Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene News S...

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

Does Abilene have the tax base to support it? That is something they better look

at closely. Larry MS LP NMCEMDirector, EMS Management ProgramEastern New

Mexico University - Portales

____________________________________________________________

Globe Life Insurance

$1* Buys $50,000 Life Insurance. Adults or Children. No Medical Exam.

http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d4023784bef5607dcst01vuc

[Guest guest]

Does Abilene have the tax base to support it? That is something they better look

at closely. Larry MS LP NMCEMDirector, EMS Management ProgramEastern New

Mexico University - Portales

____________________________________________________________

Globe Life Insurance

$1* Buys $50,000 Life Insurance. Adults or Children. No Medical Exam.

http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d4023784bef5607dcst01vuc

[Guest guest]

Hi FE.  Don't know that much about the current provider, except that it's the

only service they have left in Texas.  I think that AFD would provide a much

better service as they currently provider ALS first response, and they are much

better than those people in the Neon yellow trucks, as they are just another

version of R/M, and we all know how well R/M did in Texas.

Wayne

Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

 

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

Hi FE.  Don't know that much about the current provider, except that it's the

only service they have left in Texas.  I think that AFD would provide a much

better service as they currently provider ALS first response, and they are much

better than those people in the Neon yellow trucks, as they are just another

version of R/M, and we all know how well R/M did in Texas.

Wayne

Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

 

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

Do tell, Wayne, why you feel " that AFD would provide a much better service " ? I'm

intrigued to know your response...

~

Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

 

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

Do tell, Wayne, why you feel " that AFD would provide a much better service " ? I'm

intrigued to know your response...

~

Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

 

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

This is going to be BAD! I admit it! This is not going to be politically

correct. I am going to rant. So delete now if you don't want to read it.

I have abstained from this discussion until now, but I will get into this only

because I'm now long gone from the Abilene area, but I have considerable

knowledge of it. And I don't give a ratz ass who thinks what about what I'm

about to say.

Historically, Abilene has chosen to do the " cheap thing " for EMS. It would have

preferred that the funeral homes continue to provide ambulance service, because

Abilene folks have a great love for their funeral directors and they don't want

to pay for services that they can get for free. And the funeral homes didn't

charge for ambulance service. They ran ambulances staffed by college students

that picked up patients and ran them into the hospitals and charged nothing.

What a swell system! And did any of the doctors in town have a problem with

this? Of course not! Back in those days, doctors thought emergencies meant

they had a flat tire.

But the funeral homes found out that they were going to have to pay their

" ambulance drivers " a minimum wage and decided to ditch the ambulance service.

In lots of places the fire department picked it up, but not in Abilene. It

didn't want to pay for service, so it gave the service to private ambulance

services who would provide the service at no cost to the taxpayers. No thought

about the quality of the service, just the cost. That's typical of Abilene.

Not a single thought about quality, until maybe now.

Fast forward. Abilene has been through Rural/Metro and several other providers,

none of which has ever rendered better than minimal service, notwithstanding

that there were and are some really great paramedics working for them who work

their hearts out for little or nothing in pay and benefits and poor equipment

and horrible medical direction.

The city fathers know little or nothing about this, and only now, it seems, are

they beginning to wake up. But that's typical of small town politicians, as

well as big town politicians. Medical politics have driven the choice of

medical directors for the EMS service. No aggressive medical director has

survived. The hospital system, READ HENDRICK, has always pushed a weak medical

director, and they have won. Why? Because they do not want a strong medical

director who would allow EMS to do things that are standard of care everywhere

else. When one's head is in the sand, little is seen. And with a community of

physicians who don't give a damn about emergency medicine, what else could one

expect? This is Abilene! Enjoy it!

I'm always tempted to blast the managers for this, but that's not fair. The

poor rubes who find themselves managing EMS services that are failing due to

lack of revenues will always do what's practical and hard, and it generally

affects the street medics adversely. The Hobson's choice is to have a bad job

or a job.

There is a problem with EMS in Abilene that transcends just EMS. And that is

that the two hospitals are about as far from being state of the art in emergency

care as you can get. Having worked in close proximity to their system, I can

say without fear that the hospitals have never been friends of EMS, nor have

they ever done anything to improve EMS. If you are hurt or sick in Abilene,

you're in a heap of trouble. I'm not a huge fan of helicopter EMS, but if

you're in Abilene and you're sick or hurt, for God's sake get yourself in a helo

and off to Ft Worth, Lubbock, or Dallas.

I could say that I have encountered many stupid and incompetent ER docs in the

hospitals in Abilene. Well, I won't because that would do no good, but you get

the picture.

Consider this: In Tyler, TX, a town of about the same population as Abilene,

there are a Level I trauma center and a Level II trauma center a block apart.

Yet, in Abilene, there are only two pathetic Level III facilities. Why?

Because the medical community does not support emergency medicine. And when I

say " Medical community " who do I mean? Doctors. Yes. Doctors.

Nobody else. Doctors run medicine, and in Abilene the doctors have been asleep

at the wheel for decades.

The whole medical profession in Abilene seems stuck in the 1930s. I say this

partly tongue in cheek but half seriously. There is something about the medical

community in Abilene that is hostile to progressive medicine. Maybe it's

something in the water. I don't know.

The road to Fire Service takeover of EMS has been long but relentless. The

failures of the privates in Abilene have been well-known to everybody in the EMS

community within a 100 mile radius, and FD takeover has been a topic of

discussion among the troops for years.

With respect to my friends in private EMS, I must say that I think that

Abilene's future lies in FD EMS.

GG

Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

This is going to be BAD! I admit it! This is not going to be politically

correct. I am going to rant. So delete now if you don't want to read it.

I have abstained from this discussion until now, but I will get into this only

because I'm now long gone from the Abilene area, but I have considerable

knowledge of it. And I don't give a ratz ass who thinks what about what I'm

about to say.

Historically, Abilene has chosen to do the " cheap thing " for EMS. It would have

preferred that the funeral homes continue to provide ambulance service, because

Abilene folks have a great love for their funeral directors and they don't want

to pay for services that they can get for free. And the funeral homes didn't

charge for ambulance service. They ran ambulances staffed by college students

that picked up patients and ran them into the hospitals and charged nothing.

What a swell system! And did any of the doctors in town have a problem with

this? Of course not! Back in those days, doctors thought emergencies meant

they had a flat tire.

But the funeral homes found out that they were going to have to pay their

" ambulance drivers " a minimum wage and decided to ditch the ambulance service.

In lots of places the fire department picked it up, but not in Abilene. It

didn't want to pay for service, so it gave the service to private ambulance

services who would provide the service at no cost to the taxpayers. No thought

about the quality of the service, just the cost. That's typical of Abilene.

Not a single thought about quality, until maybe now.

Fast forward. Abilene has been through Rural/Metro and several other providers,

none of which has ever rendered better than minimal service, notwithstanding

that there were and are some really great paramedics working for them who work

their hearts out for little or nothing in pay and benefits and poor equipment

and horrible medical direction.

The city fathers know little or nothing about this, and only now, it seems, are

they beginning to wake up. But that's typical of small town politicians, as

well as big town politicians. Medical politics have driven the choice of

medical directors for the EMS service. No aggressive medical director has

survived. The hospital system, READ HENDRICK, has always pushed a weak medical

director, and they have won. Why? Because they do not want a strong medical

director who would allow EMS to do things that are standard of care everywhere

else. When one's head is in the sand, little is seen. And with a community of

physicians who don't give a damn about emergency medicine, what else could one

expect? This is Abilene! Enjoy it!

I'm always tempted to blast the managers for this, but that's not fair. The

poor rubes who find themselves managing EMS services that are failing due to

lack of revenues will always do what's practical and hard, and it generally

affects the street medics adversely. The Hobson's choice is to have a bad job

or a job.

There is a problem with EMS in Abilene that transcends just EMS. And that is

that the two hospitals are about as far from being state of the art in emergency

care as you can get. Having worked in close proximity to their system, I can

say without fear that the hospitals have never been friends of EMS, nor have

they ever done anything to improve EMS. If you are hurt or sick in Abilene,

you're in a heap of trouble. I'm not a huge fan of helicopter EMS, but if

you're in Abilene and you're sick or hurt, for God's sake get yourself in a helo

and off to Ft Worth, Lubbock, or Dallas.

I could say that I have encountered many stupid and incompetent ER docs in the

hospitals in Abilene. Well, I won't because that would do no good, but you get

the picture.

Consider this: In Tyler, TX, a town of about the same population as Abilene,

there are a Level I trauma center and a Level II trauma center a block apart.

Yet, in Abilene, there are only two pathetic Level III facilities. Why?

Because the medical community does not support emergency medicine. And when I

say " Medical community " who do I mean? Doctors. Yes. Doctors.

Nobody else. Doctors run medicine, and in Abilene the doctors have been asleep

at the wheel for decades.

The whole medical profession in Abilene seems stuck in the 1930s. I say this

partly tongue in cheek but half seriously. There is something about the medical

community in Abilene that is hostile to progressive medicine. Maybe it's

something in the water. I don't know.

The road to Fire Service takeover of EMS has been long but relentless. The

failures of the privates in Abilene have been well-known to everybody in the EMS

community within a 100 mile radius, and FD takeover has been a topic of

discussion among the troops for years.

With respect to my friends in private EMS, I must say that I think that

Abilene's future lies in FD EMS.

GG

Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

This is going to be BAD! I admit it! This is not going to be politically

correct. I am going to rant. So delete now if you don't want to read it.

I have abstained from this discussion until now, but I will get into this only

because I'm now long gone from the Abilene area, but I have considerable

knowledge of it. And I don't give a ratz ass who thinks what about what I'm

about to say.

Historically, Abilene has chosen to do the " cheap thing " for EMS. It would have

preferred that the funeral homes continue to provide ambulance service, because

Abilene folks have a great love for their funeral directors and they don't want

to pay for services that they can get for free. And the funeral homes didn't

charge for ambulance service. They ran ambulances staffed by college students

that picked up patients and ran them into the hospitals and charged nothing.

What a swell system! And did any of the doctors in town have a problem with

this? Of course not! Back in those days, doctors thought emergencies meant

they had a flat tire.

But the funeral homes found out that they were going to have to pay their

" ambulance drivers " a minimum wage and decided to ditch the ambulance service.

In lots of places the fire department picked it up, but not in Abilene. It

didn't want to pay for service, so it gave the service to private ambulance

services who would provide the service at no cost to the taxpayers. No thought

about the quality of the service, just the cost. That's typical of Abilene.

Not a single thought about quality, until maybe now.

Fast forward. Abilene has been through Rural/Metro and several other providers,

none of which has ever rendered better than minimal service, notwithstanding

that there were and are some really great paramedics working for them who work

their hearts out for little or nothing in pay and benefits and poor equipment

and horrible medical direction.

The city fathers know little or nothing about this, and only now, it seems, are

they beginning to wake up. But that's typical of small town politicians, as

well as big town politicians. Medical politics have driven the choice of

medical directors for the EMS service. No aggressive medical director has

survived. The hospital system, READ HENDRICK, has always pushed a weak medical

director, and they have won. Why? Because they do not want a strong medical

director who would allow EMS to do things that are standard of care everywhere

else. When one's head is in the sand, little is seen. And with a community of

physicians who don't give a damn about emergency medicine, what else could one

expect? This is Abilene! Enjoy it!

I'm always tempted to blast the managers for this, but that's not fair. The

poor rubes who find themselves managing EMS services that are failing due to

lack of revenues will always do what's practical and hard, and it generally

affects the street medics adversely. The Hobson's choice is to have a bad job

or a job.

There is a problem with EMS in Abilene that transcends just EMS. And that is

that the two hospitals are about as far from being state of the art in emergency

care as you can get. Having worked in close proximity to their system, I can

say without fear that the hospitals have never been friends of EMS, nor have

they ever done anything to improve EMS. If you are hurt or sick in Abilene,

you're in a heap of trouble. I'm not a huge fan of helicopter EMS, but if

you're in Abilene and you're sick or hurt, for God's sake get yourself in a helo

and off to Ft Worth, Lubbock, or Dallas.

I could say that I have encountered many stupid and incompetent ER docs in the

hospitals in Abilene. Well, I won't because that would do no good, but you get

the picture.

Consider this: In Tyler, TX, a town of about the same population as Abilene,

there are a Level I trauma center and a Level II trauma center a block apart.

Yet, in Abilene, there are only two pathetic Level III facilities. Why?

Because the medical community does not support emergency medicine. And when I

say " Medical community " who do I mean? Doctors. Yes. Doctors.

Nobody else. Doctors run medicine, and in Abilene the doctors have been asleep

at the wheel for decades.

The whole medical profession in Abilene seems stuck in the 1930s. I say this

partly tongue in cheek but half seriously. There is something about the medical

community in Abilene that is hostile to progressive medicine. Maybe it's

something in the water. I don't know.

The road to Fire Service takeover of EMS has been long but relentless. The

failures of the privates in Abilene have been well-known to everybody in the EMS

community within a 100 mile radius, and FD takeover has been a topic of

discussion among the troops for years.

With respect to my friends in private EMS, I must say that I think that

Abilene's future lies in FD EMS.

GG

Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

But Gene no good could ever come from Fire Based EMS. It's been said 100's of

times by at least 20 folks in this here list right here.

Louis N. Molino, Sr. CET

FF/NREMT/FSI/EMSI

Training Program Manager

Fire & Safety Specialists, Inc.

Typed by my fingers on my iPhone.

Please excuse any typos.

(Cell)

(Office)

(Office Fax)

LNMolino@...

Lou@...

>

> This is going to be BAD! I admit it! This is not going to be politically

correct. I am going to rant. So delete now if you don't want to read it.

>

>

> I have abstained from this discussion until now, but I will get into this only

because I'm now long gone from the Abilene area, but I have considerable

knowledge of it. And I don't give a ratz ass who thinks what about what I'm

about to say.

>

>

> Historically, Abilene has chosen to do the " cheap thing " for EMS. It would

have preferred that the funeral homes continue to provide ambulance service,

because Abilene folks have a great love for their funeral directors and they

don't want to pay for services that they can get for free. And the funeral

homes didn't charge for ambulance service. They ran ambulances staffed by

college students that picked up patients and ran them into the hospitals and

charged nothing. What a swell system! And did any of the doctors in town have

a problem with this? Of course not! Back in those days, doctors thought

emergencies meant they had a flat tire.

>

>

> But the funeral homes found out that they were going to have to pay their

" ambulance drivers " a minimum wage and decided to ditch the ambulance service.

In lots of places the fire department picked it up, but not in Abilene. It

didn't want to pay for service, so it gave the service to private ambulance

services who would provide the service at no cost to the taxpayers. No thought

about the quality of the service, just the cost. That's typical of Abilene.

Not a single thought about quality, until maybe now.

>

>

> Fast forward. Abilene has been through Rural/Metro and several other

providers, none of which has ever rendered better than minimal service,

notwithstanding that there were and are some really great paramedics working for

them who work their hearts out for little or nothing in pay and benefits and

poor equipment and horrible medical direction.

>

>

> The city fathers know little or nothing about this, and only now, it seems,

are they beginning to wake up. But that's typical of small town politicians, as

well as big town politicians. Medical politics have driven the choice of

medical directors for the EMS service. No aggressive medical director has

survived. The hospital system, READ HENDRICK, has always pushed a weak medical

director, and they have won. Why? Because they do not want a strong medical

director who would allow EMS to do things that are standard of care everywhere

else. When one's head is in the sand, little is seen. And with a community of

physicians who don't give a damn about emergency medicine, what else could one

expect? This is Abilene! Enjoy it!

>

>

> I'm always tempted to blast the managers for this, but that's not fair. The

poor rubes who find themselves managing EMS services that are failing due to

lack of revenues will always do what's practical and hard, and it generally

affects the street medics adversely. The Hobson's choice is to have a bad job

or a job.

>

>

> There is a problem with EMS in Abilene that transcends just EMS. And that is

that the two hospitals are about as far from being state of the art in emergency

care as you can get. Having worked in close proximity to their system, I can

say without fear that the hospitals have never been friends of EMS, nor have

they ever done anything to improve EMS. If you are hurt or sick in Abilene,

you're in a heap of trouble. I'm not a huge fan of helicopter EMS, but if

you're in Abilene and you're sick or hurt, for God's sake get yourself in a helo

and off to Ft Worth, Lubbock, or Dallas.

>

>

> I could say that I have encountered many stupid and incompetent ER docs in the

hospitals in Abilene. Well, I won't because that would do no good, but you get

the picture.

>

>

> Consider this: In Tyler, TX, a town of about the same population as Abilene,

there are a Level I trauma center and a Level II trauma center a block apart.

Yet, in Abilene, there are only two pathetic Level III facilities. Why?

Because the medical community does not support emergency medicine. And when I

say " Medical community " who do I mean? Doctors. Yes. Doctors.

>

>

> Nobody else. Doctors run medicine, and in Abilene the doctors have been

asleep at the wheel for decades.

>

>

> The whole medical profession in Abilene seems stuck in the 1930s. I say this

partly tongue in cheek but half seriously. There is something about the medical

community in Abilene that is hostile to progressive medicine. Maybe it's

something in the water. I don't know.

>

>

> The road to Fire Service takeover of EMS has been long but relentless. The

failures of the privates in Abilene have been well-known to everybody in the EMS

community within a 100 mile radius, and FD takeover has been a topic of

discussion among the troops for years.

>

>

> With respect to my friends in private EMS, I must say that I think that

Abilene's future lies in FD EMS.

>

>

> GG

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

>

> To: texasems-l

>

> Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

>

>

>

> In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

>

> haussecker87@... writes:

>

> http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

>

> Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

>

>

[Guest guest]

But Gene no good could ever come from Fire Based EMS. It's been said 100's of

times by at least 20 folks in this here list right here.

Louis N. Molino, Sr. CET

FF/NREMT/FSI/EMSI

Training Program Manager

Fire & Safety Specialists, Inc.

Typed by my fingers on my iPhone.

Please excuse any typos.

(Cell)

(Office)

(Office Fax)

LNMolino@...

Lou@...

>

> This is going to be BAD! I admit it! This is not going to be politically

correct. I am going to rant. So delete now if you don't want to read it.

>

>

> I have abstained from this discussion until now, but I will get into this only

because I'm now long gone from the Abilene area, but I have considerable

knowledge of it. And I don't give a ratz ass who thinks what about what I'm

about to say.

>

>

> Historically, Abilene has chosen to do the " cheap thing " for EMS. It would

have preferred that the funeral homes continue to provide ambulance service,

because Abilene folks have a great love for their funeral directors and they

don't want to pay for services that they can get for free. And the funeral

homes didn't charge for ambulance service. They ran ambulances staffed by

college students that picked up patients and ran them into the hospitals and

charged nothing. What a swell system! And did any of the doctors in town have

a problem with this? Of course not! Back in those days, doctors thought

emergencies meant they had a flat tire.

>

>

> But the funeral homes found out that they were going to have to pay their

" ambulance drivers " a minimum wage and decided to ditch the ambulance service.

In lots of places the fire department picked it up, but not in Abilene. It

didn't want to pay for service, so it gave the service to private ambulance

services who would provide the service at no cost to the taxpayers. No thought

about the quality of the service, just the cost. That's typical of Abilene.

Not a single thought about quality, until maybe now.

>

>

> Fast forward. Abilene has been through Rural/Metro and several other

providers, none of which has ever rendered better than minimal service,

notwithstanding that there were and are some really great paramedics working for

them who work their hearts out for little or nothing in pay and benefits and

poor equipment and horrible medical direction.

>

>

> The city fathers know little or nothing about this, and only now, it seems,

are they beginning to wake up. But that's typical of small town politicians, as

well as big town politicians. Medical politics have driven the choice of

medical directors for the EMS service. No aggressive medical director has

survived. The hospital system, READ HENDRICK, has always pushed a weak medical

director, and they have won. Why? Because they do not want a strong medical

director who would allow EMS to do things that are standard of care everywhere

else. When one's head is in the sand, little is seen. And with a community of

physicians who don't give a damn about emergency medicine, what else could one

expect? This is Abilene! Enjoy it!

>

>

> I'm always tempted to blast the managers for this, but that's not fair. The

poor rubes who find themselves managing EMS services that are failing due to

lack of revenues will always do what's practical and hard, and it generally

affects the street medics adversely. The Hobson's choice is to have a bad job

or a job.

>

>

> There is a problem with EMS in Abilene that transcends just EMS. And that is

that the two hospitals are about as far from being state of the art in emergency

care as you can get. Having worked in close proximity to their system, I can

say without fear that the hospitals have never been friends of EMS, nor have

they ever done anything to improve EMS. If you are hurt or sick in Abilene,

you're in a heap of trouble. I'm not a huge fan of helicopter EMS, but if

you're in Abilene and you're sick or hurt, for God's sake get yourself in a helo

and off to Ft Worth, Lubbock, or Dallas.

>

>

> I could say that I have encountered many stupid and incompetent ER docs in the

hospitals in Abilene. Well, I won't because that would do no good, but you get

the picture.

>

>

> Consider this: In Tyler, TX, a town of about the same population as Abilene,

there are a Level I trauma center and a Level II trauma center a block apart.

Yet, in Abilene, there are only two pathetic Level III facilities. Why?

Because the medical community does not support emergency medicine. And when I

say " Medical community " who do I mean? Doctors. Yes. Doctors.

>

>

> Nobody else. Doctors run medicine, and in Abilene the doctors have been

asleep at the wheel for decades.

>

>

> The whole medical profession in Abilene seems stuck in the 1930s. I say this

partly tongue in cheek but half seriously. There is something about the medical

community in Abilene that is hostile to progressive medicine. Maybe it's

something in the water. I don't know.

>

>

> The road to Fire Service takeover of EMS has been long but relentless. The

failures of the privates in Abilene have been well-known to everybody in the EMS

community within a 100 mile radius, and FD takeover has been a topic of

discussion among the troops for years.

>

>

> With respect to my friends in private EMS, I must say that I think that

Abilene's future lies in FD EMS.

>

>

> GG

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

>

> To: texasems-l

>

> Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

>

>

>

> In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

>

> haussecker87@... writes:

>

> http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

>

> Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

>

>

[Guest guest]

Gene, I'm not going to say I completely disagree with you on most of what you

said, but are you saying that you think it is best for AFD to take over the EMS

or that's what you think it will come down to. I don't feel like patient care is

the issue - the issue that has been most brought up is response time.

DA

Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

Gene, I'm not going to say I completely disagree with you on most of what you

said, but are you saying that you think it is best for AFD to take over the EMS

or that's what you think it will come down to. I don't feel like patient care is

the issue - the issue that has been most brought up is response time.

DA

Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

Louis, I can definitely appreciate your sarcasm, but I fail to see how a

fire-based EMS system works so perfectly 100% of the time as some would like to

lead themselves to believe. I see EMS as an allied health profession and when

you have people dedicated solely to EMS, I feel like (most of) those individuals

are more educated, more experienced, and more dedicated to the growth and

development of EMS opposed to someone that has to someone that works in a

fire-based system that has to split their career into two separate roles. The

saying " jack of all trades and master of none " comes to mind when I think about

fire-based EMS. We (private/third city/hospital-based providers) routinely

operate with other healthcare agencies on a daily basis. The fire department is

not a healthcare agency. It is a protection agency, no more dedicated to actual

healthcare than a police department.

~

>

>

>

> Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

>

> To: texasems-l

>

> Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

>

>

>

> In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

>

> haussecker87@... writes:

>

> http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

>

> Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

>

>

[Guest guest]

Louis, I can definitely appreciate your sarcasm, but I fail to see how a

fire-based EMS system works so perfectly 100% of the time as some would like to

lead themselves to believe. I see EMS as an allied health profession and when

you have people dedicated solely to EMS, I feel like (most of) those individuals

are more educated, more experienced, and more dedicated to the growth and

development of EMS opposed to someone that has to someone that works in a

fire-based system that has to split their career into two separate roles. The

saying " jack of all trades and master of none " comes to mind when I think about

fire-based EMS. We (private/third city/hospital-based providers) routinely

operate with other healthcare agencies on a daily basis. The fire department is

not a healthcare agency. It is a protection agency, no more dedicated to actual

healthcare than a police department.

~

>

>

>

> Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

>

> To: texasems-l

>

> Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

>

>

>

> In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

>

> haussecker87@... writes:

>

> http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

>

> Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

>

>

[Guest guest]

Louis, I can definitely appreciate your sarcasm, but I fail to see how a

fire-based EMS system works so perfectly 100% of the time as some would like to

lead themselves to believe. I see EMS as an allied health profession and when

you have people dedicated solely to EMS, I feel like (most of) those individuals

are more educated, more experienced, and more dedicated to the growth and

development of EMS opposed to someone that has to someone that works in a

fire-based system that has to split their career into two separate roles. The

saying " jack of all trades and master of none " comes to mind when I think about

fire-based EMS. We (private/third city/hospital-based providers) routinely

operate with other healthcare agencies on a daily basis. The fire department is

not a healthcare agency. It is a protection agency, no more dedicated to actual

healthcare than a police department.

~

>

>

>

> Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

>

> To: texasems-l

>

> Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

>

>

>

> In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

>

> haussecker87@... writes:

>

> http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

>

> Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

>

>

[Guest guest]

Gene wrote: " ...Medical politics have

driven the choice of medical directors for the EMS service. No aggressive

medical director has survived. The hospital system, READ HENDRICK, has always

pushed a weak medical director, and they have won. Why? Because they do not

want a strong medical director who would allow EMS to do things that are

standard of care everywhere else. When one's head is in the sand, little is

seen. And with a community of physicians who don't give a damn about emergency

medicine, what else could one expect? ... " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How can we

expect the service provided to be improved in Abilene unless there is a

significant change in the thinking of the medical community? Having AFD, the

current provider, or Nightflyer Ambulance Company in position is a moot point as

long as the medical PTB continue as they are. The only difference, as I see it,

will be the citizens bearing the burden for a burgeoning line item in the city

budget, big red trucks with lots of people in bunker pants and T-shirts scaring

the patient's Yorkie will arrive and the patient will be delivered to the

aforementioned 'healthcare system' with no change (and possible decline) in

patient outcomes. There would be one difference - taxes WILL go up, AND, as the

fire chief speaking to the council put it, 'the cost (of transport) will be no

more than it currently is'. If he believes this, he is either being naive or

playing fast and loose with the semantics. So, the net cost to the citizen has

to go up! Worse, you are now mingling political forces (medical, fire service

and city/county government), which is never a good combination. There will be a

'clash of the titans' while Joe and Joan Average find themselves scattering for

cover or stuck out in the open with nowhere to go. Seems to me the politics and

parochial thinking will continue without an outside perspective and transfusion

of new ideas. AFD taking over the service dosen't strike me as a way to do so.

Unless I am badly misreading the situation or working off partial information, I

don't see room for improvement. Net result: Same or less service at higher cost

to the citizen. Larry (Dinomedic with some alphabits) �The ignorance of

one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.� -- F.

Kennedy, 1963

____________________________________________________________

Get Free Email with Video Mail & Video Chat!

http://www.juno.com/freeemail?refcd=JUTAGOUT1FREM0210

[Guest guest]

Sarcasm mode off see in line comments below SIG Line.

Louis N. Molino, Sr. CET

FF/NREMT/FSI/EMSI

Training Program Manager

Fire & Safety Specialists, Inc.

Typed by my fingers on my iPhone.

Please excuse any typos.

(Cell)

(Office)

(Office Fax)

LNMolino@...

Lou@...

> Louis, I can definitely appreciate your sarcasm, but I fail to see how a

fire-based EMS system works so perfectly 100% of the time as some would like to

lead themselves to believe.

I agree and I'm not one of those delusional persons but I can also say having

been a Student of the various permutations of EMS models around not only the US

but the globe that the " healthcare " only models aren't 100% perfect either. No

many things are.

> I see EMS as an allied health profession and when you have people dedicated

solely to EMS, I feel like (most of) those individuals are more educated, more

experienced, and more dedicated to the growth and development of EMS opposed to

someone that has to someone that works in a fire-based system that has to split

their career into two separate roles.

I see EMS as the public does (IMHO) it's a Public Safety Service.

I have been lucky in that in all my fire based EMS experience the agencies have

placed and spent the lions share of their time, effort and energy on the EMS

side of the equation.

> The saying " jack of all trades and master of none " comes to mind when I think

about fire-based EMS.

Well there had to be the obligitory insult in there didn't there?

> We (private/third city/hospital-based providers) routinely operate with other

healthcare agencies on a daily basis. The fire department is not a healthcare

agency. It is a protection agency, no more dedicated to actual healthcare than a

police department.

Lump sum statement and I've seen many FD operations where it's simply not true

but such lump sum statements are very common in the whole circular argument

we're having here.

LNM

>

> ~

>

>

>

>>

>

>>

>

>>

>

>> Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

>

>>

>

>> To: texasems-l

>

>>

>

>> Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

>

>>

>

>>

>

>>

>

>> In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

>

>>

>

>> haussecker87@... writes:

>

>>

>

>> http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

>

>>

>

>> Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

>

>>

>

>>

[Guest guest]

Sarcasm mode off see in line comments below SIG Line.

Louis N. Molino, Sr. CET

FF/NREMT/FSI/EMSI

Training Program Manager

Fire & Safety Specialists, Inc.

Typed by my fingers on my iPhone.

Please excuse any typos.

(Cell)

(Office)

(Office Fax)

LNMolino@...

Lou@...

> Louis, I can definitely appreciate your sarcasm, but I fail to see how a

fire-based EMS system works so perfectly 100% of the time as some would like to

lead themselves to believe.

I agree and I'm not one of those delusional persons but I can also say having

been a Student of the various permutations of EMS models around not only the US

but the globe that the " healthcare " only models aren't 100% perfect either. No

many things are.

> I see EMS as an allied health profession and when you have people dedicated

solely to EMS, I feel like (most of) those individuals are more educated, more

experienced, and more dedicated to the growth and development of EMS opposed to

someone that has to someone that works in a fire-based system that has to split

their career into two separate roles.

I see EMS as the public does (IMHO) it's a Public Safety Service.

I have been lucky in that in all my fire based EMS experience the agencies have

placed and spent the lions share of their time, effort and energy on the EMS

side of the equation.

> The saying " jack of all trades and master of none " comes to mind when I think

about fire-based EMS.

Well there had to be the obligitory insult in there didn't there?

> We (private/third city/hospital-based providers) routinely operate with other

healthcare agencies on a daily basis. The fire department is not a healthcare

agency. It is a protection agency, no more dedicated to actual healthcare than a

police department.

Lump sum statement and I've seen many FD operations where it's simply not true

but such lump sum statements are very common in the whole circular argument

we're having here.

LNM

>

> ~

>

>

>

>>

>

>>

>

>>

>

>> Subject: Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

>

>>

>

>> To: texasems-l

>

>>

>

>> Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

>

>>

>

>>

>

>>

>

>> In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

>

>>

>

>> haussecker87@... writes:

>

>>

>

>> http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

>

>>

>

>> Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

>

>>

>

>>

[Guest guest]

This is a case where Gene is probably wrong in reasoning but right in outcome.

While I think what he says is correct (the fire department will certainly take

over EMS), his justification didn't go deep enough to identify why.

Abilene has two major root problems: (1) Socioeconomics: the city is dying and

has little to redeem it from an industrial or commercial standpoint (in fact, if

it weren't for Dyess, I think the City would be seriously hurting now). (2)

Culture: they feel they are doing everything right, are tired of " outsiders "

coming in and telling them they're " doing it wrong " , and when the outsiders

leave it (or worse, give up and buy into their system) it just proves that they

were right all along and the world should emulate them more. This isn't

restricted just to EMS or medicine, but obviously this is an area where we can

criticize them as it's where we have the most experience.

The fire department taking over EMS isn't going to improve anything, it's just

going to change the name on the side of the ambulance, so to speak. The

firefighters in their paramedic program didn't seem to be particularly engaged

or interested in being paramedics anyway, so I can't imagine we're suddenly

going to see some great improvement in the quality of service (in fact, I think

it will decline for a while unless they tap into some of the people they are

losing from Metrocare)

The argument over response times is a deception, in my opinion. I don't think

they're good, but I also don't think the people complaining about they actually

care. It's a good topic to attack because they aren't good, but if they were it

would just be another issue raised. The fight was going to be picked as soon as

the paramedic class graduated. I'm also willing to bet that response times

-won't- improve, and also that in a year or two they will probably only be

staffing 3-4 ambulances anyway.

Net improvement to Abilene? Zero. And I'm pretty sure that's the way they like

it (no offense to my friends there.)

Austin

> But Gene no good could ever come from Fire Based EMS. It's been said 100's of

times by at least 20 folks in this here list right here.

>

> Louis N. Molino, Sr. CET

> FF/NREMT/FSI/EMSI

> Training Program Manager

> Fire & Safety Specialists, Inc.

> Typed by my fingers on my iPhone.

> Please excuse any typos.

> (Cell)

> (Office)

> (Office Fax)

>

> LNMolino@...

> Lou@...

>

>

>

> >

> > This is going to be BAD! I admit it! This is not going to be politically

correct. I am going to rant. So delete now if you don't want to read it.

> >

> >

> > I have abstained from this discussion until now, but I will get into this

only because I'm now long gone from the Abilene area, but I have considerable

knowledge of it. And I don't give a ratz ass who thinks what about what I'm

about to say.

> >

> >

> > Historically, Abilene has chosen to do the " cheap thing " for EMS. It would

have preferred that the funeral homes continue to provide ambulance service,

because Abilene folks have a great love for their funeral directors and they

don't want to pay for services that they can get for free. And the funeral homes

didn't charge for ambulance service. They ran ambulances staffed by college

students that picked up patients and ran them into the hospitals and charged

nothing. What a swell system! And did any of the doctors in town have a problem

with this? Of course not! Back in those days, doctors thought emergencies meant

they had a flat tire.

> >

> >

> > But the funeral homes found out that they were going to have to pay their

" ambulance drivers " a minimum wage and decided to ditch the ambulance service.

In lots of places the fire department picked it up, but not in Abilene. It

didn't want to pay for service, so it gave the service to private ambulance

services who would provide the service at no cost to the taxpayers. No thought

about the quality of the service, just the cost. That's typical of Abilene. Not

a single thought about quality, until maybe now.

> >

> >

> > Fast forward. Abilene has been through Rural/Metro and several other

providers, none of which has ever rendered better than minimal service,

notwithstanding that there were and are some really great paramedics working for

them who work their hearts out for little or nothing in pay and benefits and

poor equipment and horrible medical direction.

> >

> >

> > The city fathers know little or nothing about this, and only now, it seems,

are they beginning to wake up. But that's typical of small town politicians, as

well as big town politicians. Medical politics have driven the choice of medical

directors for the EMS service. No aggressive medical director has survived. The

hospital system, READ HENDRICK, has always pushed a weak medical director, and

they have won. Why? Because they do not want a strong medical director who would

allow EMS to do things that are standard of care everywhere else. When one's

head is in the sand, little is seen. And with a community of physicians who

don't give a damn about emergency medicine, what else could one expect? This is

Abilene! Enjoy it!

> >

> >

> > I'm always tempted to blast the managers for this, but that's not fair. The

poor rubes who find themselves managing EMS services that are failing due to

lack of revenues will always do what's practical and hard, and it generally

affects the street medics adversely. The Hobson's choice is to have a bad job or

a job.

> >

> >

> > There is a problem with EMS in Abilene that transcends just EMS. And that is

that the two hospitals are about as far from being state of the art in emergency

care as you can get. Having worked in close proximity to their system, I can say

without fear that the hospitals have never been friends of EMS, nor have they

ever done anything to improve EMS. If you are hurt or sick in Abilene, you're in

a heap of trouble. I'm not a huge fan of helicopter EMS, but if you're in

Abilene and you're sick or hurt, for God's sake get yourself in a helo and off

to Ft Worth, Lubbock, or Dallas.

> >

> >

> > I could say that I have encountered many stupid and incompetent ER docs in

the hospitals in Abilene. Well, I won't because that would do no good, but you

get the picture.

> >

> >

> > Consider this: In Tyler, TX, a town of about the same population as Abilene,

there are a Level I trauma center and a Level II trauma center a block apart.

Yet, in Abilene, there are only two pathetic Level III facilities. Why? Because

the medical community does not support emergency medicine. And when I say

" Medical community " who do I mean? Doctors. Yes. Doctors.

> >

> >

> > Nobody else. Doctors run medicine, and in Abilene the doctors have been

asleep at the wheel for decades.

> >

> >

> > The whole medical profession in Abilene seems stuck in the 1930s. I say this

partly tongue in cheek but half seriously. There is something about the medical

community in Abilene that is hostile to progressive medicine. Maybe it's

something in the water. I don't know.

> >

> >

> > The road to Fire Service takeover of EMS has been long but relentless. The

failures of the privates in Abilene have been well-known to everybody in the EMS

community within a 100 mile radius, and FD takeover has been a topic of

discussion among the troops for years.

> >

> >

> > With respect to my friends in private EMS, I must say that I think that

Abilene's future lies in FD EMS.

> >

> >

> > GG

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

> >

> > To: texasems-l

> >

> > Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

> >

> >

> >

> > In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

> >

> > haussecker87@... writes:

> >

> > http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

> >

> > Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

This is a case where Gene is probably wrong in reasoning but right in outcome.

While I think what he says is correct (the fire department will certainly take

over EMS), his justification didn't go deep enough to identify why.

Abilene has two major root problems: (1) Socioeconomics: the city is dying and

has little to redeem it from an industrial or commercial standpoint (in fact, if

it weren't for Dyess, I think the City would be seriously hurting now). (2)

Culture: they feel they are doing everything right, are tired of " outsiders "

coming in and telling them they're " doing it wrong " , and when the outsiders

leave it (or worse, give up and buy into their system) it just proves that they

were right all along and the world should emulate them more. This isn't

restricted just to EMS or medicine, but obviously this is an area where we can

criticize them as it's where we have the most experience.

The fire department taking over EMS isn't going to improve anything, it's just

going to change the name on the side of the ambulance, so to speak. The

firefighters in their paramedic program didn't seem to be particularly engaged

or interested in being paramedics anyway, so I can't imagine we're suddenly

going to see some great improvement in the quality of service (in fact, I think

it will decline for a while unless they tap into some of the people they are

losing from Metrocare)

The argument over response times is a deception, in my opinion. I don't think

they're good, but I also don't think the people complaining about they actually

care. It's a good topic to attack because they aren't good, but if they were it

would just be another issue raised. The fight was going to be picked as soon as

the paramedic class graduated. I'm also willing to bet that response times

-won't- improve, and also that in a year or two they will probably only be

staffing 3-4 ambulances anyway.

Net improvement to Abilene? Zero. And I'm pretty sure that's the way they like

it (no offense to my friends there.)

Austin

> But Gene no good could ever come from Fire Based EMS. It's been said 100's of

times by at least 20 folks in this here list right here.

>

> Louis N. Molino, Sr. CET

> FF/NREMT/FSI/EMSI

> Training Program Manager

> Fire & Safety Specialists, Inc.

> Typed by my fingers on my iPhone.

> Please excuse any typos.

> (Cell)

> (Office)

> (Office Fax)

>

> LNMolino@...

> Lou@...

>

>

>

> >

> > This is going to be BAD! I admit it! This is not going to be politically

correct. I am going to rant. So delete now if you don't want to read it.

> >

> >

> > I have abstained from this discussion until now, but I will get into this

only because I'm now long gone from the Abilene area, but I have considerable

knowledge of it. And I don't give a ratz ass who thinks what about what I'm

about to say.

> >

> >

> > Historically, Abilene has chosen to do the " cheap thing " for EMS. It would

have preferred that the funeral homes continue to provide ambulance service,

because Abilene folks have a great love for their funeral directors and they

don't want to pay for services that they can get for free. And the funeral homes

didn't charge for ambulance service. They ran ambulances staffed by college

students that picked up patients and ran them into the hospitals and charged

nothing. What a swell system! And did any of the doctors in town have a problem

with this? Of course not! Back in those days, doctors thought emergencies meant

they had a flat tire.

> >

> >

> > But the funeral homes found out that they were going to have to pay their

" ambulance drivers " a minimum wage and decided to ditch the ambulance service.

In lots of places the fire department picked it up, but not in Abilene. It

didn't want to pay for service, so it gave the service to private ambulance

services who would provide the service at no cost to the taxpayers. No thought

about the quality of the service, just the cost. That's typical of Abilene. Not

a single thought about quality, until maybe now.

> >

> >

> > Fast forward. Abilene has been through Rural/Metro and several other

providers, none of which has ever rendered better than minimal service,

notwithstanding that there were and are some really great paramedics working for

them who work their hearts out for little or nothing in pay and benefits and

poor equipment and horrible medical direction.

> >

> >

> > The city fathers know little or nothing about this, and only now, it seems,

are they beginning to wake up. But that's typical of small town politicians, as

well as big town politicians. Medical politics have driven the choice of medical

directors for the EMS service. No aggressive medical director has survived. The

hospital system, READ HENDRICK, has always pushed a weak medical director, and

they have won. Why? Because they do not want a strong medical director who would

allow EMS to do things that are standard of care everywhere else. When one's

head is in the sand, little is seen. And with a community of physicians who

don't give a damn about emergency medicine, what else could one expect? This is

Abilene! Enjoy it!

> >

> >

> > I'm always tempted to blast the managers for this, but that's not fair. The

poor rubes who find themselves managing EMS services that are failing due to

lack of revenues will always do what's practical and hard, and it generally

affects the street medics adversely. The Hobson's choice is to have a bad job or

a job.

> >

> >

> > There is a problem with EMS in Abilene that transcends just EMS. And that is

that the two hospitals are about as far from being state of the art in emergency

care as you can get. Having worked in close proximity to their system, I can say

without fear that the hospitals have never been friends of EMS, nor have they

ever done anything to improve EMS. If you are hurt or sick in Abilene, you're in

a heap of trouble. I'm not a huge fan of helicopter EMS, but if you're in

Abilene and you're sick or hurt, for God's sake get yourself in a helo and off

to Ft Worth, Lubbock, or Dallas.

> >

> >

> > I could say that I have encountered many stupid and incompetent ER docs in

the hospitals in Abilene. Well, I won't because that would do no good, but you

get the picture.

> >

> >

> > Consider this: In Tyler, TX, a town of about the same population as Abilene,

there are a Level I trauma center and a Level II trauma center a block apart.

Yet, in Abilene, there are only two pathetic Level III facilities. Why? Because

the medical community does not support emergency medicine. And when I say

" Medical community " who do I mean? Doctors. Yes. Doctors.

> >

> >

> > Nobody else. Doctors run medicine, and in Abilene the doctors have been

asleep at the wheel for decades.

> >

> >

> > The whole medical profession in Abilene seems stuck in the 1930s. I say this

partly tongue in cheek but half seriously. There is something about the medical

community in Abilene that is hostile to progressive medicine. Maybe it's

something in the water. I don't know.

> >

> >

> > The road to Fire Service takeover of EMS has been long but relentless. The

failures of the privates in Abilene have been well-known to everybody in the EMS

community within a 100 mile radius, and FD takeover has been a topic of

discussion among the troops for years.

> >

> >

> > With respect to my friends in private EMS, I must say that I think that

Abilene's future lies in FD EMS.

> >

> >

> > GG

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

> >

> > To: texasems-l

> >

> > Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

> >

> >

> >

> > In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

> >

> > haussecker87@... writes:

> >

> > http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

> >

> > Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

I think that's what it will come down to. This has been in the works for a long

time. Response times have been an issue for a very long time. Many in the fire

service have wanted this for years and slowly the wheels have been set in

motion.

GG

Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? - Abilene

News S...

To: texasems-l

Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

haussecker87@... writes:

http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

[Guest guest]

, you are 100% correct. Loss of Dyess would nail the lid on the coffin

for Abilene.

Abilene is an awkward city in size and location. Its economy is based on the

military

and the colleges and little else. It's an old town with old ways and old

thinking.

Fire EMS may be the only practical way to provide the service if privates cannot

make

it economically. But will things improve? I wouldn't bet the ranch on it.

GG

Re: Ambulances For The Abilene Fire Department? -

Abilene News S...

> >

> > To: texasems-l

> >

> > Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 6:50 AM

> >

> >

> >

> > In a message dated 1/26/2011 1:28:51 A.M. Central Standard Time,

> >

> > haussecker87@... writes:

> >

> > http://www.ktxs.com/news/26615061/detail.html

> >

> > Stupid People, it's gonna pay for itself...Hope all are well...FE

> >

> >