distance to amenities that you are interested in. Try the food. And look at what your options are in case the job doesn't work out. then look at EMS agencies. go visit, speak to people on the trucks, stop by stations, and ask them for honest opinions. and ask them what they think of outsiders (some agencies are more welcoming than others). Ask them what the average length of time is with the agency, and what opportunities there are to do stuff besides be on the ambulance.

I moved to NC, and found myself miserable at my agency. I went somewhere else, found myself happy 50% of the time, and miserable 50% of the time. And now I haven't stepped foot on an ambulance since 2015, and I have never been happier with my decision. But I am glad that I checked out those options before I decided to move.
Yeah, I’ve put in applications in actually more locations than just SC:

Sussex County EMS
Charleston County EMS
Durham County EMS

My top choice is Charleston County EMS, as I’d like to move to SC. If I am selected to advance to the testing portion, I’m definitely going to ask if it’s possible to do some sort of observation shift - I’m not sure with COVID and all that if they’d be receptive to that or not.

Luckily for me I’m single and have no family so it’s easier for me to just pack up and move.

So now, we just wait and see what happens. All of the agencies above say they’re actively recruiting Paramedics so we’ll see.

Here I’m used to transporting 16-17 patients in 12 hours with 5-8 minute transport times, that’s all I’ve known for 10 years. So it will be a nice change of pace where the county covers such a diverse area.
 

DrParasite

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Sussex County EMS
Charleston County EMS
Durham County EMS
sounds like you are working near my old stomping ground in NJ. If you are looking at Durham County EMS, I would check out Wake, Orange and Johnston county. The protocols are similar.

I would also look at this thread about NC EMS: https://emtlife.com/threads/best-county-ems-service.47459/#post-672496

Disclaimer: I live in NC, and have friends who work at several county agencies, including Durham County EMS, and I love it here.
 
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rkade2

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sounds like you are working near my old stomping ground in NJ. If you are looking at Durham County EMS, I would check out Wake, Orange and Johnston county. The protocols are similar.

I would also look at this thread about NC EMS: https://emtlife.com/threads/best-county-ems-service.47459/#post-672496

Disclaimer: I live in NC, and have friends who work at several county agencies, including Durham County EMS, and I love it here.
Yeah, I looked into Wake, I missed their hiring period for early 2021 - they said they’re hiring again in Mid May, so far nothing yet but I’ll keep an eye out.

Ive submitted an application to Durham County EMS, but not entirely sure how long it takes to hear back.

I’ll check out Orange and Johnston County for sure.

Do you know if any of these agencies prefer in state applicants vs out of state?
 

DrParasite

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it depends on the agency, and the person, and how well you can acclimate to how you do things.

most places hire a few times a year, especially if they hold an EMS academy for new hire classes (I know wake, durham and orange do, not sure about the others). check out the other post, it has links to a ton of more information about NC EMS agencies.

Oddly enough, the hospital paramedics make more than the 911 paramedics, at least as per one of my buddies who works for this hospital who keeps telling me to apply there part time:

@MMiz might be able to give you more information about this job.

you can also check out these jobs at UNC, including an ED paramedic job

 

NomadicMedic

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I had some friends at Berkeley and I hear they’re going through some culture issues.

another friend who was (no longer) at Charleston said it’s good, but balls out busy.
 

DrtyMdc

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Sorry kinda late. Berkeley has hired 3 new Batt Chief levels in the past 2 month plus a new Chief (their previous left because of medical reasons). So lots of churn.

Durham is a very interesting place! LOTS of churn over the past 6 years. 3 Chiefs, lots of upper management changes, and always a new face on the trucks. Looks like the waves created 2013-2016 are settling down though. Definitely look at the surrounding counties and Duke/UNC. Cost of living is going to go through the roof soon with the recent Tech company announcements about the area.
 

EpiEMS

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Oddly enough, the hospital paramedics make more than the 911 paramedics, at least as per one of my buddies who works for this hospital who keeps telling me to apply there part time:
Are the hospital medics doing IFT, in-hospital work, something else?
you can also check out these jobs at UNC, including an ED paramedic job
Curious -- is the ED paramedic role in a smaller ED? Is that something you mainly see in smaller EDs?
 

DrParasite

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Are the hospital medics doing IFT, in-hospital work, something else?
most of the time they are doing IFTs between hospitals or between hospitals and facilities (satellite ERs, some specialized places, maybe the occasional ER discharge).
Curious -- is the ED paramedic role in a smaller ED? Is that something you mainly see in smaller EDs?
no clue, but I know it's not a trauma center. I'm guessing it's more like an ER tech, with a larger scope due to paramedic training, but still not a nurse.
 
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