Guest guest Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 " , " <manemtp@y...> wrote: > > Just curious, but how many volunteer cosmotologists, RT's, RN's, or MD's are there in Texas? I'm not talking the occasional free clinic, but EVERYDAY, as a primary role? You're on to a good point there, . Everytime I hear somebody whining that so many areas cannot afford ALS, much less ALS with higher educational standards, I have to just roll my eyes. Go to each and every one of those counties who say they can't afford higher standards because they can only operate a volunteer service and answer these questions? * Are their roads paved and maintained by volunteers? * Are the water and sewer lines maintained by volunteers? * Are the parks maintained by volunteers? * Is the library staffed by volunteers? * Is city hall staffed by volunteers? * Is the courthouse and other county offices staffed by volunteers? * Are the district attorney and county attorney volunteers? * Are the county judges volunteers? * Are the janitors volunteers? * Do volunteers mow the courthouse and city hall lawns? * Are city and county vehicles maintained and serviced by volunteers? * Are the school buses driven by volunteers? * Are the schools taught and administrated by volunteers? I think you will find that the answer to most all of the above questions is a resounding 'no'. So, we see that if a need is perceived, a solution is found. Obviously, money is not the problem. The problem is priorities. We have done a piss poor job of promoting ourselves through public education. Unfortunately, at this point I am not so sure that self promotion would be very productive since, as Dr. Bledsoe pointed out, we are the laughing stock of healthcare, educationally speaking. We cannot begin to promote ourselves as a valuable necessity and priority until we have a respectable product to offer. And so long as the entry level of this profession remains a GED and 120 hours of first aid training, we simply do not have that. And so long as the law says that 120 hours is sufficient, the bean counters have no reason to believe they need anything more. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 " , " <manemtp@y...> wrote: > > Just curious, but how many volunteer cosmotologists, RT's, RN's, or MD's are there in Texas? I'm not talking the occasional free clinic, but EVERYDAY, as a primary role? You're on to a good point there, . Everytime I hear somebody whining that so many areas cannot afford ALS, much less ALS with higher educational standards, I have to just roll my eyes. Go to each and every one of those counties who say they can't afford higher standards because they can only operate a volunteer service and answer these questions? * Are their roads paved and maintained by volunteers? * Are the water and sewer lines maintained by volunteers? * Are the parks maintained by volunteers? * Is the library staffed by volunteers? * Is city hall staffed by volunteers? * Is the courthouse and other county offices staffed by volunteers? * Are the district attorney and county attorney volunteers? * Are the county judges volunteers? * Are the janitors volunteers? * Do volunteers mow the courthouse and city hall lawns? * Are city and county vehicles maintained and serviced by volunteers? * Are the school buses driven by volunteers? * Are the schools taught and administrated by volunteers? I think you will find that the answer to most all of the above questions is a resounding 'no'. So, we see that if a need is perceived, a solution is found. Obviously, money is not the problem. The problem is priorities. We have done a piss poor job of promoting ourselves through public education. Unfortunately, at this point I am not so sure that self promotion would be very productive since, as Dr. Bledsoe pointed out, we are the laughing stock of healthcare, educationally speaking. We cannot begin to promote ourselves as a valuable necessity and priority until we have a respectable product to offer. And so long as the entry level of this profession remains a GED and 120 hours of first aid training, we simply do not have that. And so long as the law says that 120 hours is sufficient, the bean counters have no reason to believe they need anything more. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 Wayne check to see if it is an insurance thing. Most Volunteer Fire Departments have insurance on their personnel. Most VFD do not have revenue coming in from calls and are limited on the amount spent on insurance. I know that the VFD that I am with is allowed up to 20 on insurance. Any more require are per personnel insurance rate to go up by about 30%. Hope this helps. Tom Marek West EMS Operations Manager Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 Wayne check to see if it is an insurance thing. Most Volunteer Fire Departments have insurance on their personnel. Most VFD do not have revenue coming in from calls and are limited on the amount spent on insurance. I know that the VFD that I am with is allowed up to 20 on insurance. Any more require are per personnel insurance rate to go up by about 30%. Hope this helps. Tom Marek West EMS Operations Manager Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 Wayne check to see if it is an insurance thing. Most Volunteer Fire Departments have insurance on their personnel. Most VFD do not have revenue coming in from calls and are limited on the amount spent on insurance. I know that the VFD that I am with is allowed up to 20 on insurance. Any more require are per personnel insurance rate to go up by about 30%. Hope this helps. Tom Marek West EMS Operations Manager Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 Since Andy posted something on this topic, I'd like to follow up with something. Has anyone ever heard of a volunteer fire department/first responder unit that say that they are limited on the number of people they can take. Where I'm at, the local department has told several people that are interested in helping has been told, " sorry no openings " . They have more people on the fire side, than they have certified EMS for first responders. Those that are certified are told we don't need you, when there are times that maybe one certified person is in town. Some have expressed interest in starting another group of 1st responder that will allow those that want to join, join. Your views? Wayne --------------------------------- Yahoo! Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 That is very common in the east. I visited a fire station in suburban land that was totally volunteer. They had a waiting list for volunteers. Junior members were allowed to live in the station in return for scut work. If they did well, they could become regular volunteers. Many volunteers would have in excess of 30 years. Such systems are very common in MD, NJ, NY, CT, PA and VA. Despite the urbanization of the Washington DC area, much of the surrounding territory is still covered exclusively by volunteer fire departments and ambulance services. It would be akin to or Garland or Sugar Land being totally volunteer FD and EMS. It is actually worth the visit if you are ever there in the DC area. E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP Midlothian, Texas Don't miss the Western States EMS Cruise! http://proemseducators.com/index.html _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Wayne D Sent: Friday, December 30, 2005 9:54 AM To: Texas EMS list Subject: Volunteering Since Andy posted something on this topic, I'd like to follow up with something. Has anyone ever heard of a volunteer fire department/first responder unit that say that they are limited on the number of people they can take. Where I'm at, the local department has told several people that are interested in helping has been told, " sorry no openings " . They have more people on the fire side, than they have certified EMS for first responders. Those that are certified are told we don't need you, when there are times that maybe one certified person is in town. Some have expressed interest in starting another group of 1st responder that will allow those that want to join, join. Your views? Wayne --------------------------------- Yahoo! Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 That is very common in the east. I visited a fire station in suburban land that was totally volunteer. They had a waiting list for volunteers. Junior members were allowed to live in the station in return for scut work. If they did well, they could become regular volunteers. Many volunteers would have in excess of 30 years. Such systems are very common in MD, NJ, NY, CT, PA and VA. Despite the urbanization of the Washington DC area, much of the surrounding territory is still covered exclusively by volunteer fire departments and ambulance services. It would be akin to or Garland or Sugar Land being totally volunteer FD and EMS. It is actually worth the visit if you are ever there in the DC area. E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP Midlothian, Texas Don't miss the Western States EMS Cruise! http://proemseducators.com/index.html _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Wayne D Sent: Friday, December 30, 2005 9:54 AM To: Texas EMS list Subject: Volunteering Since Andy posted something on this topic, I'd like to follow up with something. Has anyone ever heard of a volunteer fire department/first responder unit that say that they are limited on the number of people they can take. Where I'm at, the local department has told several people that are interested in helping has been told, " sorry no openings " . They have more people on the fire side, than they have certified EMS for first responders. Those that are certified are told we don't need you, when there are times that maybe one certified person is in town. Some have expressed interest in starting another group of 1st responder that will allow those that want to join, join. Your views? Wayne --------------------------------- Yahoo! Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 30, 2005 Report Share Posted December 30, 2005 That is very common in the east. I visited a fire station in suburban land that was totally volunteer. They had a waiting list for volunteers. Junior members were allowed to live in the station in return for scut work. If they did well, they could become regular volunteers. Many volunteers would have in excess of 30 years. Such systems are very common in MD, NJ, NY, CT, PA and VA. Despite the urbanization of the Washington DC area, much of the surrounding territory is still covered exclusively by volunteer fire departments and ambulance services. It would be akin to or Garland or Sugar Land being totally volunteer FD and EMS. It is actually worth the visit if you are ever there in the DC area. E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP Midlothian, Texas Don't miss the Western States EMS Cruise! http://proemseducators.com/index.html _____ From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Wayne D Sent: Friday, December 30, 2005 9:54 AM To: Texas EMS list Subject: Volunteering Since Andy posted something on this topic, I'd like to follow up with something. Has anyone ever heard of a volunteer fire department/first responder unit that say that they are limited on the number of people they can take. Where I'm at, the local department has told several people that are interested in helping has been told, " sorry no openings " . They have more people on the fire side, than they have certified EMS for first responders. Those that are certified are told we don't need you, when there are times that maybe one certified person is in town. Some have expressed interest in starting another group of 1st responder that will allow those that want to join, join. Your views? Wayne --------------------------------- Yahoo! Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 I'm not sure what the " official " size of the department is, but I know that several people that have moved into the community and were fire and 1st responders where they were from have been told they are full. This is why talk has been made that a separate group or the first responders should be taken out of the FD and placed as a different group. With all of the fires in this area over the past two days, they should want the extra people. Yes, this department does provide most all of the basic equipment such as protective clothing, radio/pagers, and other things. Wayne Phil Reynolds wrote: Find out what their reason for limiting their size is. If the department is worth its salt, it provides personal protective equipment, pager/radio/both, and some form of training to the membership AS A BARE MINIMUM. All of that costs money, and believe it or not, money is frequently in short supply in volunteer organizations, including those supported by taxes. I've been involved in organizations that were grateful that lots of people wanted to join, but the organizations simply couldn't afford to support that many people. phil __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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