Its official, im starting a 911 service.

[PrissyEMT]

:wink: So can I just go ahead and take a BLS position for now??? LOL

[cosgrojo]

16 dollars an hour for BLS starting pay? Is that normal for PA? It seems extremely high in comparison to Massachusettes who starts at 12 an hour... hmmmmm.... so you are giving preferential hiring treatment to fellow emtcity.commers? Right? :wink:

[PRPGfirerescuetech]

16 dollars an hour for BLS starting pay? Is that normal for PA? It seems extremely high in comparison to Massachusettes who starts at 12 an hour... hmmmmm.... so you are giving preferential hiring treatment to fellow emtcity.commers? Right? :wink:

Going rate for 911 BLS is 13-14.50 here. 16 is high, but will give me a edge on acquiring top providers in the area. Same goes for ALS pay.

[medik8]

PRPG....I'm SO there.... I still get to be chief, right?

When do I start, hon? :wink:

XOXOXO

8

[Eric]

well we all know i need a job right now that were i worked at fired over becoming hurt I'm in! Where do I sign biggest thing would be i have IN cret and NR and KY so what would i need there I'm a EMT-b

[Nate]

Eh, I'll hold off for 5 years and see how it fairs...and to wait for the paid sick/vacation time, 401K, uniform allowance, and other "perks."

[Eyegor]

I don't know if this applies in PA or not. Do you need a Certificate of Need from DOH? I'm sure somebody is providing 911 service in your proposed service area. When is the contract up? etc.

2nd. In the beginning, to get quality equipment I would consider leasing for the first 2 years or so. After that I would think purchasing would give you better equity (assuming you're buying new). This could save some up front costs without sacrificing the tools your crews are going to need.

If this is all stuff you've already covered, feel free to ignore it.

BTW: When I worked in NE PA several years ago, the ALS was all hospital based, although several sub-contracted to commercial providers. Is this still the case?

[Dustdevil]

People are the heart, soul, and backbone of any organization. What is the personnel breakdown? Is it large enough to provide adequate resources to do the job, yet small enough to easily manage the quality? How are you addressing the recruitment and selection of your people? Is there a large enough pool of local applicants that you can keep it local? Is the community requiring that you give preference to locals? Is the pool large enough to be extremely selective, or are you going to have to pretty well take on any 350 pounder with a patch and a pulse? What minimum requirements will applicants be required to meet? What testing and selection process will be used? What will be the pre-implementation orientation process and period of your initial employees since they will have no "experienced" preceptors or FTO's who are familiar with the company or the system? Are there local medic schools? What is their length and, more importantly, their quality? Are they accredited? Do they teach on a schedule that will work with your employees' schedules? Are they turning out graduates in adequate numbers to keep you supplied with new blood? Have you looked into establishing a preceptor relationship with the school?

You say the service will be ALS. What exactly does that mean, personnel wise? Dual medics? Mixed crews? Separate basic and medic trucks? What about first responders? Will you have fast cars or "intercept" vehicles? Mobile supervisors? Have you established working relationships with other responding agencies, such as fire departments and police services? What are you doing to make those agencies comfortable with your agency and personnel? Are you integrating them, or just using them? Are you making good relations with those people a priority with your personnel so they won't be out there mouthing off and destroying your image?

What about medical direction and clinical direction? Do you have a medical director? Is he experienced in this sort of operation, or just another MD who thinks that $1000 a month to sign papers is a good deal? What do you want his involvement to be? What does he want his involvement to be? Administrative? Educational? Supervisory and QC? Is he going to have a personal relationship with each and every medic, or is he just going to be a faceless signature on their protocol book? How progressive is he? Will he pretty much sign off on any drug or procedure you slide in front of him? Or worse, does he believe that all this fancy ALS stuff is a waste of time and not want to hear about the state of the art? Does he trust your medics to make their own decisions, or does he want to play "mother may I?" Is he open enough to expand his trust as he gets to know your medics? Is he firm enough to put his foot down when he finds a loser in the system? Is he negotiable on issues of policy, procedure, and protocol? Does he consider the current research and evidence based literature, or is he firmly stuck on "this is how I do it, and it's my way or the highway" without any logical consideration?

People. People. People. That's what it's all about.

[Dustdevil]

Oh yeah, what about your image? Do you have a corporate logo? What does it say about your agency? Is it the same old SOL everybody else uses, or is it something unique and memorable? Is it easily recognized at a glance, or is it intricate and "busy?" Is it easily replicated for letterheads, embroidery and vehicle livery?

What about a corporate motto? Something unique and meaningful? Something simple yet profound enough that your personnel will take it to heart? Something you can be proud enough of to put on the sides of your ambulances?

What about your corporate philosophy and mission statement? Did you lift a stock mission statement from somebody else and change the names, or did you put your true goals and core philosophy into words that people will understand, appreciate, and respect?

Uniforms? Are you going to dress your people like "public safety" officers, security guards, janitors, or medical professionals? Are you using your imagination -- and possibly even professional image resources -- to give your personnel a unique, identifiable, simple, functional, and respectable professional image at a reasonable cost? Or are you buying the same bull$hit cop shirt off the rack, complete with pins, badges and patches from Galls, that every other wanker wears?

What about the image your ambos portray? Are you going to give them a unique, identifiable, and professional livery that provides both safety and positive public image? Or are you going to make them look like fire trucks, so the fire department gets credit for all your hard work? Or are you going to put such a large and gaudy logo on the side that people don't even recognize it as a professional vehicle? Is safety and visibility a priority in the design of your ambo livery? What about the lighting? Is it specified based upon sound scientific principles of visibility? Or are you going for the cheap way out? Or worse yet, are you just going for what "looks cool" or "everybody else" does?

[tinman694]

Oh yeah, what about your image? Are you going to dress your people like... janitors, or medical professionals?

I like the janitor look...

These are major concerns...and a corporate logo is something I would also suggest be done as quickly as possible.

Through the successful small companies I have started, having a logo helps in the marketing aspects a great deal--but you need a solid business plan, plenty of capital-and the brains to hire the best people you can and...stick to the plan!