Need info on AMR

[fwmedic]

I currently work for AMR in a pum. I really hope someone outbids them. AMR promises a lot but hardly ever acts. Response times are terrible, costs are through the roof. Our fleet is in disrepair and the ssm versus the street medics is an ongoing issue here that management won't even touch. We have been complaining about these things for years without any change just a lot of hollow promises. That is why we just voted in a union, which AMR fought tooth and nail. The contract is up in a couple of years and I don't see them staying.

[AFNMWKISKA]

I worked for AMR in Las Vegas for many years, it like all companies has it's good and bad. It started as Mercy Ambulance and that went bankrupt and then found backers and changed the name to AMR. It has had it's share of competitors and Rural Metro,ie Southwest Ambulance has bid and taken part of the city from AMR and every time that AMR doesn't make it in it's 9 minute response time they loose another part of the city to the competitor. Experience is experience and make the best of it. With a good partner anything can be OK.

[Beagle189]

I thank you all for the info. The PUM in my area is not a "Done Deal". The County and cities have to come to an agreement first- then form a board etc...etc... We already suffer from what most EMS services suffer from - lack of good funding, strange if not idiotic management. For some the PUM idea is the savior, for others it is the end of EMS. Anyway there is no guarantee on who would get the service bid -if it comes to that. My main concern was AMR because they have the financial backing to put my service in a bind before a bid comes to fruition, and just in case AMR got the bid I wanted to know what they were really like to work for.

[irish_emt_in_tx]

I currently work for AMR in San Antonio, TX. We have the contract to run all 911 calls for Bexar County, as well as contracts with all but one of the hospitals for transfers and Metro is in the process of losing that one contract we don't have over to us anyway. I can say that I personally have not had any negative experiences as of yet. The city is looking into either having a cooperative contract with us to assist San Antonio EMS(which is run by San Antonio Fire Dept.) for 911 calls within the city limits, or have us run them all. We also just received a 10% raise across the board for Basics, Intermediates and Paramedics. Benefits are good, there is ample overtime due to having Brook Army Medical Center here where many injured soldiers are flown into. We do all the flight line picks ups for them.

Now having said that, I agree with those who have stated that there may be differences in the area that you are in. AMR is a multistate company with operations all over the place. Not all OPS will be the same.

[SSG G-man]

Since I am the new guy, job stealing volly in a fire based system... Can some one explain what the Public Utility Model is ans what the SSM (or was it SSN) is? Thanks for the info.

[Beagle189]

Public Utility Model is a EMS service made to be like other utliities i.e. Electric companies, water companies, gas companies, even garbage companies, where a local gov't gives an exclusivity contract to one agency to run emergency and non-emergency calls for that given area. That's my understanding anyway.

SSM = System Status Management - Computers crunch numbers of calls/ transfers in districts and come up with estimate where the next call will occur and the "System" moves or "posts" an ambulance to that area. No real ambulance stations except maintenence / headquarters / dispatch.

[Dustdevil]

Tonnes of info on the PUM available on Google, but basically it is setting up your EMS system as if it were a public utility (phone company, electric company, cable company, etc...). You authorize a single private provider to provide exclusive service to your political subdivision, supposedly with that exclusivity allowing them to make so much money that they don't have to charge you a subsidy. But again, it has NEVER worked out that way anywhere, and it only ends up being a rotating contract just like before you implemented the PUM.

SSM = Status System Management, also greatly covered by Google. The same idiots that sell PUM sell SSM, which is a computerised system of posting your available ambulances strategically across the city instead of putting them in fixed stations. It's where the ambo's don't have stations. They just drive around the city all day like a taxi, and some moron behind a computer decides what street corner they ought to be sitting on at any given moment.

Both of the above are components of the "high performance" model of EMS, which is simply a euphemism meaning squeezing the maximum amount of work per hour out of the minimum amount of personnel on duty. High performance, SSM, or PUM have nothing that intrinsically increase medical sophistication or quality of service rendered, as might be implied.

[Ridryder 911]

Hey Dust, ironically U.K. is here in OKC visiting and observing how EMSA is set up. I will attach a link as soon as the news story airs.

Wonder what b.s. was given....

R/R 911

[chazmedic]

MEMS has been the PUM provider for Little Rock, North Little Rock, and a large chunk of central AR since 1984. They win the contract everytime it comes back up. According to sources, they have been in the "black" for about 5 years. According to employees of MEMS, they have dropped a lot of the street corner SSM for small stations around the city in the past few years. They are also expanding right now. They just got 2 good size cities and another county. But, they have a high turnover rate. Pay isn't that great either. A lot of guys leave for area fire departments like Jacksonville (which has ALS ambulances), North Little Rock, and Benton (which have paramedic rescue units). I wonder if MEMS is the big prize in end. Rural/Metro tried that a few years ago by setting up shop in White County.

[sboykin]

i work for amr in south mississippi. i not up on all the management office politics that happen with all companies i feel i work with some of the greatest people in the ems field. my coworkers are always willing to answer any questions i may have . after the hurricane the core group of our division really came together with a lot of outside help . so i guess it can be what you make of it my advice would be to stay out of pissing contest and focus on patient care.