Friday Wrap Up

Hey, Friday is finally here! Not that many of us do that whole Mon-Fri thing. We just want to take this time to wrap up a few loose ends and get ready to start a new week bright eyed and fresh.
We got an email from "Tom", I think he is the Medusa rep for Wishard from the tone of the email. Tom, we stand corrected. Wishard is going live with Siren on April 7th, not 4th as I had reported. "Tom" says that they are aware there are going to be problems and is ready to tackle them.
Has everyone been over the new Marion County Protocols? What do you think? Right direction? Wrong direction? Anyone want to weigh in on this? Anyone heard when each group is going to them?
Not our realm really, but keep an eye on the out of state search for a new IFD chief. If he/she comes from a department that has successfully merged fire/ems, or has a long track record of fire/ems, this could give you an idea of which way the mayor is leaning on our future.
Stay safe and keep doing what you do.

Dee

With Our Deepest Sympathy

We would like to pass our condolences along to IFD Firefighter Trasey Graham on the loss of her sister in a tragic house fire early Wednesday morning in the 200 block of west 37th St.

Dee

An Open Letter to Mr. Newman

Mr Newman,
As Public Safety Director for the City of Indianapolis, we, The Emergency Medical Responders of Marion County, are addressing this open letter to you. We have waited patiently while you have put forth on behalf of the Mayor, certain initiatives meant to correct the manpower and moral issues in IMPD that went unaddressed for so long. We stood by silently while Mayor Ballard talked openly about the consolidation of all township fire departments into IFD. Yet, to date, no one from city or county government has addressed the end goal regarding the future of Emergency Medical Services in Marion County.
While we know and have come to accept our place in arena of emergency response, admitting that EMS is not as flashy as burning buildings or live car chases, we feel that our role is just as, if not more, important than those we serve beside. After all, it is the fireman who rescues the family from the burning building, but it is EMS who fights to keep them alive from there.
Currently there is a “mixmash” of services and response areas in Indianapolis, with ambulances being provided by several township fire departments, IFD, Wishard Hospital and Rural Metro. The response areas are cut up, borders are far from consistent, and the needs of the public fall to wayside in favor of turf and old boundaries.
Just as the providers are a diverse group, the pay and benefits fall along a wide spectrum as well. With some services working 24 hr shifts, some working 12 hr shifts. The pay range among civilian vs. fire dept is very noticeable. Job requirements from organization to organization vary greatly. There is no consistency in insurance benefits, time off, seniority, representation (or lack of), or chain of command.
If the inconsistency in pay, benefits, shifts, schedules, and response areas were not enough, there is a wide disparity in equipment from provider to provider. While every fire dept. in Marion County currently has 12 lead capability on their EKG monitors, Wishard Hospital Ambulance Service is still looking for grant monies to pay for this. Also, since the recent fire at 4040 N. Rural, Wishard has been struggling to keep enough running trucks on the road to provide service.
Rumors as to our future run rampant, change often, and run the gambit of possibilities. The disparity in equipment, response area, pay, benefits, and hierarchy create chasms in our ranks. Morale in EMS in Marion County is at an all time low. The current system has pitted provider against provider, fire department against EMS, EMT’s and Paramedics against their own management. A decision must be made. Where is our future going to take us? What are the plans of this administration for EMS? Will we all fall under the reign of the consolidated county fire department? Will there be a 3rd service provider? This is our livelihood, or job, our passion if you will. We deserve to know in what direction we are headed. Mr. Newman, Mayor Ballard, enlighten us. Let us in on the discussion. Give us the opportunity for our voices to be heard.

Respectfully,
EMSindy

Help Wanted - IFD & Brown Township

Sorry on the oversight, IFD is hiring Paramedics. We are hearing that IFD is hiring EMT's as well, but we haven't been able to find the link for it. If anyone can provide the link for this, we will be glad to post it. The paramedic position can be found here http://www.careers.vurvexpress.com/jobprofile.cfm?szWID=15465&szCID=69594&szSiteID=631&szOrderID=473574&szStart=1

Brown Township is in the mix as well. Hiring FF/EMT's, FF/Paramedics, and Civilian Paramedics. Courtesy of Careerbuilder.com

"Firefighter/EMT Firefighter/Paramedic Civilian Paramedics Brown Twp Fire & Rescue now accepting applications. Applications available at: Brown Twp. Fire Hdqtrs. 471 Old State Rd 67 N., Mooresville, beginning Monday, March 24. All applications must be turned in by Friday, April 18 at Noon.

Dee

Medusa Goes Live, Then Dead @ Wayne

Well my friends, here is what I am hearing from my friends at Wayne Township Fire. They went online with Medusa today at 0700 hrs. By 2100, they were being called and told to go back to paper. The problems? Crew members log into the system and show up, but disappear later in the system. Run sheets that disappear then reappear later. Run reports that won't transfer from the first responding unit to the transporting unit, and run sheets that wont fax to the hospital when the patient is dropped off. To top it all off, apparently there are some "dead spots" on the west side near at least one firehouse that the system is lost in.
Wayne is currently running no more than 5 ambulances. What happens when IFD and Wishard go live? We see a lot of problems coming up?
Any problems we haven't heard about yet?

Dee

IFD EMS

If you have read IndyBravest lately, there has been a lot of talk about the problems with the IFD Civillian EMS division. With everything new, there are bound to be problems, whenever there is change, there are bound to be people against it. Lets talk about some of these problems. What are your ideas? More staffing? Scrap the whole transporting idea and turn it over to Wishard or someone else who wants to do it? BLS transporting trucks with ALS squads on dual response? A third service EMS service in the county? Has the whole transporting EMS been more involved than anyone thought it would be? Is it worth the hassle? What are the higher up's in the department and the union saying about the EMS division? Let's hear it. This is the place & we are listening.

Dee

Up Coming Events

I know, it is only March, but warm weather is just around the corner. Don't forget these upcoming events.

04/07 - 04-12 - FDIC, http://fdic08.events.pennnet.com/fl//index.cfm

05/04 - Opeing Day/Rookie Orientation, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/schedule/

05/18 - 05/24 - EMS Appreciation Week

05/25 - 92nd Running Indianapolis 500, http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/schedule/

Dee

Wishard Going Live With Siren

Our friends over at the Wiz are telling us that the medusa electronic patient care reporting system is turned on for practice. The system is scheduled to "go live" on April 4th at 0700 hrs. After that time, paper reports will be gone. We see a lot of start up issues ahead for them. Good luck!
Has anyone out there worked with this system? We would love some feedback form someone who has actually used it on runs.

Dee

Near Misses

In the last few weeks, there have been a couple of ambulance crashes that could have turned out very badly. In the first, a Wishard ambulance struck a rolling arrow board on I65. One medic, one EMT and one patient taken to the hospital. Bruises and a possible broken bone. http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?s=7998070 In the second, a Seals ambulance was stuck at the intersection of Raymond and Keystone, with the ambulance ending up on it's side. Ninety one year old patient and medic transported to the ER. Nothing serious from what I hear. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803170387
In both of these accidents, the crews as well as the patients were lucky to escape with only minor injuries.

Dee

Help Wanted

The local hiring is on. City of Lawrence is hiring EMT's and Paramedics. Accepting applications until April 4th.

City of Lawrence Fire Department
4455 McCoy Street
Lawrence, IN 46226
317-547-4371

We hear IFD will be hiring civilian EMT's and Paramedics soon. As soon as we hear something, we will pass it along to you.

Dee

Welcome

Here it is. IFD has their own site, Indybravest. IMPD has Indy Blue Rollcall. Now my fellow EMT's & Paramedics, we have our little place in the blogosphere, EMSindy. Our goal here is to give EMS providers their own forum, their own voice if you will.
I know we are all adults here, and even though it shouldn't be neccessary, we need to start with a couple of guidelines. First of all, lets keep it clean. There is no need to move a discussion to the gutter to get your point across. Next, always, ALWAYS, keep HIPPA in mind. The last thing we want is for this to be a place where confidentiality is an issue. For that reason, as well as others, comment moderation will always be on.
We welcome your comments, pro or against anything posted. If there is a topic you would like us to go after, feel free to drop one of us a line at deefibb@yahoo.com

Stay Safe
Dee