GoldStar

[Guest guest]

i have been reading all the email on this post, just as an

fyi, i was at work the day that all hell broke loose. as a

matter of fact i was asleep dreaming of ambulances and

helicopters and then suddenly someone slams my door open,

screams " FBI get up, get dressed and get out of the

building. " now this is the first service that i have worked

for and well, to be honest that day i thought it would be

the last. all i know is that i ran calls and wrote run

reports and now a group of people that looked like they were

pissed off at ems and taking it out on me want to verify if

there were any billing errors. i know that the last couple

of days i have been wondering if i am going to have a job

the next day i come into work, and all you guys can say give

it a rest. what ever happened to, " ambulance companies get

investigated all the time " , or maybe " don't worry, it's not

going to effect you " ? what i do know is i haven't been told

to go home yet and i haven't been told that i still have a

patch. i can listen to rumors just like the best of them and

a lot of them sound true and some of them end up being true,

but me personally, i would like to hear some facts so i can

be relived that this is all nothing more than history

repeating itself.

________________________________________

JONATHON WALKER EMT-P

THIS EMAIL DOES NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS

OF GOLDSTAR EMS

[Guest guest]

i have been reading all the email on this post, just as an

fyi, i was at work the day that all hell broke loose. as a

matter of fact i was asleep dreaming of ambulances and

helicopters and then suddenly someone slams my door open,

screams " FBI get up, get dressed and get out of the

building. " now this is the first service that i have worked

for and well, to be honest that day i thought it would be

the last. all i know is that i ran calls and wrote run

reports and now a group of people that looked like they were

pissed off at ems and taking it out on me want to verify if

there were any billing errors. i know that the last couple

of days i have been wondering if i am going to have a job

the next day i come into work, and all you guys can say give

it a rest. what ever happened to, " ambulance companies get

investigated all the time " , or maybe " don't worry, it's not

going to effect you " ? what i do know is i haven't been told

to go home yet and i haven't been told that i still have a

patch. i can listen to rumors just like the best of them and

a lot of them sound true and some of them end up being true,

but me personally, i would like to hear some facts so i can

be relived that this is all nothing more than history

repeating itself.

________________________________________

JONATHON WALKER EMT-P

THIS EMAIL DOES NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS

OF GOLDSTAR EMS

[Guest guest]

Amen brother. I completly understand. There is no way to sugar-coat this

particular situation. I agree with the majority, Gold Star was a good company

to work for, but the fact of the matter is sombody must have done something for

FBI, US Attorney agents, Texas Attorney agents and DSHS to be involved. This

reminds me of Waco and Illien in Florida, the way those federal agents

burst in with bullet proof vests and with enough firearms to start a small war.

I strongly believe for them to be investigating 150 patients reports for the

last 7 years, they must have some serious proof and are trying to gather even

more, but that is just my opinion. God help all of the innocent medics just

trying to do their jobs, and I hope that the truth prevails.

McGee, EMT-I

Former Gold Star Employee (1 day after the raid)

ME wrote:

i have been reading all the email on this post, just as an

fyi, i was at work the day that all hell broke loose. as a

matter of fact i was asleep dreaming of ambulances and

helicopters and then suddenly someone slams my door open,

screams " FBI get up, get dressed and get out of the

building. " now this is the first service that i have worked

for and well, to be honest that day i thought it would be

the last. all i know is that i ran calls and wrote run

reports and now a group of people that looked like they were

pissed off at ems and taking it out on me want to verify if

there were any billing errors. i know that the last couple

of days i have been wondering if i am going to have a job

the next day i come into work, and all you guys can say give

it a rest. what ever happened to, " ambulance companies get

investigated all the time " , or maybe " don't worry, it's not

going to effect you " ? what i do know is i haven't been told

to go home yet and i haven't been told that i still have a

patch. i can listen to rumors just like the best of them and

a lot of them sound true and some of them end up being true,

but me personally, i would like to hear some facts so i can

be relived that this is all nothing more than history

repeating itself.

________________________________________

JONATHON WALKER EMT-P

THIS EMAIL DOES NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS

OF GOLDSTAR EMS

---------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Amen brother. I completly understand. There is no way to sugar-coat this

particular situation. I agree with the majority, Gold Star was a good company

to work for, but the fact of the matter is sombody must have done something for

FBI, US Attorney agents, Texas Attorney agents and DSHS to be involved. This

reminds me of Waco and Illien in Florida, the way those federal agents

burst in with bullet proof vests and with enough firearms to start a small war.

I strongly believe for them to be investigating 150 patients reports for the

last 7 years, they must have some serious proof and are trying to gather even

more, but that is just my opinion. God help all of the innocent medics just

trying to do their jobs, and I hope that the truth prevails.

McGee, EMT-I

Former Gold Star Employee (1 day after the raid)

ME wrote:

i have been reading all the email on this post, just as an

fyi, i was at work the day that all hell broke loose. as a

matter of fact i was asleep dreaming of ambulances and

helicopters and then suddenly someone slams my door open,

screams " FBI get up, get dressed and get out of the

building. " now this is the first service that i have worked

for and well, to be honest that day i thought it would be

the last. all i know is that i ran calls and wrote run

reports and now a group of people that looked like they were

pissed off at ems and taking it out on me want to verify if

there were any billing errors. i know that the last couple

of days i have been wondering if i am going to have a job

the next day i come into work, and all you guys can say give

it a rest. what ever happened to, " ambulance companies get

investigated all the time " , or maybe " don't worry, it's not

going to effect you " ? what i do know is i haven't been told

to go home yet and i haven't been told that i still have a

patch. i can listen to rumors just like the best of them and

a lot of them sound true and some of them end up being true,

but me personally, i would like to hear some facts so i can

be relived that this is all nothing more than history

repeating itself.

________________________________________

JONATHON WALKER EMT-P

THIS EMAIL DOES NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS

OF GOLDSTAR EMS

---------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Amen brother. I completly understand. There is no way to sugar-coat this

particular situation. I agree with the majority, Gold Star was a good company

to work for, but the fact of the matter is sombody must have done something for

FBI, US Attorney agents, Texas Attorney agents and DSHS to be involved. This

reminds me of Waco and Illien in Florida, the way those federal agents

burst in with bullet proof vests and with enough firearms to start a small war.

I strongly believe for them to be investigating 150 patients reports for the

last 7 years, they must have some serious proof and are trying to gather even

more, but that is just my opinion. God help all of the innocent medics just

trying to do their jobs, and I hope that the truth prevails.

McGee, EMT-I

Former Gold Star Employee (1 day after the raid)

ME wrote:

i have been reading all the email on this post, just as an

fyi, i was at work the day that all hell broke loose. as a

matter of fact i was asleep dreaming of ambulances and

helicopters and then suddenly someone slams my door open,

screams " FBI get up, get dressed and get out of the

building. " now this is the first service that i have worked

for and well, to be honest that day i thought it would be

the last. all i know is that i ran calls and wrote run

reports and now a group of people that looked like they were

pissed off at ems and taking it out on me want to verify if

there were any billing errors. i know that the last couple

of days i have been wondering if i am going to have a job

the next day i come into work, and all you guys can say give

it a rest. what ever happened to, " ambulance companies get

investigated all the time " , or maybe " don't worry, it's not

going to effect you " ? what i do know is i haven't been told

to go home yet and i haven't been told that i still have a

patch. i can listen to rumors just like the best of them and

a lot of them sound true and some of them end up being true,

but me personally, i would like to hear some facts so i can

be relived that this is all nothing more than history

repeating itself.

________________________________________

JONATHON WALKER EMT-P

THIS EMAIL DOES NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS

OF GOLDSTAR EMS

---------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Ok guys, just take a deep breath and wait a minute. I have never

worked for Goldstar; I don't know many people that do work for

Goldstar; and I will probably never work for Goldstar. However,

that doesn't change the fact that they haven't been found guilty of

anything. If you think about it, the statement that was made by the

Goldstar operations manager on here was that they wanted 150 records

from the past 7 years, and that Goldstar sees over 100,000 patient's

a year. That is a very low number of charts that they are looking

at. Mind you, if there is a case of fraud, one is too many,

however, one never knows what is going on 100% in these situations,

except the Feds. I was there at AMR in San when they did

the same thing to them YEARS ago.............they ended up on pre-

pay review for several years as a result of some billing

irregularities, and then they were OK, and now, they are doing just

fine and are most assuredly still in operation. I also know first

hand, one ambulance company in San that was raided by the

FBI a few years back due to a disgruntled employee making a false

report. They froze their medicare and medicaid payments until the

investigation was over. As a result, the companay went out of

business due to a greatly reduced income during this time period.

Guess what the FBI found? Nothing! They cleared them of any

wrongdoing. The service is still out of business as a result of a

malicious complaint. The true facts of the case are yet to be seen,

and the only people who truly know what they are looking for, and

what instigated this in the first place are the Feds, who have a

hard and fast policy of not commenting on an ongoing investigation.

So............that said, and since it is 3am and I am dead tired

right now, I will wrap this up.

Remember, save guilty presumptions for after they have been found

guilty of something. A disgruntled employee could have done this

to " screw " with them. An employee may have taken it upon themselves

to fudge on run reports without the knowledge of anyone at

Goldstar. A billing person could have fudged information. Any

number of scenario's could exist, including the one that the company

could have maliciously defrauded the government. But.....we aren't

the jury, we aren't the judge, and we don't have the full facts of

the case. So, we all need to just settle down, let the rumors die

down, and hope for the best outcome on this whole ordeal. It would

really suck for this to be a big mistake, or a false reporting of

information that lead to this issue in the first place. Up until

this event, I have heard nothing but good things about Goldstar, and

this came as a total shock to me when I heard it, but that doesn't

make it impossible for it to be true either.

EMS rumor mills are among the worst I have ever run across. Along

with that, we tend to stab each other in the back ruthlessly, and

chew up our own and spit them out. Don't complicate matters by

clouding the waters with assumption, ill wishes, and the loads

of " bullshit " which tend to be produced in this business.

That said, I am off to bed.

Be safe and take care,

CB

[Guest guest]

Ok guys, just take a deep breath and wait a minute. I have never

worked for Goldstar; I don't know many people that do work for

Goldstar; and I will probably never work for Goldstar. However,

that doesn't change the fact that they haven't been found guilty of

anything. If you think about it, the statement that was made by the

Goldstar operations manager on here was that they wanted 150 records

from the past 7 years, and that Goldstar sees over 100,000 patient's

a year. That is a very low number of charts that they are looking

at. Mind you, if there is a case of fraud, one is too many,

however, one never knows what is going on 100% in these situations,

except the Feds. I was there at AMR in San when they did

the same thing to them YEARS ago.............they ended up on pre-

pay review for several years as a result of some billing

irregularities, and then they were OK, and now, they are doing just

fine and are most assuredly still in operation. I also know first

hand, one ambulance company in San that was raided by the

FBI a few years back due to a disgruntled employee making a false

report. They froze their medicare and medicaid payments until the

investigation was over. As a result, the companay went out of

business due to a greatly reduced income during this time period.

Guess what the FBI found? Nothing! They cleared them of any

wrongdoing. The service is still out of business as a result of a

malicious complaint. The true facts of the case are yet to be seen,

and the only people who truly know what they are looking for, and

what instigated this in the first place are the Feds, who have a

hard and fast policy of not commenting on an ongoing investigation.

So............that said, and since it is 3am and I am dead tired

right now, I will wrap this up.

Remember, save guilty presumptions for after they have been found

guilty of something. A disgruntled employee could have done this

to " screw " with them. An employee may have taken it upon themselves

to fudge on run reports without the knowledge of anyone at

Goldstar. A billing person could have fudged information. Any

number of scenario's could exist, including the one that the company

could have maliciously defrauded the government. But.....we aren't

the jury, we aren't the judge, and we don't have the full facts of

the case. So, we all need to just settle down, let the rumors die

down, and hope for the best outcome on this whole ordeal. It would

really suck for this to be a big mistake, or a false reporting of

information that lead to this issue in the first place. Up until

this event, I have heard nothing but good things about Goldstar, and

this came as a total shock to me when I heard it, but that doesn't

make it impossible for it to be true either.

EMS rumor mills are among the worst I have ever run across. Along

with that, we tend to stab each other in the back ruthlessly, and

chew up our own and spit them out. Don't complicate matters by

clouding the waters with assumption, ill wishes, and the loads

of " bullshit " which tend to be produced in this business.

That said, I am off to bed.

Be safe and take care,

CB

[Guest guest]

Andy,

From a business perspective $50,000 is just a drop in the bucket to do a few

911 calls when there is a gold mine of transfers in Port Arthur. There are

several area nursing homes, three hospitals, at least two dialysis centers,

numerous personal home cares as well as doctors offices and a cancer outpatient

center. There are many elderly people in the area who have Medicare also. My

guess is that is why they pay to run 911 in the city.

[Guest guest]

Andy,

From a business perspective $50,000 is just a drop in the bucket to do a few

911 calls when there is a gold mine of transfers in Port Arthur. There are

several area nursing homes, three hospitals, at least two dialysis centers,

numerous personal home cares as well as doctors offices and a cancer outpatient

center. There are many elderly people in the area who have Medicare also. My

guess is that is why they pay to run 911 in the city.

[Guest guest]

Andy,

From a business perspective $50,000 is just a drop in the bucket to do a few

911 calls when there is a gold mine of transfers in Port Arthur. There are

several area nursing homes, three hospitals, at least two dialysis centers,

numerous personal home cares as well as doctors offices and a cancer outpatient

center. There are many elderly people in the area who have Medicare also. My

guess is that is why they pay to run 911 in the city.

[Guest guest]

Just for the sake of discussion, why does it have to be fire-based? Austin

and other cities swear by a third-service model. Beaumont's EMS is part of

the health department. Other communities have had great luck with a hospital

based system. Don't automatically presume that the fire department is the

right organization to provide EMS. It works great in some cities. In others,

it's a catastrophe.

There are certainly many problems with private EMS, particularly when

private EMS is subsidized by local government.

No one system is perfect across-the-board.

My advice is that if the firefighters (or their union) want to get in the

EMS business, they need to make the commitment to EMS that progressive fire

services like Miami-Dade County and Plano have made. In other words, don't just

ask for EMS to get the call volume to justify more money to the FD budget.

Just my $0.02 -- your mileage may vary.

-Wes Ogilvie, MPA, JD, EMT

Austin, Texas

In a message dated 4/11/2005 9:58:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

tirvine@... writes:

,

You are right on the city service. It will probably raise taxes in the

beginning, but I can promise you the city will make way more than the measly 50

grand that GoldStar and MetroCare pay to the city just in the medicare payouts

from emergencies, not to mention private insurance payouts in the more

prosperous north end. One of the proposals on the table includes setting up

transfer trucks to make inside city transfers, which will boost income

tremendously.

Ultimately a fire-based EMS will enhance the care that the citizens receive,

whether it makes money or not. Now all we have to do is convince the city

manager...........

[Guest guest]

Just for the sake of discussion, why does it have to be fire-based? Austin

and other cities swear by a third-service model. Beaumont's EMS is part of

the health department. Other communities have had great luck with a hospital

based system. Don't automatically presume that the fire department is the

right organization to provide EMS. It works great in some cities. In others,

it's a catastrophe.

There are certainly many problems with private EMS, particularly when

private EMS is subsidized by local government.

No one system is perfect across-the-board.

My advice is that if the firefighters (or their union) want to get in the

EMS business, they need to make the commitment to EMS that progressive fire

services like Miami-Dade County and Plano have made. In other words, don't just

ask for EMS to get the call volume to justify more money to the FD budget.

Just my $0.02 -- your mileage may vary.

-Wes Ogilvie, MPA, JD, EMT

Austin, Texas

In a message dated 4/11/2005 9:58:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

tirvine@... writes:

,

You are right on the city service. It will probably raise taxes in the

beginning, but I can promise you the city will make way more than the measly 50

grand that GoldStar and MetroCare pay to the city just in the medicare payouts

from emergencies, not to mention private insurance payouts in the more

prosperous north end. One of the proposals on the table includes setting up

transfer trucks to make inside city transfers, which will boost income

tremendously.

Ultimately a fire-based EMS will enhance the care that the citizens receive,

whether it makes money or not. Now all we have to do is convince the city

manager...........

[Guest guest]

Just for the sake of discussion, why does it have to be fire-based? Austin

and other cities swear by a third-service model. Beaumont's EMS is part of

the health department. Other communities have had great luck with a hospital

based system. Don't automatically presume that the fire department is the

right organization to provide EMS. It works great in some cities. In others,

it's a catastrophe.

There are certainly many problems with private EMS, particularly when

private EMS is subsidized by local government.

No one system is perfect across-the-board.

My advice is that if the firefighters (or their union) want to get in the

EMS business, they need to make the commitment to EMS that progressive fire

services like Miami-Dade County and Plano have made. In other words, don't just

ask for EMS to get the call volume to justify more money to the FD budget.

Just my $0.02 -- your mileage may vary.

-Wes Ogilvie, MPA, JD, EMT

Austin, Texas

In a message dated 4/11/2005 9:58:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

tirvine@... writes:

,

You are right on the city service. It will probably raise taxes in the

beginning, but I can promise you the city will make way more than the measly 50

grand that GoldStar and MetroCare pay to the city just in the medicare payouts

from emergencies, not to mention private insurance payouts in the more

prosperous north end. One of the proposals on the table includes setting up

transfer trucks to make inside city transfers, which will boost income

tremendously.

Ultimately a fire-based EMS will enhance the care that the citizens receive,

whether it makes money or not. Now all we have to do is convince the city

manager...........

[Guest guest]

Wes,

One of the reasons is that the Port Arthur Fire Department is already

certified as an ALS first responder organization and already has a medical

director. Several of their Firefighters are already Paramedics.

[Guest guest]

Wes,

One of the reasons is that the Port Arthur Fire Department is already

certified as an ALS first responder organization and already has a medical

director. Several of their Firefighters are already Paramedics.

[Guest guest]

Wes,

One of the reasons is that the Port Arthur Fire Department is already

certified as an ALS first responder organization and already has a medical

director. Several of their Firefighters are already Paramedics.

[Guest guest]

Thanks , I didn't know what level of involvement PAFD was at.

-Wes

In a message dated 4/11/2005 10:44:41 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

ambubag@... writes:

Wes,

One of the reasons is that the Port Arthur Fire Department is already

certified as an ALS first responder organization and already has a medical

director. Several of their Firefighters are already Paramedics.

[Guest guest]

Thanks , I didn't know what level of involvement PAFD was at.

-Wes

In a message dated 4/11/2005 10:44:41 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

ambubag@... writes:

Wes,

One of the reasons is that the Port Arthur Fire Department is already

certified as an ALS first responder organization and already has a medical

director. Several of their Firefighters are already Paramedics.

[Guest guest]

Thanks , I didn't know what level of involvement PAFD was at.

-Wes

In a message dated 4/11/2005 10:44:41 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

ambubag@... writes:

Wes,

One of the reasons is that the Port Arthur Fire Department is already

certified as an ALS first responder organization and already has a medical

director. Several of their Firefighters are already Paramedics.

[Guest guest]

If that is the case then why does Goldstar and Metrocare pay the City to run the

911 calls?

RE: Goldstar

Troy, yes there were agents here, and yes they had " their " weapons, they are

federal agents.. Now body armour no... There was no armour seen that I saw....

Also Troy, you know as well as I do, that if PAFD did implement a city service,

all it would do would raise taxes for the citizens of PAFD, cause you sure are

not gonna make a good return on 911 payments, because a big majority of PA is

self-pay, or forms off assistance that doesnt pay for the services. But if PAFD

does implement a city service in the future, good luck, cause I beleive it's

more trouble then it's worth...

EMT-B

[Guest guest]

If that is the case then why does Goldstar and Metrocare pay the City to run the

911 calls?

RE: Goldstar

Troy, yes there were agents here, and yes they had " their " weapons, they are

federal agents.. Now body armour no... There was no armour seen that I saw....

Also Troy, you know as well as I do, that if PAFD did implement a city service,

all it would do would raise taxes for the citizens of PAFD, cause you sure are

not gonna make a good return on 911 payments, because a big majority of PA is

self-pay, or forms off assistance that doesnt pay for the services. But if PAFD

does implement a city service in the future, good luck, cause I beleive it's

more trouble then it's worth...

EMT-B

[Guest guest]

If that is the case then why does Goldstar and Metrocare pay the City to run the

911 calls?

RE: Goldstar

Troy, yes there were agents here, and yes they had " their " weapons, they are

federal agents.. Now body armour no... There was no armour seen that I saw....

Also Troy, you know as well as I do, that if PAFD did implement a city service,

all it would do would raise taxes for the citizens of PAFD, cause you sure are

not gonna make a good return on 911 payments, because a big majority of PA is

self-pay, or forms off assistance that doesnt pay for the services. But if PAFD

does implement a city service in the future, good luck, cause I beleive it's

more trouble then it's worth...

EMT-B

[Guest guest]

I will second that Wes. You can tell if a FD is truly dedicated to EMS,

how? If they have a dedicated career ladder for the EMS division, i.e. EMS

specific officers all the way to the Asst Chief level.

Lee

Duncanville Fire

Re: Goldstar

Just for the sake of discussion, why does it have to be fire-based? Austin

and other cities swear by a third-service model. Beaumont's EMS is part of

the health department. Other communities have had great luck with a

hospital

based system. Don't automatically presume that the fire department is the

right organization to provide EMS. It works great in some cities. In

others,

it's a catastrophe.

There are certainly many problems with private EMS, particularly when

private EMS is subsidized by local government.

No one system is perfect across-the-board.

My advice is that if the firefighters (or their union) want to get in the

EMS business, they need to make the commitment to EMS that progressive fire

services like Miami-Dade County and Plano have made. In other words, don't

just

ask for EMS to get the call volume to justify more money to the FD budget.

Just my $0.02 -- your mileage may vary.

-Wes Ogilvie, MPA, JD, EMT

Austin, Texas

In a message dated 4/11/2005 9:58:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

tirvine@... writes:

,

You are right on the city service. It will probably raise taxes in the

beginning, but I can promise you the city will make way more than the

measly 50

grand that GoldStar and MetroCare pay to the city just in the medicare

payouts

from emergencies, not to mention private insurance payouts in the more

prosperous north end. One of the proposals on the table includes setting up

transfer trucks to make inside city transfers, which will boost income

tremendously.

Ultimately a fire-based EMS will enhance the care that the citizens

receive,

whether it makes money or not. Now all we have to do is convince the city

manager...........

[Guest guest]

I will second that Wes. You can tell if a FD is truly dedicated to EMS,

how? If they have a dedicated career ladder for the EMS division, i.e. EMS

specific officers all the way to the Asst Chief level.

Lee

Duncanville Fire

Re: Goldstar

Just for the sake of discussion, why does it have to be fire-based? Austin

and other cities swear by a third-service model. Beaumont's EMS is part of

the health department. Other communities have had great luck with a

hospital

based system. Don't automatically presume that the fire department is the

right organization to provide EMS. It works great in some cities. In

others,

it's a catastrophe.

There are certainly many problems with private EMS, particularly when

private EMS is subsidized by local government.

No one system is perfect across-the-board.

My advice is that if the firefighters (or their union) want to get in the

EMS business, they need to make the commitment to EMS that progressive fire

services like Miami-Dade County and Plano have made. In other words, don't

just

ask for EMS to get the call volume to justify more money to the FD budget.

Just my $0.02 -- your mileage may vary.

-Wes Ogilvie, MPA, JD, EMT

Austin, Texas

In a message dated 4/11/2005 9:58:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time,

tirvine@... writes:

,

You are right on the city service. It will probably raise taxes in the

beginning, but I can promise you the city will make way more than the

measly 50

grand that GoldStar and MetroCare pay to the city just in the medicare

payouts

from emergencies, not to mention private insurance payouts in the more

prosperous north end. One of the proposals on the table includes setting up

transfer trucks to make inside city transfers, which will boost income

tremendously.

Ultimately a fire-based EMS will enhance the care that the citizens

receive,

whether it makes money or not. Now all we have to do is convince the city

manager...........

[Guest guest]

That's a great point....

However, just because the PAFD is a first responder org, and several

firefighters are already Paramedics doesn't necessarily mean that is the right

choice for PAFD to take on the EMS calls.

I have family and close friends (thought not I, I knew I wasn't talented

enough to handle the stress) as both firefighters and paramedics in both fire

based, and private EMS services. Unfortunately in some areas firefighters tend

to consider fire their first choice, and consider responding to medical

calls, a waste of their " god given talent " ....

On the same token, there are just as many " Para " Gods out there, that think

if they were to be asked to work a fire, then the world might end.

By no means am I trying to make any unjust comments towards private, 3rd

party, or fire based EMS systems. Any individual type or combination of all

three, can work wonderfully together. We all need to remember the most

important thing is not the amount of $$ that can be added to the budget, but

rather

the level of patient care that is provided.

In a message dated 4/11/2005 10:44:42 P.M. Central Standard Time,

ambubag@... writes:

Wes,

One of the reasons is that the Port Arthur Fire Department is already

certified as an ALS first responder organization and already has a medical

director. Several of their Firefighters are already Paramedics.