We recently had the opportunity to listen in while some Wishard crews were discussing the current state of their service. Now we will be the first to admit that employees will usually bitch about what is wrong while overlooking what is right. With that being said, we think they have some valid concerns with their ability to provide service with their current fleet.
The biggest complaint was the lack of back up trucks. From what we have gathered, there was a lack of back up trucks prior to the fire at their old garage on Rural. Since the fire, the number of backups has reached a critical point. They have said that when a truck breaks down, they are sometimes forced to close trucks because they have nothing to replace them with. This has reportedly hit hard on the preventative maintenance of the trucks that are running since they cannot bring them in for routine service. We have even heard that when the truck they maintain in Decatur Township broke down recently, Wishard was forced to use a back up Decatur ambulance in order to keep medics down there.
The lone bright spots in the gloomy picture they painted; they heard that they are getting 2 used ambulances, and there are 2 new trucks down south somewhere waiting on the boxes to be put on.
Where does the fault lie here? Was the Rural fire the root cause of the problem? The Wishard people didn't think so. According to reports after the fire, only a couple of ambulances were lost. Is there a problem with the maintenance department? Does the fault lie higher up? Why has the service slipped to the point of buying used ambulances, and having trucks waiting for boxes? Poor planning, lack of urgency, lack of direction? Any ideas here?
Stay Safe
Dee
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9 comments:
Simple answer folks..The administration of both the hospital and ambulance service simply does not care anymore about providing good service. Fleet services and equipment are at the forefront of their obvious complacency. Shutting down trucks because there are no reserves is simply unacceptable. I pay property taxes for Health and Hospital Corp, its about time somebody stands up for Wishard EMS and we try to get things back to the way they were when I was there and Pete Dillman ran the best damn service in the State!
Dee
All the above may be true, but there is one thing you didn't mention. How many ambulances have been destroyed by careless driving. I know of 3 or 4. Everyone needs to take a little responsibility in this.
Hey anon. 12:38, You are damn right about that comment. Pete Dillman would have NEVER stood for this B.S....IMPEACH CHUCK FORD IN 08'...And take Andy Wilson's with him !! happily employed ex-wiz medic
Dee you are right as well. If everyone took some pride in their job and treated their trucks like we used to (with pride and ownership)..."SOME" of the shortage on trucks wouldn't be a problem. Happily employed ex-wiz medic.
I agree with all of you, but being that I am a current wiz employee, it is very hard to take pride little lone muster up and kind of enjoyment for working at a place that will put you out on the street in an unmarked vehicle. it is a serious problem. on another note, we are getting the truck thing in order. we have one brand new one and one used one up at the shop. its sad to say that we have to buy a used truck here and there, but with people wrecking and the trucks being in such bad shape, I guess there's just no other options.
I am a Wishard Employee. Our truck shortage is not only from the fire and the wrecks, but we simply have no money. Not one employee has seen a uniform voucher in over 1yr 1/2. There is not hope for 12 leads in sight, and we are the last to get any of the medications or necessities for the new protocol. There is even talk of what to do with the Reglan when the Zofran takes effect. Chuck Ford will hopefully phase out with these new job postings. He has been kept for so long because he is a yes mam, and he saves them money by putting us in crap trucks with crap equipment. I have had shifts where I have swapped trucks 3 times. The morale is very low. There are situations where they are even wanting crews to drive trucks with dual flat tires across town to be repaired just to save money. I even heard they sent an employee home because he would not drive a truck with flat tires to be repair due to safety concerns. When is it going to stop??
I just passed my state EMT-B exams. I've put in an application at Wishard, but the comments on here have me worried. Is Wishard a bad place to work?
I really want to work for a 911 service. Any other employment suggestions for a newly certifed EMT-B?
10:11, Don't believe eveything you read. There are problems at the Wiz, but they a mostly a management problem. Most of the people that work there are great; stressed, overworked, but great.
If they could drop about 90% of the management they would be all right. There is no place better for a new EMT to get some experience. You cant do 60,000 runs a year without learning a lot along the way. Probably 50-60% of those that go to Wishard use that as a stepping stone, get some experince, then move to what you are really looking for.
Anyone can argue about quality of care delivered at Wishard, response times, equipment, pay, benefits, but they cannot say you will see more trauma, more severe medical, a wider range of runs than you will see in the inner city. Good Luck & welcome to the life!
Thanks for reassurance. Hopefully I'll get called in for an interview soon.
I'm excited to start. I really want to help people, but I also want to do whatever I can to help the EMS profession.
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