Re: Private EMS Companys

[Guest guest]

On Fri, 17 Dec 1999 21:08:06 -0600 " Steve Pike "

writes:

>The reasons could include lack of initial capital to upgrade the

>system (EMS competes with the road department, the trash haulers, the

sewer

>department, the cops, ad nauseum for budget bucks)

If you strongly believe that it is in the best interest of the citizens

of the city/county/ EMSD to go with SO/FD/third service, not for profit

EMS, be proactive. Educate the citizens, lobby/educate the elected

officials, involve the medical community. We know the relative value, not

everyone does. PR is a integral part of EMS.

Be visible! The road department is visible; even with all the jokes about

three guys watching the fourth dig. You do notice a crew out. Same with

trash trucks, cops (tell the truth; how many times when you pass a donut

shop do you look to see if there is a cop car there- it's a joke, but it

is also visibility). People feel better about their tax money if they can

see a visible, positive manner

> Whereas Mule's Tail Volunteer EMS would take

>grandma foley to the hospital when she just wanted to have her blood

>pressure checked, yellow or red stripe won't, because they know they

>aren't going to be paid. Those of us who have read (or been skewered

by) a

>small town newspaper know the types of local hate and discontent these

types

>of decisions can stir up.

It is a lot cheaper to transport and write it off as good will, then

dealing with the negative publicity or any legal action that may result

from a " refusal to transport " .

Every angry person eventually gets around to telling an average of eight

people, and if the persons who has been told something negative have

their own ax to grind, or like to go to council meetings to stir up

stuff, then it's possible to lose a contract, get any subsidy reduced,

etc.

>If anything, any pressure applied comes after the call has already been

run, and

>usually from a QA-type who wants to know if what you did was really

necessary

>(read:should we have used that expensive stuff on that guy?).

Make your transport paperwork clear, don't be defensive, use the QA

encounter to educate. THe QA person has to justify the expense in any

appeals to third party providers.

>One problem that has occurred and continues to occur on a regular basis

is running >the system too lean to be effective.

Granted, the bean-counters win because of the profit motive, but if the

call flow and mix is analyzed (the reason for posting in larger systems)

and it can be justified, the powers that be can be persuaded, especially

if you aren't adversarial.

>the waitress puts that plates on the table, the drunk will hit the

>tree as soon as the only available unit checks out to take grandma foley

home.

Oh, 's Fourth Law of EMS Distribution :-)

>unwieldy and poor patient care goes more and more unnoticed as system

>size increases. I have seen several mid-size municipal systems that

have a

>great service, filled with good medics who are dedicated to being very

good

>at what they do.

That is because the supervisor's span of control is probably right for

their circumstances.

" Leadership is action, not position "

Larry

Certified Flight RN..and some other stuff

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