Downgrade to EMS not affecting citizens- TX

[CBEMT]

This means the fire department does not have paramedics responding to calls, said Lt. Russ Bassham of the Joshua Fire Department.

He said certified paramedics are two steps above emergency medical technicians and one step above intermediate emergency medical technicians.

However, “basic-medical service responders can cover 90 to 95 percent of what advanced level can do,” he said.

http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/johnson...eyword=topstory

[WolfmanHarris]

Now which one is Fire folks out there? Does fire need ALS so that you can get a Paramedic to their side right away on an engine with no ability to transport or is it not a big deal because the service providing transport is there at the same time or within a minute? My head's spinning a bit on this one.

[Kiwiology]

However, “basic-medical service responders can cover 90 to 95 percent of what advanced level can do,” he said.

Um ..... since, when exactly? Correct me if I am wrong but let's see ...

- Start an IV .... nope

- Give drugs .... nope

- Use a manual defibrillator .... nope

- ECG analysis .... nope

- Advanced airways .... nope

- Needle thoracostomy .... nope

- Cricothryrotomy .... nope

- Advanced assessment .... nope

Geez, I am not sure where this guy went to school but if a Basic can do "95 percent" of what a Paramedic can do on thier education I am worried!

Hey, maybe it's just as well I'll probably end up in Texas to get my Paramedic, let's see ... if I can do 95% of what a Paramedic can do as a basic with 150 hours, hmm, should only take me 157.5 hours to get my Paramedic, sweet! Not.

[spenac]

Idiots. Probably some worthless yankee trash that moved to Texas. :twisted:

And the paper knows its BS because they, even after I went through the hassle to register, will not allow comments on the topic. :evil:

[jbanagas]

I bet he meant to say is that most EMS calls are BLS, but kind of scary when you need ALS right away.

[WolfmanHarris]

Maybe he was, but I'm not going to put word in his mouth for him. This feels like someone talking out of both sides of their mouth to me. "Hey ALS was great, but really guys it was gravy. We were just doing that little extra for ya, but unfortunately it's not gonna work out right now." My bull***t sensor's flashing.

[Dustdevil]

Okay, this is my neck of the woods. I was a medic in that county (as well as a cop in that city) for a few years. That article is a train wreck, and even more so if you're not a local.

CareFlite refers to the non-profit corporate ambulance service that covers the entire county from three or four stations. Previously, Johnson County was run by a hospital-based, county-wide EMS. CareFlite ground is associated with the CareFlite aeromedical service, but not the same thing. Just don't want anyone thinking that they are sending helicopters to every EMS run out there, because that is certainly how it sounds if you're not from there.

A grand total of one (1) town in Johnson County runs their own ambulance, and does not depend upon CareFlite for service. Although, that one town ends up calling CareFlite for back-up constantly, since they only have one ambulance of their own. Every other town and community in the county utilises CareFlite.

Joshua is one of the busier VFDs in the county, and like all the others, they do first response. Even though it's a ten minute run to Joshua for the closest CareFlite ambulance, they still usually beat the firemonkeys to the scene because it almost always takes two to three tones to get any of them to respond, if at all. They had a couple of Fort Worth firemen who lived in the town that were medics, and volunteered for awhile, but apparently they quit volunteering. But that's the only reason they even had any medics at all. And I believe that only the one town with the ambulance, as well as the county seat, are the only towns in the entire county that have any medics working at the ALS, so it's not like Joshua is dropping to some unheard of level.

The reason that this "downgrade" has not hurt the community is simple. Their medics never were a factor to begin with. They had one or two total, and they rarely were available to respond. And I don't think they even had a full compliment of ALS equipment to work with in the first place. Basically, they were "ALS" in name only. And the name of their licensure level is all that has changed.