South Carolina EMS?

[Medicnextdoor]

Anyone know anything about South Carolina EMS? I am thinking of moving there due to my wife having a job offer. Just wondered where should I look and where should I stay away from....

She will probably be working in Charleston.

 

[46Young]

http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=13483&page=3&highlight=quality+ems+agencies
post # 28.

The place has a ridiculously high turnover. If you need further proof, consider that the Charleston County website has continuously posted the position of paramedic crew member. They can't get anyone to anyone of quality to stay there.

A former co-worker of mine left Fairfax County FRD to go there there a couple of months before I did. He bought a house in Mt. Pleasant. His wife works as an RN at Roper. He dropped down to per diem before his first year was up. He now works FT at Roper. Another friend left to go back to San Diego. Yet another left for TSEMS in Denver. The list goes on and on. I left for FCFRD.

A better bet, IMO, would be to seek employment with either Roper or MUSC. They're both IFT however. Dorchester and Berkeley Counties don't pay well. Any questions, please feel free to PM me.

 

[Medicnextdoor]

Interesting

Did you work there or is this from your friend?

I checked out The Medical U and Roper. Both were transport. Do they do any 911 there?

 

[46Young]

I worked there for a stint back in '07. I began preparations to leave after I received my official job offer from Fairfax. CCEMS does have part time employees. I don't know if they began FT then dropped down, or were hired PT only. Job postings have been for FT medic crew members only. You could call HR, Xfer to EMS, and speak with Capt. McGeorge. It probably wouldn't be TOO bad working there PT. You aren't "owned" by the agency, you can pick and choose where and with whom you work, and not be forced to stay past the end of your shift. the only downside is that there will be no state retirement. Go PT if you want some 911 action on YOUR terms.

Roper and MUSC are IFT only. all 911 to my knowledge are handled by the local counties.

One thing's for sure, the MUSC EMS crew generally appeared upbeat and friendly whenever I came across them. My understanding is that some CCEMS employees jumped ship and work there for a much better schedule (3 12's) and better working conditions.

Again, PM me if you want details in regards to how CCEMS works.

 

[Medicnextdoor]

Thanks

Thanks for the info. I really don't want to work non-emergent and need full time to pay bills (we're moving there with all of that cost).

Just so you know, the ad (which I applied to) is for something called "pool". They are full (per the email I got back from McGeorge) but are hiring for a wait list.

I haven't been around in a lot of systems but thought that was a pretty good sign that they are hiring for a wait list. I'm going to go for it and see how it is. With all of that stuff on the website (the teams and stuff), it can't be that bad.

David

 

[46Young]

Good luck! Compare your wife's medical plan to the County's. It was pretty cheesy, with a $1000 deductible, and you were still required to give co-pays afterward as well.

 

[Medicnextdoor]

Pretty good from our view

Thanks. The benefit package looks pretty good from where we come from. This is basic Blue cross and I only pay 50 cents a pay period! At my other work, I paid over $200 a month for my coverage!

I've just gotten through with the ride along. Everyone was very positive. They talked about stand by but they have a calendar that tells you when your day is. Here, I am on call every day - no rotation - if the guy you relieve is not on, the supervisors don't care.

The equipment is top notch. I talked with two ER docs and they had nothing but good things to say about the medicine everyone does. I spoke is the medical director - Shealy - he seemed pretty EMS positive.

We think we're going to give Charleston a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[46Young]

Good, I hope it works out for you. It sounds like CCEMS will be several steps up from where you're currently working. That recall calendar they're talking about is on one of your days off when you wouldn't be subject to recall otherwise. It's for 12 hours. what I didn't like is that there was no additional compensation for the inconvenience of being on call, only what you're paid when you're working.

Their inservice training for ConEd was straight time as well. Any sick days or paid time off reduces your OT hours (56 hr workweek if on 24's) to straight time.

The medical directors were great, IMO.

The other thing that was irritating is that with a 24/48 and being held over, you spend your second day off recovering, and you're always going to work the next day.

If you're in need of an apartment, I know of a good community off of 26 at exit 199 in Summerville.

 

[Medicnextdoor]

Work

I just got my acceptance letter.

I talked with Captain McGeorge and he showed me where all training time was overtime. Everything over 40 is there. Where I worked previously, you had to go to 56 hours before OT kicked in.

Where are you working now? Do they pay overtime for sick leave there? It sounds like you made a move for the good.

 

[46Young]

Funny, but they only paid me straight time for the monthly 6 hour inservice. Capt. McGeorge seems like a good guy, and probably isn't lying to you. It would be good to get everything they promise you in writing, though.

Paying OT for sick leave isn't entirely accurate. Let's say you worked 12 hours OT in excess of your 56 hour week. Let's say you call in sick for the last 24 hr shift of that pay period. You'll then be paid 64 hours straight time and 4 hours OT. Same thing for paid time off (personal days, holidays, etc).

I'm currently employed at Fairfax. Regarding sick time, we're FLSA, so the first 56 hours are straight time. This actually makes hourly OT compensation higher. Hypothetically, if I were to work OT on the first day of my pay period, and then go out for sick leave for the whole pay period, that OT shift would still be at 1.5 time.

We also have a "no hold or recall" list, that protects you from being held over or recalled if you have travel plans, MD appointment, child care issues, etc.

Ask the Capt. if it's still true that you need to get someone to cover your shift before you're approved for leave. I think the official S.O.P. says that you'll be approved if staffing levels are good. In reality, we were only approved if we have someone willing to cover.

Congratulations! I hope it works out. Keep me posted. I'm curious to see if things may have changed for the better.

Oh yeah, didn't I tell you that you'd be hired pretty much right away?

 

[46Young]

Correction, they do allow you to take one day off for "annual leave" which is for your birthday, without having someone cover for you.

Also worth mentioning is that our work schedule is WOWOWOOOO, all 24's. It's a variation on the 24/48, the same hours per week, on average. This is important, because we can only be held over for 12 hours past the end of our shift. If we were held for 24, it would then be a 72 hour shift. Ask management if they've ever looked at going to that schedule, for the benefit and happiness of their employees. Same thing for a 48/96. I'm willing to bet that the answer will be somewhere along the lines of "A 24/48 is in the best interests of the angency". Of course it is. With a 24/48, they can hold you for 24 hours whenever they want. With my schedule, it's only 12, with the exception of the last day. With a 48/96, there would be no holdover.

A recurring theme there was that things were ultimately done for the best interest of the company. Employee morale and happiness are low on the priority list. The general sentiment is that they're set in their ways in how things are run, and if you don't like it, leave (I never complained one bit, just did my job well and left when the opportunity presented itself). Input and constructive criticism from field employees is discouraged.

Another thing, they'll change your schedule every six months, as well as your partner. You could also go from 24's to 12's and back again.

 

[46Young]

Thanks for the info. I really don't want to work non-emergent and need full time to pay bills (we're moving there with all of that cost).

Just so you know, the ad (which I applied to) is for something called "pool". They are full (per the email I got back from McGeorge) but are hiring for a wait list.

I haven't been around in a lot of systems but thought that was a pretty good sign that they are hiring for a wait list. I'm going to go for it and see how it is. With all of that stuff on the website (the teams and stuff), it can't be that bad.

David

Good sign that they have a wait list, huh? I was shocked at first when you told me that they weren't hiring immediately. That was exactly one week ago, and you've been hired already. keep that in the back of your head. The website looked good to me, too.

I not trying to ruin things for you, but I want you to go in knowing all of the things that I had to find out by suprise. Maybe it'll work out for you. It's all about perspective. Your last job may have left much to be desired, and CCEMS may be a home run for you in comparison. My medic job in NY was for a well known, prestigious hospital based EMS agency. Conditions at CCEMS were much worse than what I was accustomed to. One man's trash is another man's treasure, I suppose.

Keep me posted, let me know how it goes.

 

[FFMedic75]

South Carolina services

I have worked for 4 different South Carolina Services. All SC systems seem to have a high turn over rate for various reasons. Most of it is because everyone is "at will" employees and systems like to threaten their employees with termination for bringing legitimate issues and problems to light. I have not personally worked for Charleston County but have had many coworkers who have. None of them had much positive to say about the their experience. Their pay is competitive, however last I heard they have a huge amount of mandatory OT and you have to fill your own leave. I have also heard lots of reports regarding issues with management, however I don't know any of them. Goose Creek City is nearby. It is a fire based system. They have had numerous growing pains but seem to have things straighted out, and I believe there turn over rate is way down from what it was. Most of the people at MUSC ground seem happy. Dorchester and Berkely Counties neighbor Charleston. I don't think they pay as much but their employees seem happy. I don't know a lot about Berkely County but Dorchester has good trucks and top of the line equipment. Colleton County borders Charleston to the south. They are a fire based system with good pay and equipment, however their management is so bad most of their employees are looking for new jobs. I think as you look around some of the poorer systems that don't pay as well make up for it by treating their employees much better.

 

[46Young]

I have worked for 4 different South Carolina Services. All SC systems seem to have a high turn over rate for various reasons. Most of it is because everyone is "at will" employees and systems like to threaten their employees with termination for bringing legitimate issues and problems to light. I have not personally worked for Charleston County but have had many coworkers who have. None of them had much positive to say about the their experience. Their pay is competitive, however last I heard they have a huge amount of mandatory OT and you have to fill your own leave. I have also heard lots of reports regarding issues with management, however I don't know any of them. Goose Creek City is nearby. It is a fire based system. They have had numerous growing pains but seem to have things straighted out, and I believe there turn over rate is way down from what it was. Most of the people at MUSC ground seem happy. Dorchester and Berkely Counties neighbor Charleston. I don't think they pay as much but their employees seem happy. I don't know a lot about Berkely County but Dorchester has good trucks and top of the line equipment. Colleton County borders Charleston to the south. They are a fire based system with good pay and equipment, however their management is so bad most of their employees are looking for new jobs. I think as you look around some of the poorer systems that don't pay as well make up for it by treating their employees much better.

That was pretty much my experience there, and this post is what I've been basically saying about CCEMS. Thanks for posting. I've spoke poorly about the dept on numerous occasions, so much that it would appear that I have a vendetta against the place or something. It's nice to have someone else echo my sentiment, to show that I'm not making this all up.

My main mission is to let prospective employees know how CCEMS REALLY is, all of the stuff they don't tell you (or downplay) during the interview. nothing that I've said thus far has any basis in fantasy or hyperbole. The way they do business should not be rewarded in the least.

 

[46Young]

This is another prime example as to why EMS sorely needs collective bargaining, or at least a strong, legit political organization with significant influence. That "at will" nonsense is for the birds. Thw working stiff needs real protection against these tools.

 

[reaper]

At will states are the best you can have. Neither the employer or employee is held in to a job they may not want.

If you want better EMS in SC, head to the upstate. Most counties up there are a lot better with their setups.

 

[46Young]

At will states are the best you can have. Neither the employer or employee is held in to a job they may not want.

Are you serious? Last time I checked, at most jobs you can quit whenever you want. "Right to work" holds no advantage there. A major DISadvantage is that it's much easier for an employer to fire you, or the ever popular being "asked to resign" routine. That's a farce anyway - if you agree to quit, the agency will say that you can still use them as a work reference, and they won't say anything bad about you. reality is, if they want to screw you, when your prospective employer calls you, and asks if they would hire you again, they'll say that you worked there, and no, they wouldn't hire you again. That's how they get around not being able to say anything about your work history with them.

Employees working in right to work states are definitely at a disadvantage. Look at salaries in the deep South. Read my post about CCEMS at the "quality ems agencies" thread. Employers in right to work states can do whatever they want, and pay whatever they feel like. They can treat their employees however they want, as long as they're not commiting sexual harrassment or discriminating.

Did you read the post by FFMedic 75?
"All SC systems seem to have a high turn over rate for various reasons. Most of it is because everyone is "at will" employees and systems like to threaten their employees with termination for bringing legitimate issues and problems to light".
"last I heard they have a huge amount of mandatory OT and you have to fill your own leave. I have also heard lots of reports regarding issues with management"

These things are all to typical with a place that isn't answerable to a union or other employee organization. Unions have the power to force the employer's hand, to force them to compromise on issues important to their employees. Otherwise, the agency will look out for it's own best interests, employee be damned.

 

[akflightmedic]

As a former employee of Horry County EMS (where I started it all prior to the FD merger) and then as an employee of Georgetown County EMS (prior to their merger with FD as well), I can say without a doubt the above posters have been correct in their assessment that overall the EMS system is shyte because of that BS "At will employee" malarkey.

Turnovers were endless, wages were low and they used and abused you until you left and there were a dozen people behind you drooling to take your slot.

So glad I left SC so many years ago and have never regretted it once.

 

[46Young]

As a former employee of Horry County EMS (where I started it all prior to the FD merger) and then as an employee of Georgetown County EMS (prior to their merger with FD as well), I can say without a doubt the above posters have been correct in their assessment that overall the EMS system is shyte because of that BS "At will employee" malarkey.



So glad I left SC so many years ago and have never regretted it once.

I'm glad I left, too.
"Turnovers were endless, wages were low and they used and abused you until you left and there were a dozen people behind you drooling to take your slot". Dead on. Look at what I told the OP. When they applied, they were told that CCEMS was full, and were hiring for a waiting list only. This creates an illusion that you'll be lucky to get hired. The OP was hired exactly one week later. What does that tell you? They can't keep anyone worth a damn. Just like the privates, they can always hire more naive individuals.

 

[reaper]

Funny, I have never had the problem here! May be the quality of the hires. The state is screwed up in EMS it's self. Since we are the largest system in the state, we get a little more control of it. Decent wages, good bennifits, treated right, no forced OT ever, unless you count the rare late call.

I am sure some have had bad experiences in any state or county you can think of. Does not mean all will. I have worked in 16 different states and have a very good feel of how it is done in different parts of the country. I will take the Southern "at will" states any day! Thank you very much.

You must research any system you plan on working for. it is your choice and no one elses. I never work for a system I do not want to. That is what is great about choice!