Info on AMR

[mshow00]

I am trying to get a fix on this company AMR. They recently bought out my private company and ever since we have received all kinds of promises (rumors to be truthful) about changes that are going to be made. So far the only changes I have noticed are the change in company letter head, and some extra on line training. I just want to know if or what kind of changes may be coming down the pipeline. Thanks for your help.

[Scaramedic]

I am trying to get a fix on this company AMR.

Aren't they that little company out of Colorado?

[Don1977]

American Medical Rejects......One of my competitors......

[mshow00]

apparently not so little anymore... they said they are huge and growing

[mrmeaner]

apparently not so little anymore... they said they are huge and growing

Yeah, we all say that.

[Doug]

I have nothing good to say about them. Honestly, I worked for them for 10 years (my own fault, this was my first EMS job and i assumed they all were like this) they pulled out of my town after loseing contract after contract, they also pulled out of another western massachusetts town. They refused to listen to us when we said we were losing busines. I've said all this before in other posts so let me summerize.

When I started we had 4 trucks during day and 2 scheduled 1 reserve (call in) at night that usually wound up getting called in, the competator had 2 trucks day and night...by the time they left AMR had TOPS 2 trucks during the day and TOPS 2 trucks at night (usually 1) and the competition had 5 day trucks and 3 night trucks...even with that the AMR crews often just sat on our asses as no one wanted to call us any more, we lost major hosp contract (no no we didn't management said) we lost 75% of our NH contracts (no no we didn't what is this guy talking about) virtually no intercepts unless other company was completely out (so what those don't make us money anyway) yes well those intercepts oftewn wound up being transfered out and the company that brought the pt in got first dibs on transfer out (our records show this never happened, besides we weren't getting proper reimbursement from insurance/medicare/caid). Suffise to say I now work for the competition, who, despite covering the EXACT same area had enough in cash reserves to hire all the AMR employees who wanted jobs (95% of us) plus BUY 2 new trucks, convert a used truck to a bari unit AND buy a whole garage, and after 2 months was turning a profit again.

Side note: the one AMR left in Western Mass (springfield/holyoke) was the only show in town until 3 years ago...since then 3 companies have moved in and Baystate Medical has begun doing their own transfers again (AMR had the contract but my understanding is that they were unrelyable). If you really want to read something amazing google AMR and Richmond, VA.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Consider this analogy

AMR is to EMS like politicians are to government.

I have no love lost for AMR. The mighty dollar outweighs the patient. I could go on and on about improprieties and transfer contracts coming before 911 care. It would take a book to put it all down.

Unfortunately, they come in to a city and give glowing promises about what they will do and as soon as they get the contract they start down the road to broken promiseville

If I was given a choice between a root canal, vasectomy and a laminectomy all in the same surgery or to work for AMR Again I'd choose the surgeries.

[Don1977]

AMR came to Pittsburgh 2 years ago when Pittsburgh EMS was talking possible strike, it never happened, they still came here, today they have the "MCR Manor Care" contract.

They are a joke, they can't handle anything they get, I hear the local 911 services going to a Manor care in Northern PGH for "G-tube" replacement transports. I have a fellow FF that works for them and says they are not allowed to run emergencies here, which if its true, thats crazy.

Just another EMS in Western PA, which we do not need.

[Dustdevil]

AMR is usually an improvement over whoever they bought out. The tend to elevate standards across the board from what they were, with more accountability and medical professionalism. Of course, most ambulance drivers could not care less about any of that. All they know or care about is their benefits.

Of course, most of these improvements are the result of increased infrastructure and bureaucracy. Consequently, it costs them more to do business than the previous provider, yet they are doing no more business than the previous provider. Consequently, as many experience, they end up closing the shop altogether within a couple of years rather than face continued losses.

The good and bad of AMR taking over your shop is about equal, all things considered. Contrary to the hyperbole, they are not the Great Satan. If you were one of the boss' golden boys before, then you're not going to be happy when you are just another peon at AMR. But if you were a peon at the mom & pop shop, then you will be happy to have that clean start with AMR.

Smart people will roll with it and make the best of it. Idiots will sit around and whine about the good ol' days and try to buck the system, making themselves and everybody around them miserable, but blaming it on AMR. Bottom line is, if you don't like who you work for, move on. Nobody promises you a job for life.

[Doug]

Sorry, Dust but you're talking out your arse there....AMR in Massachusetts was the one that petitioned the state for the first Paramedic/Basic waiver, before that ALS ambulances in Massachusetts were required to be Medic/Medic or Medic/Intermediate crew. The claim was because they couldn't find enough ALS providers, as part of that waiver they were supposed to "promote and recruit" ALS providers, which they did not do becasue in the words of D.B and A.G. "Why should we pay for a medic when we can get 2 Basics?" They also successfully delayed the use of 12 lead ekgs in the field due to the "financial burdon." Regional Optional Meds were also left off the truck because of the added cost of provideing training and in some case special handleing. We lost out field vent for transfers because they refused to have the one we had inspected and serviced while not purchaseing a new one. Training was non-existant, I take that back..we did recieve yearly training on proper BILLING. They also tried to consolidate dispatch here to a location 60 miles away on outdated and unpredictable equipment, resulting in significant delays in care, I was dispatched to the wrong TOWN on a few of occasions. They also had a poor supply chain with routine supplies running out. In one case they purposely ordered the wrong sharps containers for the trucks because they were cheaper and we were told to "just tape it to the wall." When I raised a concern over this I was told to "F'ing quit then!!"

These are concrete complaints against the company itself and not the "whineings" of a disgruntled employee, though the way were treated did suck, as I said before in another post being called "Owned" and "Property" by the national VP of labor relations tends to be a poor motivator. Dust is right, I should have quit but, no excuse, I didn't know better, I just assumed that this was how EMS was.