Re: MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

[Guest guest]

Jack Eades wrote, " To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said. "

Meaning: Not only will we pay you a meager wage and work your ass off in an

SSM PUM, we now punish you from when your body becomes ill because of

overwork, lack of rest, contact with patients, constant exposure to diesel

fumes from constant posting, and poor morale.

Under the job description it should start: Wanted--Indentured Servent.

Ask any manager practicing total quality management: If the employees are

happy they will look forward to coming to work, may even work when slightly

ill, and will have pride in their work. This system is apparently practicing

no quality management.

BEB

BEB

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Will M

Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 10:14 PM

To:

Subject: MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

Jack Eades wrote, " To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said. "

Meaning: Not only will we pay you a meager wage and work your ass off in an

SSM PUM, we now punish you from when your body becomes ill because of

overwork, lack of rest, contact with patients, constant exposure to diesel

fumes from constant posting, and poor morale.

Under the job description it should start: Wanted--Indentured Servent.

Ask any manager practicing total quality management: If the employees are

happy they will look forward to coming to work, may even work when slightly

ill, and will have pride in their work. This system is apparently practicing

no quality management.

BEB

BEB

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Will M

Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 10:14 PM

To:

Subject: MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

Jack Eades wrote, " To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said. "

Meaning: Not only will we pay you a meager wage and work your ass off in an

SSM PUM, we now punish you from when your body becomes ill because of

overwork, lack of rest, contact with patients, constant exposure to diesel

fumes from constant posting, and poor morale.

Under the job description it should start: Wanted--Indentured Servent.

Ask any manager practicing total quality management: If the employees are

happy they will look forward to coming to work, may even work when slightly

ill, and will have pride in their work. This system is apparently practicing

no quality management.

BEB

BEB

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Will M

Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 10:14 PM

To:

Subject: MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

Has the cause of these absences been considered?

What are the real causes for absences?

People-oriented companies are very sensitive to employee opinions. They often

engage in formal mini-studies to solicit anonymous employee opinions on topics

of mutual interest, These confidential worker surveys commonly ask for employee

opinion regarding higher-than-normal absenteeism. The responses have revealed

rather surprising results: low pay, poor benefits and high workloads were not

major causes, nor was actual sickness. Instead, absenteeism generally was found

to be a symptom of low job satisfaction, sub-standard working conditions and

consistent negative and unfair treatment received by first-line supervisors.

In other words, employees revealed that repetitive, boring jobs coupled with

uncaring supervisors and/or physically unpleasant workplaces led them to make up

excuses for not coming to work, such as claiming to be sick. If your employees

perceive that your company is indifferent to their needs, they are less likely

to be motivated, or even to clock in at all.

One way to determine the causes of absenteeism is to question your supervisors

about their employees' excessive absenteeism, including what causes it and how

to reduce it. Of course, if your supervisors have made no efforts to get to know

the employees in their respective departments, they may not be able to provide

reasons. However, just the act of questioning may get the ball rolling and

signal to your supervisors that their involvement is important.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3638/is_12_40/ai_59521650

The Causes of Absenteeism The causes of absenteeism are many and include:

serious accidents and illness low morale poor working conditions boredom on the

job lack of job satisfaction inadequate leadership and poor supervision personal

problems (financial, marital, substance abuse, child care etc.) poor physical

fitness inadequate nutrition transportation problems the existence of income

protection plans (collective agreement provisions which continue income during

periods of illness or accident.) stress workload employee discontent with a

collective bargaining process and/or its results

http://benefits.org/interface/cost/absent.htm

" Service is love made visible. Friendship is love made personal. Kindness is

love made tangible. Giving is love made believable " - Anonymous

Larry in Houston

[Guest guest]

Has the cause of these absences been considered?

What are the real causes for absences?

People-oriented companies are very sensitive to employee opinions. They often

engage in formal mini-studies to solicit anonymous employee opinions on topics

of mutual interest, These confidential worker surveys commonly ask for employee

opinion regarding higher-than-normal absenteeism. The responses have revealed

rather surprising results: low pay, poor benefits and high workloads were not

major causes, nor was actual sickness. Instead, absenteeism generally was found

to be a symptom of low job satisfaction, sub-standard working conditions and

consistent negative and unfair treatment received by first-line supervisors.

In other words, employees revealed that repetitive, boring jobs coupled with

uncaring supervisors and/or physically unpleasant workplaces led them to make up

excuses for not coming to work, such as claiming to be sick. If your employees

perceive that your company is indifferent to their needs, they are less likely

to be motivated, or even to clock in at all.

One way to determine the causes of absenteeism is to question your supervisors

about their employees' excessive absenteeism, including what causes it and how

to reduce it. Of course, if your supervisors have made no efforts to get to know

the employees in their respective departments, they may not be able to provide

reasons. However, just the act of questioning may get the ball rolling and

signal to your supervisors that their involvement is important.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3638/is_12_40/ai_59521650

The Causes of Absenteeism The causes of absenteeism are many and include:

serious accidents and illness low morale poor working conditions boredom on the

job lack of job satisfaction inadequate leadership and poor supervision personal

problems (financial, marital, substance abuse, child care etc.) poor physical

fitness inadequate nutrition transportation problems the existence of income

protection plans (collective agreement provisions which continue income during

periods of illness or accident.) stress workload employee discontent with a

collective bargaining process and/or its results

http://benefits.org/interface/cost/absent.htm

" Service is love made visible. Friendship is love made personal. Kindness is

love made tangible. Giving is love made believable " - Anonymous

Larry in Houston

[Guest guest]

Has the cause of these absences been considered?

What are the real causes for absences?

People-oriented companies are very sensitive to employee opinions. They often

engage in formal mini-studies to solicit anonymous employee opinions on topics

of mutual interest, These confidential worker surveys commonly ask for employee

opinion regarding higher-than-normal absenteeism. The responses have revealed

rather surprising results: low pay, poor benefits and high workloads were not

major causes, nor was actual sickness. Instead, absenteeism generally was found

to be a symptom of low job satisfaction, sub-standard working conditions and

consistent negative and unfair treatment received by first-line supervisors.

In other words, employees revealed that repetitive, boring jobs coupled with

uncaring supervisors and/or physically unpleasant workplaces led them to make up

excuses for not coming to work, such as claiming to be sick. If your employees

perceive that your company is indifferent to their needs, they are less likely

to be motivated, or even to clock in at all.

One way to determine the causes of absenteeism is to question your supervisors

about their employees' excessive absenteeism, including what causes it and how

to reduce it. Of course, if your supervisors have made no efforts to get to know

the employees in their respective departments, they may not be able to provide

reasons. However, just the act of questioning may get the ball rolling and

signal to your supervisors that their involvement is important.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3638/is_12_40/ai_59521650

The Causes of Absenteeism The causes of absenteeism are many and include:

serious accidents and illness low morale poor working conditions boredom on the

job lack of job satisfaction inadequate leadership and poor supervision personal

problems (financial, marital, substance abuse, child care etc.) poor physical

fitness inadequate nutrition transportation problems the existence of income

protection plans (collective agreement provisions which continue income during

periods of illness or accident.) stress workload employee discontent with a

collective bargaining process and/or its results

http://benefits.org/interface/cost/absent.htm

" Service is love made visible. Friendship is love made personal. Kindness is

love made tangible. Giving is love made believable " - Anonymous

Larry in Houston

[Guest guest]

How odd since it is now essentially a public agency...and not private...I

thought only private agencies were mean, cruel, and uncaring....hmmmmm

Dudley

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

How odd since it is now essentially a public agency...and not private...I

thought only private agencies were mean, cruel, and uncaring....hmmmmm

Dudley

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

Same with all PUMs (even those operated by the governmental entity in

default):

http://medicwatchdog.org/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/portal.php

BEB

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of THEDUDMAN@...

Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 11:29 PM

To:

Subject: Re: MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

How odd since it is now essentially a public agency...and not private...I

thought only private agencies were mean, cruel, and uncaring....hmmmmm

Dudley

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

Same with all PUMs (even those operated by the governmental entity in

default):

http://medicwatchdog.org/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/portal.php

BEB

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of THEDUDMAN@...

Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 11:29 PM

To:

Subject: Re: MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

How odd since it is now essentially a public agency...and not private...I

thought only private agencies were mean, cruel, and uncaring....hmmmmm

Dudley

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

i think they are apseudo public agency cause they pay

into social security.

jim

--- THEDUDMAN@... wrote:

> How odd since it is now essentially a public

> agency...and not private...I thought only private

> agencies were mean, cruel, and uncaring....hmmmmm

>

> Dudley

>

> MedStar answer times suffer

> due to sick time

>

>

> Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

>

>

>

> MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

>

> By BILL TEETER

> Star-Telegram Staff Writer

>

> FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

> goals because too many employees are taking

> unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director

> Jack

> Eades said Wednesday.

> From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

> time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of

> the

> time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

> their regular monthly meeting.

>

> MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan

> Ambulance

> Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority

> 1

> calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

> of their calls.

>

> In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

> withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

> poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

> operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

>

> Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

> aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

> Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

> taking sick time when they may not really need it,

> which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

>

> Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

> accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades

> said.

> There is a misconception among some employees that

> they are entitled to take sick days when they are

> not

> really ill, he said.

>

> " We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

> policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

> tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

>

> To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting

> a

> policy in which ambulance crew members must be at

> work

> at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

> time-off percentage will be measured from the most

> recent three months of their employment when an

> employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

> approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

> those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave

> Act,

> Eades said.

>

> The policy is tough but needed, said board President

> McMahan.

>

> " They're not unreasonable, " he said.

>

> City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the

> board,

> asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

>

> " The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

>

> MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

> May through July, response times for the system had

> met their mark, although some locations continued to

> have problems.

>

> The agency's August performance report showed

> MedStar

> made more than 90 percent of its calls on time

> except

> for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

> an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

>

> The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

> year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

> expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

> previous year.

>

> The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

> for vehicles and new computer systems that should

> help

> response times in the future, he said.

>

> ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

>

> Bill Teeter.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

______________________________________________________

>

> Yahoo! for Good

> Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

> http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

i think they are apseudo public agency cause they pay

into social security.

jim

--- THEDUDMAN@... wrote:

> How odd since it is now essentially a public

> agency...and not private...I thought only private

> agencies were mean, cruel, and uncaring....hmmmmm

>

> Dudley

>

> MedStar answer times suffer

> due to sick time

>

>

> Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

>

>

>

> MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

>

> By BILL TEETER

> Star-Telegram Staff Writer

>

> FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

> goals because too many employees are taking

> unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director

> Jack

> Eades said Wednesday.

> From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

> time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of

> the

> time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

> their regular monthly meeting.

>

> MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan

> Ambulance

> Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority

> 1

> calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

> of their calls.

>

> In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

> withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

> poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

> operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

>

> Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

> aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

> Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

> taking sick time when they may not really need it,

> which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

>

> Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

> accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades

> said.

> There is a misconception among some employees that

> they are entitled to take sick days when they are

> not

> really ill, he said.

>

> " We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

> policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

> tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

>

> To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting

> a

> policy in which ambulance crew members must be at

> work

> at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

> time-off percentage will be measured from the most

> recent three months of their employment when an

> employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

> approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

> those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave

> Act,

> Eades said.

>

> The policy is tough but needed, said board President

> McMahan.

>

> " They're not unreasonable, " he said.

>

> City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the

> board,

> asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

>

> " The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

>

> MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

> May through July, response times for the system had

> met their mark, although some locations continued to

> have problems.

>

> The agency's August performance report showed

> MedStar

> made more than 90 percent of its calls on time

> except

> for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

> an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

>

> The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

> year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

> expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

> previous year.

>

> The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

> for vehicles and new computer systems that should

> help

> response times in the future, he said.

>

> ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

>

> Bill Teeter.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

______________________________________________________

>

> Yahoo! for Good

> Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

> http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

The Authority no longer has a private contractor to blame so now it's time to

target the employees. Who will it be next? Ford? McCoy/? Citizens who

don't get out of the way fast enough? Tammy Dombeck for inaccurate traffic

reports? I could go on but I think I made my point.

Ken

Will M wrote:

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

The Authority no longer has a private contractor to blame so now it's time to

target the employees. Who will it be next? Ford? McCoy/? Citizens who

don't get out of the way fast enough? Tammy Dombeck for inaccurate traffic

reports? I could go on but I think I made my point.

Ken

Will M wrote:

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

The Authority no longer has a private contractor to blame so now it's time to

target the employees. Who will it be next? Ford? McCoy/? Citizens who

don't get out of the way fast enough? Tammy Dombeck for inaccurate traffic

reports? I could go on but I think I made my point.

Ken

Will M wrote:

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

Jim,

I work for a non-pseudo public agency, the City of Schertz which is an

incorporated city, a sub-division of the State of Texas...and we pay into the

Social Security system as well.

Dudley

MedStar answer times suffer

> due to sick time

>

>

> Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

>

>

>

> MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

>

> By BILL TEETER

> Star-Telegram Staff Writer

>

> FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

> goals because too many employees are taking

> unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director

> Jack

> Eades said Wednesday.

> From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

> time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of

> the

> time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

> their regular monthly meeting.

>

> MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan

> Ambulance

> Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority

> 1

> calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

> of their calls.

>

> In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

> withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

> poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

> operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

>

> Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

> aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

> Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

> taking sick time when they may not really need it,

> which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

>

> Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

> accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades

> said.

> There is a misconception among some employees that

> they are entitled to take sick days when they are

> not

> really ill, he said.

>

> " We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

> policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

> tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

>

> To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting

> a

> policy in which ambulance crew members must be at

> work

> at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

> time-off percentage will be measured from the most

> recent three months of their employment when an

> employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

> approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

> those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave

> Act,

> Eades said.

>

> The policy is tough but needed, said board President

> McMahan.

>

> " They're not unreasonable, " he said.

>

> City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the

> board,

> asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

>

> " The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

>

> MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

> May through July, response times for the system had

> met their mark, although some locations continued to

> have problems.

>

> The agency's August performance report showed

> MedStar

> made more than 90 percent of its calls on time

> except

> for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

> an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

>

> The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

> year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

> expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

> previous year.

>

> The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

> for vehicles and new computer systems that should

> help

> response times in the future, he said.

>

> ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

>

> Bill Teeter.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

______________________________________________________

>

> Yahoo! for Good

> Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

> http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Took me a while to pull out an old stub, but I paid into Social Security when I

was in the Air Force

THEDUDMAN@... wrote:Jim,

I work for a non-pseudo public agency, the City of Schertz which is an

incorporated city, a sub-division of the State of Texas...and we pay into the

Social Security system as well.

Dudley

MedStar answer times suffer

> due to sick time

>

>

> Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

>

>

>

> MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

>

> By BILL TEETER

> Star-Telegram Staff Writer

>

> FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

> goals because too many employees are taking

> unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director

> Jack

> Eades said Wednesday.

> From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

> time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of

> the

> time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

> their regular monthly meeting.

>

> MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan

> Ambulance

> Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority

> 1

> calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

> of their calls.

>

> In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

> withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

> poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

> operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

>

> Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

> aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

> Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

> taking sick time when they may not really need it,

> which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

>

> Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

> accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades

> said.

> There is a misconception among some employees that

> they are entitled to take sick days when they are

> not

> really ill, he said.

>

> " We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

> policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

> tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

>

> To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting

> a

> policy in which ambulance crew members must be at

> work

> at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

> time-off percentage will be measured from the most

> recent three months of their employment when an

> employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

> approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

> those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave

> Act,

> Eades said.

>

> The policy is tough but needed, said board President

> McMahan.

>

> " They're not unreasonable, " he said.

>

> City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the

> board,

> asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

>

> " The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

>

> MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

> May through July, response times for the system had

> met their mark, although some locations continued to

> have problems.

>

> The agency's August performance report showed

> MedStar

> made more than 90 percent of its calls on time

> except

> for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

> an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

>

> The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

> year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

> expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

> previous year.

>

> The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

> for vehicles and new computer systems that should

> help

> response times in the future, he said.

>

> ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

>

> Bill Teeter.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

______________________________________________________

>

> Yahoo! for Good

> Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

> http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Took me a while to pull out an old stub, but I paid into Social Security when I

was in the Air Force

THEDUDMAN@... wrote:Jim,

I work for a non-pseudo public agency, the City of Schertz which is an

incorporated city, a sub-division of the State of Texas...and we pay into the

Social Security system as well.

Dudley

MedStar answer times suffer

> due to sick time

>

>

> Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

>

>

>

> MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

>

> By BILL TEETER

> Star-Telegram Staff Writer

>

> FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

> goals because too many employees are taking

> unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director

> Jack

> Eades said Wednesday.

> From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

> time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of

> the

> time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

> their regular monthly meeting.

>

> MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan

> Ambulance

> Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority

> 1

> calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

> of their calls.

>

> In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

> withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

> poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

> operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

>

> Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

> aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

> Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

> taking sick time when they may not really need it,

> which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

>

> Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

> accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades

> said.

> There is a misconception among some employees that

> they are entitled to take sick days when they are

> not

> really ill, he said.

>

> " We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

> policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

> tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

>

> To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting

> a

> policy in which ambulance crew members must be at

> work

> at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

> time-off percentage will be measured from the most

> recent three months of their employment when an

> employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

> approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

> those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave

> Act,

> Eades said.

>

> The policy is tough but needed, said board President

> McMahan.

>

> " They're not unreasonable, " he said.

>

> City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the

> board,

> asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

>

> " The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

>

> MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

> May through July, response times for the system had

> met their mark, although some locations continued to

> have problems.

>

> The agency's August performance report showed

> MedStar

> made more than 90 percent of its calls on time

> except

> for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

> an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

>

> The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

> year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

> expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

> previous year.

>

> The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

> for vehicles and new computer systems that should

> help

> response times in the future, he said.

>

> ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

>

> Bill Teeter.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

______________________________________________________

>

> Yahoo! for Good

> Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

> http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

i think back in '86 municipalities had to choose 1)

TMRS 2) SS or 3) both most municipalities and other

political subdivisions of the state counties, ISD

(independent sports districts whoops!,etc) dont pay

into that (SS) but have other primary retirement

jim

--- THEDUDMAN@... wrote:

> Jim,

>

> I work for a non-pseudo public agency, the City of

> Schertz which is an incorporated city, a

> sub-division of the State of Texas...and we pay into

> the Social Security system as well.

>

> Dudley

>

> MedStar answer times suffer

> > due to sick time

> >

> >

> > Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

> >

> >

> >

> > MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

> >

> > By BILL TEETER

> > Star-Telegram Staff Writer

> >

> > FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

> > goals because too many employees are taking

> > unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director

> > Jack

> > Eades said Wednesday.

> > From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it

> on

> > time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of

> > the

> > time, Eades told the agency's board of directors

> at

> > their regular monthly meeting.

> >

> > MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan

> > Ambulance

> > Authority, requires its ambulances to make

> priority

> > 1

> > calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90

> percent

> > of their calls.

> >

> > In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

> > withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

> > poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

> > operating as the ambulance provider for the

> region.

> >

> > Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

> > aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

> > Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers

> are

> > taking sick time when they may not really need it,

> > which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

> >

> > Employees are allowed four sick days a year but

> can

> > accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades

> > said.

> > There is a misconception among some employees that

> > they are entitled to take sick days when they are

> > not

> > really ill, he said.

> >

> > " We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

> > policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a

> lot

> > tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

> >

> > To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is

> adopting

> > a

> > policy in which ambulance crew members must be at

> > work

> > at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

> > time-off percentage will be measured from the most

> > recent three months of their employment when an

> > employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

> > approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

> > those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave

> > Act,

> > Eades said.

> >

> > The policy is tough but needed, said board

> President

> > McMahan.

> >

> > " They're not unreasonable, " he said.

> >

> > City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the

> > board,

> > asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

> >

> > " The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

> >

> > MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities.

> From

> > May through July, response times for the system

> had

> > met their mark, although some locations continued

> to

> > have problems.

> >

> > The agency's August performance report showed

> > MedStar

> > made more than 90 percent of its calls on time

> > except

> > for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were

> at

> > an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

> >

> > The board also approved a budget for the next

> fiscal

> > year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

> > expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from

> the

> > previous year.

> >

> > The budget includes $1.5 million in capital

> outlays

>

=== message truncated ===

__________________________________

Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

http://mail.yahoo.com

[Guest guest]

and i paid into SS while in the navy...

jim

--- Jeff Ellison wrote:

> Took me a while to pull out an old stub, but I paid

> into Social Security when I was in the Air Force

>

> THEDUDMAN@... wrote:Jim,

>

> I work for a non-pseudo public agency, the City of

> Schertz which is an incorporated city, a

> sub-division of the State of Texas...and we pay into

> the Social Security system as well.

>

> Dudley

>

> MedStar answer times suffer

> > due to sick time

> >

> >

> > Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

> >

> >

> >

> > MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

> >

> > By BILL TEETER

> > Star-Telegram Staff Writer

> >

> > FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

> > goals because too many employees are taking

> > unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director

> > Jack

> > Eades said Wednesday.

> > From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it

> on

> > time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of

> > the

> > time, Eades told the agency's board of directors

> at

> > their regular monthly meeting.

> >

> > MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan

> > Ambulance

> > Authority, requires its ambulances to make

> priority

> > 1

> > calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90

> percent

> > of their calls.

> >

> > In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

> > withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

> > poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

> > operating as the ambulance provider for the

> region.

> >

> > Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

> > aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

> > Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers

> are

> > taking sick time when they may not really need it,

> > which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

> >

> > Employees are allowed four sick days a year but

> can

> > accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades

> > said.

> > There is a misconception among some employees that

> > they are entitled to take sick days when they are

> > not

> > really ill, he said.

> >

> > " We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

> > policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a

> lot

> > tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

> >

> > To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is

> adopting

> > a

> > policy in which ambulance crew members must be at

> > work

> > at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

> > time-off percentage will be measured from the most

> > recent three months of their employment when an

> > employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

> > approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

> > those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave

> > Act,

> > Eades said.

> >

> > The policy is tough but needed, said board

> President

> > McMahan.

> >

> > " They're not unreasonable, " he said.

> >

> > City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the

> > board,

> > asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

> >

> > " The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

> >

> > MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities.

> From

> > May through July, response times for the system

> had

> > met their mark, although some locations continued

> to

> > have problems.

> >

> > The agency's August performance report showed

> > MedStar

> > made more than 90 percent of its calls on time

> > except

> > for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were

> at

> > an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

> >

> > The board also approved a budget for the next

> fiscal

> > year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

> > expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from

> the

> > previous year.

>

=== message truncated ===

__________________________________

Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

http://mail.yahoo.com

[Guest guest]

and i paid into SS while in the navy...

jim

--- Jeff Ellison wrote:

> Took me a while to pull out an old stub, but I paid

> into Social Security when I was in the Air Force

>

> THEDUDMAN@... wrote:Jim,

>

> I work for a non-pseudo public agency, the City of

> Schertz which is an incorporated city, a

> sub-division of the State of Texas...and we pay into

> the Social Security system as well.

>

> Dudley

>

> MedStar answer times suffer

> > due to sick time

> >

> >

> > Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

> >

> >

> >

> > MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

> >

> > By BILL TEETER

> > Star-Telegram Staff Writer

> >

> > FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

> > goals because too many employees are taking

> > unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director

> > Jack

> > Eades said Wednesday.

> > From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it

> on

> > time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of

> > the

> > time, Eades told the agency's board of directors

> at

> > their regular monthly meeting.

> >

> > MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan

> > Ambulance

> > Authority, requires its ambulances to make

> priority

> > 1

> > calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90

> percent

> > of their calls.

> >

> > In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

> > withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

> > poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

> > operating as the ambulance provider for the

> region.

> >

> > Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

> > aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

> > Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers

> are

> > taking sick time when they may not really need it,

> > which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

> >

> > Employees are allowed four sick days a year but

> can

> > accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades

> > said.

> > There is a misconception among some employees that

> > they are entitled to take sick days when they are

> > not

> > really ill, he said.

> >

> > " We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

> > policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a

> lot

> > tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

> >

> > To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is

> adopting

> > a

> > policy in which ambulance crew members must be at

> > work

> > at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

> > time-off percentage will be measured from the most

> > recent three months of their employment when an

> > employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

> > approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

> > those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave

> > Act,

> > Eades said.

> >

> > The policy is tough but needed, said board

> President

> > McMahan.

> >

> > " They're not unreasonable, " he said.

> >

> > City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the

> > board,

> > asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

> >

> > " The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

> >

> > MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities.

> From

> > May through July, response times for the system

> had

> > met their mark, although some locations continued

> to

> > have problems.

> >

> > The agency's August performance report showed

> > MedStar

> > made more than 90 percent of its calls on time

> > except

> > for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were

> at

> > an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

> >

> > The board also approved a budget for the next

> fiscal

> > year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

> > expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from

> the

> > previous year.

>

=== message truncated ===

__________________________________

Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

http://mail.yahoo.com

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/29/2005 10:24:17 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

texaslp@... writes:

Most of the TMRS employees I know also pay into SS. In fact, I can't think

of any that don't.

When I was TRS I paid SS that I can attest too.

Louis N. Molino, Sr., CET

FF/NREMT-B/FSI/EMSI

LNMolino@...

(Office)

(Cell Phone)

(Office Fax)

" A Texan with a Jersey Attitude "

The comments contained in this E-mail are the opinions of the author and the

author alone. I in no way ever intend to speak for any person or

organization that I am in any way whatsoever involved or associated with unless

I

specifically state that I am doing so. Further this E-mail is intended only for

its

stated recipient and may contain private and or confidential materials

retransmission is strictly prohibited unless placed in the public domain by the

original author.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/29/2005 10:24:17 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

texaslp@... writes:

Most of the TMRS employees I know also pay into SS. In fact, I can't think

of any that don't.

When I was TRS I paid SS that I can attest too.

Louis N. Molino, Sr., CET

FF/NREMT-B/FSI/EMSI

LNMolino@...

(Office)

(Cell Phone)

(Office Fax)

" A Texan with a Jersey Attitude "

The comments contained in this E-mail are the opinions of the author and the

author alone. I in no way ever intend to speak for any person or

organization that I am in any way whatsoever involved or associated with unless

I

specifically state that I am doing so. Further this E-mail is intended only for

its

stated recipient and may contain private and or confidential materials

retransmission is strictly prohibited unless placed in the public domain by the

original author.

[Guest guest]

I think MedStar is being a bit unreasonable here. I agree that employee

absenteeism can become a problem. Instead of creating (again another classic

American knee-jerk reaction) a blanket policy that creates more work and

oversight, why not determine the reason for the (alleged) excessive absence? If

absenteeism is a problem there is an underlying cause.

According the article the employees must be at work 97% of their scheduled time.

Given a 24 / 48 shift (I have no clue what MedStar works) that’s 22.32 hours

they can miss in a 3 month period. If the shift is a rotating 12 that’s 16.38

hours off. So, either way it’s 1 shift +/- in a 3 month period. Since their

policy is 4 shifts per year, this seems somewhat reasonable. If " The worst of

it is a few”, they need to concentrate on the few.

Personally, I don’t believe in calling in sick unless necessary. However, I do

believe it’s my right to call in sick if I need a “mental health” day. If I am

not 100% mentally prepared for work, do you want me doing the things we do? I

don’t expect anyone to call in sick, and then be seen out gallivanting around

town. If you’re too sick to work, keep your sick @$$ at home and rest.

I’m a firm believer that “benefit time” is just that, a benefit of the job. I

also believe an employee should be allowed to use that time as they see fit for

both their physical and mental health.

Personally, this all sounds like an excuse for some other failure in the system.

You can’t convince me that they are shutting down trucks because of absenteeism.

If they aren’t shutting down trucks, why are they falling below standards? Must

be that computer system they are replacing and the SSM software they’re using.

Maybe once they get the new one up and running it’ll be better at predicting the

next call and their call times will decrease. (I’m only kidding about SSM

helping……………..)

Tater

Will M wrote:

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/

[Guest guest]

Well, they use SSM, what's the difference? It is a public agency, but it is

entrenched in the private SSM way of doing things. They are learning the hard

way that SSM sucks!!!!

Tater

THEDUDMAN@... wrote:

How odd since it is now essentially a public agency...and not private...I

thought only private agencies were mean, cruel, and uncaring....hmmmmm

Dudley

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005

MedStar answer times suffer due to sick time

By BILL TEETER

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH -- MedStar isn't meeting response-time

goals because too many employees are taking

unnecessary sick time, MedStar Executive Director Jack

Eades said Wednesday.

From Sept. 1 through Sept. 22, ambulances made it on

time to scenes on " priority 1 " calls 86 percent of the

time, Eades told the agency's board of directors at

their regular monthly meeting.

MedStar, also known as the Area Metropolitan Ambulance

Authority, requires its ambulances to make priority 1

calls in nine minutes or less on at least 90 percent

of their calls.

In April, Rural/Metro, a private ambulance firm,

withdrew from its contract with MedStar because of

poor response times. Since then, MedStar has been

operating as the ambulance provider for the region.

Although MedStar is at nearly full staff after an

aggressive hiring campaign in the wake of

Rural/Metro's departure, some ambulance workers are

taking sick time when they may not really need it,

which creates staff shortages, Eades said.

Employees are allowed four sick days a year but can

accrue up to 13 weeks of unused sick time, Eades said.

There is a misconception among some employees that

they are entitled to take sick days when they are not

really ill, he said.

" We are going to have to adopt a new attendance

policy, " Eades said. " It's going to have to be a lot

tougher than the one used by the contractor. "

To fix the situation, Eades said MedStar is adopting a

policy in which ambulance crew members must be at work

at least 97 percent of their scheduled time. The

time-off percentage will be measured from the most

recent three months of their employment when an

employee calls in sick or takes off other than for

approved vacation or certain other leaves, such as

those covered by the federal Family Medical Leave Act,

Eades said.

The policy is tough but needed, said board President

McMahan.

" They're not unreasonable, " he said.

City Councilwoman Becky Haskin, who sits on the board,

asked Eades how widespread the problem is.

" The worst of it is a few, " Eades said.

MedStar serves Fort Worth and 13 other cities. From

May through July, response times for the system had

met their mark, although some locations continued to

have problems.

The agency's August performance report showed MedStar

made more than 90 percent of its calls on time except

for its less-serious priority 3 calls, which were at

an on-time rate of 89.9 percent.

The board also approved a budget for the next fiscal

year beginning Oct. 1 allowing $18,274,626 in

expenditures, an increase of about $896,000 from the

previous year.

The budget includes $1.5 million in capital outlays

for vehicles and new computer systems that should help

response times in the future, he said.

ONLINE: www.medstar911.com.

Bill Teeter.

______________________________________________________

Yahoo! for Good

Donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

http://store.yahoo.com/redcross-donate3/