Comments on: Escambia Florida EMS To Expand Coverage, Drop Atmore Ambulance Contract

By: Brittney

Brittney — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 22:16:03 +0000

J Brown the correct terms would be “ PARAMEDIC “ and “ EMT.”

Paramedic – In the back of the ambulance with the patient giving medical treatment.
“ Saving the patients life “

EMT – In the front of the ambulance transporting from the scene to the hospital, starting iv’s cpr etc.

* If there is a Paramedic and a EMT it’s a ALS “ Advance life support “ unit. In your case it would be a paramedic in the back with the patient.

* If there are just two EMTs it’s a BLS “ Basic life support “ unit, for not so critical calls

And they are trained to do what they need to do… they probably took the vitals once in the ambulance to hurry to the hospital.

By: sam

sam — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 23:27:51 +0000

i fear the north end will get the short end of the stick as usual. the county will tax us more and provide less service as it has for years.

By: old man

old man — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 23:10:26 +0000

I have said this before and i will say it again if EMS has a staffing problem how are they going to provide a unit and personnel for these stations SIMPLE raise taxes after all we are paying 4 cent per gallon to support E CAT so get ready to pay for this also i would rather pay the 4 cent for this than for E CAT

By: Traumaqueen

Traumaqueen — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 21:27:45 +0000

There are bad/lazy/ incompetent workers in every career field. All of us who work in EMS are not horrible. I try to treat every patient the way I would want my loved one treated. I have no idea what happened on scene, who responded or how injured your loved one was because I am not a mind reader. I was merely pointing out that there are many reasons where we don’t do vitals on patients on scene and it’s usually because getting to the hospital is our priority not listening to bystanders complaints. I don’t know how many times I have worked a cardiac arrest of an obviously deceased patient because the family was there watching us. I wanted them to feel that everything was being done to help their family member even though they were already deceased.

As far as my title,again, I earned the title CCP paramedic and to call me a “tech” is an insult. I’m a widowed mother of four boys and busted my hump to put myself through school to better my children’s lives. I’m constantly going to classes to better myself and so that I can better help my patients. I would never do anything that would jeopardize my patients. It doesn’t matter how you believe it is. That is the way it is for me. If you’re gonna complain about someone who came to get your loved one(maybe they were horrible)because you didn’t take them yourself then at least get the vernacular right. That would be like calling a nurse A CNA or a detective an officer.

By: JBrown

JBrown — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:58:42 +0000

Traumaqueen…I, to am in the medical field. I understand about assessing patients. You assumed wrong. They took our loved one to Atmore Hospital. I hate to inform you as upon arriving at the hospital, the ER doctor even commented on the poor and unprofessional service the “Medics” provided. They arrived on scene and our loved one was in fact sitting in a chair and able to communicate. So an assessment should have been completed.
So…1st of all…you weren’t there…we were.
2nd…We more than likely will take our loved one the next time.
3rd…We all know “Medics” go to school and are trained, therefore, they should do their job, be professional & put the patient first.
And lastly…Well…I’ll just leave it right here…….

By: J D

J D — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 19:17:53 +0000

Have ask. If Atmore responds 4 times a month would that not save maybe 4 lives? I have ridden many trips when it was life or death situation and they did a great job. Don’t understand just shutting them down all together. Seems to me you save a life anyway you can. Maybe better communication with each other could have fixed the problem. Me. Barry had my total support at first. But is slowly becoming weaker.

By: Annette

Annette — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 18:20:27 +0000

As a healthcare professional who has witnessed Atmore Ambulance in action, I can tell you that this was a good move. I don’t want to throw shade, but the EMT’s are lacking in proper skills,… in a time of life and death, you don’t want your family member in their hands! As a matter of fact, I know of a patient who arrived at the hospital intubated incorrectly who ended up dying. It’s things like this that make me very nervous to call for an ambulance, so hopefully, Escambia County has more competent medics on staff. Having said this, I do think it’s a good idea for each citizen to spend some time learning basic first aid, like CPR, Heimlich maneuver, how to stop bleeding with pressure, ect, so that if the worst happens and an ambulance is not available, you have a chance at survival!

By: Greg Odom

Greg Odom — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 17:10:00 +0000

I started the process two years ago to start an ambulance service in Flomaton due to response times and because citizens where having to really on an ambulance to respond from Brewton or Atmore many times when the Esc Fl EMs unit was unavailable. When Esc County Fl EMS got word of it, they ran and secured a two year contract with Esc County Alabama to provide the service for Flomaton therefore I stopped the process only to have them pull out now. such a shame and Flomaton deserves better. Just wonder if I should start process again and would it be supported by EDC county Al if I did

By: Traumaqueen

Traumaqueen — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 16:25:47 +0000

Where do I even begin…

First of all, do you have any emergency medical training at all? I’m guessing no.

Secondly, we’re called “medics”, “emt’s” or “paramedics”. I went to college for 2+ yrs to become a critical care paramedic and I’ve earned the right to be addressed as my license states I am.

Thirdly, there are times on scene where we do not do vitals because the patients condition warrants we “load and go” and do the vitals and other interventions during the transport. With the call being way out there I’m assuming your loved one was transported to a Pensacola hospital,the travel time is significant. If they had delayed on scene and did vitals and whatever else you thought we should do then they would’ve been terrible because we were to long on scene. Would you prefer we treat your loved one or clean them up as you think we should do or do what is best for them? In a fall there are many issues that could be going on including a brain bleed, a broken hip,etc all of which can be life threatening if not treated right away.

There are times I am in the back of an ambulance and am working to treat my patient,sometimes to save their lives, and don’t have time to clean up the vomit or blood. I also dont have time to clean up the vomit or blood all over my uniform. My main concern in treating my patient regardless of what others think I should do because after all is said and done it is my licenses that are in jeopardy if I hurt my patient. I suggest that if you think you got bad treatment then put your loved one in your own car and drive them because after all who can treat a loved one better than their loved ones.

By: Name(required)

Name(required) — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 15:52:44 +0000

One thing I would like to ask Century ambulance was at the Walnut Hill fire house this morning what if Flomaton would have had a cardiac arrest how long would it have took got Century to be there.