Guest guest Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 From another list. Posted via EMS-L and never sent unsolicited. We don't need to prove that " EMS is important " , we need to make people feel that " EMS is important " - first and foremost, us. And those are two very different propositions. When private providers refuse to pay the city's living wage (which was less than $12/hour), when volunteer agencies shift to paid day crews and pay them less than a police officer makes in that community, and when the general consensus from career providers that they need to work a 60-hour week to make a living, WE ARE THE PROBLEM. Until WE think that EMS is important and worthy and something that you can do as a career, we're doomed. I challenge every career and volunteer department across the country to at least begin with these assumptions (and my fire service EMS brethren can take those appropriate): -Medicare is SUPPLEMENTAL to operating an EMS system, not a primary funding source -EMS needs government funding parity with police and fire, pro-rated to call volume -EMS providers should be career staff and need salary/benefit/retirement parity with police and fire- it is not a stepping stone -EMS is more than just the ambulance- it is injury prevention, research, child safety seats, Hazmat/WMD, etc and that needs to be funded also -EMS will not let anybody else do their job or define our job. EMS doesn't fight fires or enforce laws in most places, fire and law enforcement should provide care but ONLY UNDER OUR DIRECTION & CONTROL (we define the parameters, we supervise, we provide the training, we provide the QA). I've been saying for several years that the system we have now is failing miserably, which makes me really happy. Pretty soon, we will have a real collapse in some parts of the country, and then, hopefully, a new phoenix will rise from the ashes. Scot Phelps, JD, MPH, Paramedic, CEM, CBCP, MEP Associate Professor of Emergency & Disaster Management School of Public Affairs & Administration Metropolitan College of New York 75 Varick Street, 12th floor NYC, NY 10013 scot.phelps@... -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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