This will be short and sweet.
A private ambo company called the County FD for a lift assist for a 700 lb. person who was being taken back home. The FD told them they couldn’t help them and that it was against policy. The owner of the private ambo company is not happy. (That is my very brief synopsis) Read the article here
Here are my thoughts (they are mostly the opposite of all the other comments):
- I agree with the FD.
- This was not a 911 call.
- This is not what the FD is for.
- The private ambo company should not have taken the transport if they could not complete it.
- The private ambo company is making money on this transport and should not rely on the FD as free labor.
- If the FD is to help them, they are opening themselves up to doing more and more unnecessary calls that they should not be running.
This situation would be different if it were a 911 call or if the FD agreed to bill the private ambo (for profit) company for their assistance. I also see no problem in helping with a lift assist if it were a crew from their department.
Many are faulting the FD for not helping. Why is it their fault? Why isn’t it the private ambo companies fault for not planning, being irresponsible, poor decision making, and all around not caring?
I wrote plenty more in the comments. There are around 70 comments now.
I just do not agree with them and I don’t see their points. I have tried and tried, but I cannot understand how this fits under our ever changing and not so well defined job descriptions.
As always, I am open for the discussion and I can and will adjust my opinion if I am given compelling argument that I didn’t think of otherwise. However, up until this point I have not heard anything that has made me want to change my mind.
“Deputy Springfield Fire Chief Greg Surbeck said department policy requires that requests to help lift, transfer or transport patients in non-emergencies be turned down. The policy dates from March 2009, he said.”Casting aside all of the ‘should have’, ‘could have’ and fire/EMS relationship advice, most seem to skip over this brief paragraph. Right or wrong if a policy is in place they have to operate according to the policy.
Bill Carey
What drew my ire on this story (and I posted on it today without knowing about the hornets nest in here) was the air of entitlement bellowed out by the owner of a private company to demand the taxpayers bail his ass out for not being able to complete the job he got paid for. By the taxpayers.
God bless America.
I agree. The private companies do seem more prone to accepting calls they know they cannot complete and relying on the fire service to bail them out. Not to mention running “hot” when they shouldn’t. The medical directors here are trying to get them under control but when they will not come to the table and talk it makes it difficult.
I agree with you, if for no other reason than this line from the company owner: “Esmond said Medicare and Medicaid, which often cover patients Mercy Ambulance transports, don’t pay him enough to justify sending more vehicles to help the two paramedics in a single ambulance.”
That pretty much seems to cover it. He couldn’t make his desired profit margin if he had to pay for the resources needed, so he wanted free labor.
As a former Ambo guy, I got to agree that this was NOT the FDs problem and had a lot of risk. Now I have used the FD to assit getting heavy pts out and headed to the ER but would never ask to do something like this. This ambulance service owner is just looking for a freebie. Get a crane and a chain saw.
In my experience working with bariatric patients (from the FD) perspective, I’ve only helped remove/lift these heavy patients from the home. EMS asked for our assistance because the patient was in critical condition; we’ve cut doorways out and helped lower patients down stairs. Never, ever did EMS request assistance when returning a client to his/her home.
I’m gonna have to support the FD with this one.
I am a member of the mentioned Fire Department. The ambulance company in question ended up paying a “standby fee” to one of the local Private ambulance companies. The Rockford ambulance company generated a bill of $2700 against the Patient. They can afford the $75 fee.
For the record one of our current members is a former employee ofRobert Esmond, owner of Mercy Ambulance. His company faces the exact same policies in Rockford, but does get free help from the Loves Park Fire Department, of which he is a member.
As an owner of Mercy Ambulance, I would like to set the record straight, all the financial information posted is totally incorrect and no money was paid to the local ambulance company, that was kind enough to help. I am not sure what the previous employee has to do with anything. We also get help from all of our surrounding fire departments, of which we are not a member of.
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