I have heard a lot of talk about ambulance service, so I made a call to a couple of friends of mine to get the facts. Here are the two offers side by side for you to review for yourself.
First up...Maury and Williamson
Next up...HCA TriStar
Let's make this simple.
In a nutshell:
* Quantity...HCA TriStar is offering 2 ambulances for 5 years. Williamson and Maury Counties are splitting the cost of 1 ambulance for 3 years.
* Quality...Williamson Medical Center provides outstanding service, low response times, and fantastic personnel. HCA TriStar will be subject to the city's standards regarding the level of service, which will absolutely meet or exceed Williamson Medical's standards. In other words FANTASTIC SERVICE to the hospital of your choice.
I appreciate the fact that WMC and MRH finally came to the table with an offer that is at least an improvement on our current situation, but it is not even close to the offer being developed between the City of Spring Hill and HCA TriStar.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Ambulance Service
Posted by Gorilla in the Corner at 9:18 AM
Labels: Spring Hill Hospital
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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is a series of personal opinions and is not meant to reflect an official position by the City of Spring Hill.
21 comments:
I can see the need for a hospital and some form of better ems service inside the city. What bothers me is that the general public is being led down a path without all of the facts and in the rush to get a service we are getting a bad deal. Most people see a white truck with red lights and think they are alike but in reality there are vast differences. There is another option if spring hill wants to have full control of the service. The ambulances could be staffed and run by the fire department.
Tri star states in the letter of intent that they can contract with someone else to staff the trucks. The pool of private services in this area all operate on about the same level. They provide routine transports not emergency calls. They all meet the basic state guidlines for als service by providing a paramedic.
The city will have limited say in the protocols the service operates under. The protocols are set by the medical director for the service and all services most follow DOT and state destination guidlines for transport. This means that critical traumas go to vandy and critical peds patients go to vandy peds.
I saw nothing in tri stars letter that guarantees that the trucks will not be used for doctors visits or dialysis runs when not on emergencies. Williamson ems does not do those types of runs. I think everyone needs to slow down and make sure all options are explored.
http://www.tn.regentsdegrees.org/press.htm
Check Chandler out in these videos....this is sweet---he is wearing a lab coat acting as if he is a Doctor. Hey Chandler, you are a nurse, a nurse who thinks he knows everything.
By the way, it is the University of Memphis, not Memphis State
The Fire Department has recently scene a number of its members certify to the BLS level. This means theyt would be very capable of staffing the ambulances. Since both the Ambulance and Fire Dpeartment respond to all calls today, it makes sense for the Fire Department to handle this responsibility as well. By taking the Fire Department to a BLS level, this also would help in reducing the ISO rating, and eventually lower property taxes. Let the Fire Department do the job they were hired for, fire service, as well as EMS services.
I am writing this letter in response to some of the comments I have seen in the media
concerning the hospital and ambulance proposal that the city of Spring Hill board of Mayor
and Alderman is wanting. I am a paramedic of 14 years. I am currently employed by
Williamson Medical Center's EMS. I am an instructor in Advanced Cardiac Life Support,
Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Basic Trauma Life Support, CPR, and a state
of Tennessee Instructor/Coordinator. I am concerned about the ambulance service that the
Mayor is telling his community is being proposed by Tri-Star. To my recollection Tri Star
does not own or operate an ambulance service. This for profit facility is most likely going
to contract out, to the lowest bidder, a private for profit service, to make these
emergency calls. A statement the mayor made was that he was confident that the ambulances
Tri Star will provide will be equal to or better than what is in place currently. My
question is what specific items will make this equal to or better than what is currently in
place. I honestly take offense to the comments that basically anyone can perform to our
level of expertise. Here at Williamson we have a very highly educated group with numerous
degrees in paramedic science, business, and nursing. We train a minimum of four hours of
classroom each month above and beyond the continuing education required by the state of
Tennessee. Our paramedics are mandated to be certified in advanced cardiac life support,
pediatric advanced life support, and basic or pre-hospital trauma life support. If they do
not keep those credentials current they do not work on our ambulances. The coty of Spring Hill will NOT find these qualifications on any private service. The companies just will not justify the expense due to the majority of their business being NON EMERGENCY. We have some of the
latest lifesaving equipment including automatic ventilators, CPR machines, Cardiac monitors
with 12 lead and capnography capabilities. Our on board mobile data terminals send
information directly into the ambulances via computer, that give us addresses and patient
information. We have satellite imagery mapping that assists us in getting to the call
quickly. This technology is not mandated by the state and does not exist on all ambulances or any of the private services to my knowledge. Again, this technology is just not needed in the NON EMERGENCY world.
Our response times are quicker than any other service around our immediate area. We have some of the latest lifesaving equipment including automatic ventilators, CPR machines, Cardiac monitors
with 12 lead and capnography capabilities. Our on board mobile data terminals send
information directly into the ambulances via computer, that give us addresses and patient
information. We have satellite imagery mapping that assists us in getting to the call
quickly. This technology is not mandated by the state and does not exist on all ambulances.
Our response times are quicker than any other service around our immediate area. We have
quality assurance in place that further guarantees the citizens we serve are getting the
best there is to offer. We have systems in place to minimize morbidity and mortality from
stroke or acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). We have a very active Medical Control
consisting of three Physicians that work with us side by side in creating standing orders
and protocols that best fit our community. We staff 9 and sometimes 10 ambulances in
Williamson County. We live and work here and best know how to treat our residents and
visitors. A private service will have a hard time competing with that. I personally work
closely with Spring Hill Fire Department offering education free of charge so that they can
better fulfill the duties in which they have been trained. We as an ambulance service have
evaluated the Spring Hill Fire Department in the same competency process as our
professional staff so that they can function as they are individually licensed by the
state. Training that they are NOT currently using awaiting the Mayor's decision.
If the citizens of Spring Hill think for one minute that Tri Star is going to give you
something for nothing you are sadly being misled. Private ambulance services do provide an
irreplaceable service in allowing us as an Emergency provider to concentrate on just that,
Emergencies. Our staff is extremely experienced in providing emergency care. Not all
ambulance services provide that capability. It does not matter that you see the word
ambulance on the side or if it has red lights and sirens. What matters is what kind of
experienced staff you have, what equipment they carry to meet the needs of your community.That cannot be bought or inticed to come into your town. it must be earned with experience.
We provide that and more here at Williamson Medical Center EMS.I am not in support of the
new hospital or especially the ambulance service. I am also not being coerced or asked to speak by my
administrators. I am genuinely concerned that someone who may not know about how EMS
(Emergency Medical Services) operates is trying to lead a group of people with limited
information. Citizens of Spring Hill, do some research into what your current ambulance
service is providing you. Allow someone who works in this field to tell you what you
already have ready and in place. Visit an ambulance station;the closeest one being one mile north of your city limits.See first hand what we have. I
am confident that the service we provide cannot be beat by a service contracted by Tri
Star.
Scott Storey, AA EMT-P, I/C
I don't know Chandler, but it was Memphis State until 10 years ago when the name changed. If you graduated before that your diploma says Memphis State and I'm sure those alum will always call it that. Just to clarify.
Hey anonymous, when you decide to stop hiding behind the anonymous tag and be a man, I will answer your comments. Thus far all you have managed to do is try to run me down and have not discussed a single issue. By the way, here is a big news flash, physicians are not the only ones who wear lab coats. For someone who chooses to accuse others of being a "know it all" you sure display your lack of knowledge every time you post. By the way, when you get prove to be so successful that the Tennessee Board of Regents wants to use you in an ad, we will care what you have to say.
So who are you and why are you so foolish?
Hey Jenkins,
Just how much are you making from the sell of the hospital? So much that you can sit on here all day and attack me? How about writing us another book? CA
Gorilla,
Allow me to apologize to Mr. Jenkins. I have since realized that it is not he who is hurling these insults. I also now know why the person is posting anonymously. It is amazing that the very people who accuse me of stating my view for compensation are the ones doing so. IP addresses are wonderful things. Mr. Jenkins, again I apologize.
Much to the relief of everyone who seems to be furious over my opinion, I will only be posting on my site www.theothersideoftheissue.com so that I can monitor the IP addresses and see who exactly it is attacking me.
On final thought, do I think we need hospital,NO. I think we need longer urgent care hours and more EMS coverage. However many of you believe that we do need a hospital, and those beliefs need to be addressed, as perception is reality many times. I urge each of you to DEMAND services equitable to the services provided by the other two hospitals if this CON goes through. Why should Spring Hill, if it is going to get a hospital, have to settle for less than what Columbia and Franklin have? If you are going to do something, do it right. I will be responding to your posts here on my site,so that I am not censored. CA
This is a huge mistake. THe key phrase is that HCA may contract with an outside company. HCA doesn't run ambulances. They always contract out to private ambulance services that provide services to their hospitals. These services do transports 95% of the time from hospitals to nursing homes and almost never do emergency runs. It would be safe to say that the medics haven't given and ALS drug or therapy in years. There is no education, no training, no accounting for their skills. There will be dramatic drop in patient care if the city does this. Why do I know this? Because I am a paramedic with 13 years experience (who doesn't work with either Maury or Williamson).
Stu is correct in saying that HCA does not personally run ambulance service. They do contract out providers.
I will say that I have heard a few rumblings that I need to keep quiet about for the time being, but I can assure you that Spring Hill will have the absolute best service available.
Frankly, I can't wait to share what is going on, but for now I must remain quiet as negotiations are ongoing.
As a citizen, and a fairly well educated and informed one, I have very little concern over the HCA TriStar proposal. In the end, the CITY dictates the qualifications of the paramedics and the equipment.
Trust me, no worries!
Let them all talk, and later we can all look back and see what actually shakes out!
It will be fun :)
First Stu you are right on the mark. To boldbeauty the facts are that the comments about private ambulances are correct. I have known Scott Story professionaly for most of my 15 years of fire experience in williamson county. What he is saying is right. It is not that the private services do not have emt training. What happens is that all emts and paramedics go through the same basic training. When they are hired by a service such as Williamson (which is hard to do) they recieve additional training geared toward emergency patient care. They also spend their time responding to emergencies to get real world experience and use what they have learned. Emts hired by private services get little or no additional training. They spend time mainly taking vital signs while riding with patients to and from routine doctors visits etc. They are not placed in situations where they have to use their skills to assess patients and perform emergency treatment. I have worked for private services to help pay the bills so I have seen what I am talking about. Nursing homes use these private services to transport patients for routine visits.If you want more verification check with these same nursing homes to see whom they call for emergency conditions with the residents (county ems ambulances and the fire department. we are sent almost everyday.)
gorilla in the corner
Your confidence would be reassuring if I did not see things from a field experience point of view. The voices that I hear speaking out from the emergency field seem to be ignored. The answer we are getting is trust us we will get as good of a service as we have now. There are county services that are only doing emergency work that do not equal the service we have now. My experience tells me that any of the private services operating in middle Tn. will not be able to equal what we have now regardless of what is on paper. Unless the city is going to hire a doctor as a medical director, own the trucks,pay the staff, provide the liability and malpractice insurance then they they will have a limited say in how the service operates. No service public or private that I have ever worked around is going to let one city change or rewrite its standard operating procedures for only two ambulances. Their hiring and training policies will remain the same. This leads us right back to the same pool of employees. The city can not dictate that a service have different qualifications for only the employees that work on the spring hill trucks and not all of the other units in the company. If the city has already answered all of these questions then now is the time to let the public know, not after the paperwork is done and we have no say and no options. I can not have no worries and just let them work it all out. The risk to my family is too great if I ever need an ambulance and the city made a bad deal. Until I hear concrete facts I have to keep warning anyone who will listen that this could be a bad deal.
to anon 5/22 12:30
I went through the same certification process with franklin that the firefighters in spring hill went through. The bls(basic life support) level of care that they are working for is not the same as the als(advanced life support) that the paramedics on the ambulances provide. It is designed to be used to begin assessment and assist ems with further patient care. You are very correct ems is a critical role that the fire department plays and they do a good job. You are also right that they could also staff the ambulances but they would have to hire paramedics. This would be a good way for spring hill to have its own ems service.
This is a truly scary proposition for the population of Spring Hill. I want a real emergency responder with ACLS training for my loved ones.
to protective mother gorilla
You are right this is a scary proposition for spring hill. I have posted several things on this site trying to make people see that this is a bad idea. I am glad to see that someone else is not comfortible with our ems going to the lowest bidder. You have a full service ems provider with the latest advanced life support equipment , training and the experienced crews needed. What needs to happen is the mayor needs to stop the nuclear diplomacy and find a deal to keep williamson that pleases both sides and then he needs to allow the fire department to operate at their level of certification. The scare tactics have started again with the article in the Advertiser news. People are being scared by one call were 1223 (the unit in thompson station) was on another emergency and there was a longer response time. Having two units in spring hill will not prevent this from happing. If hca only has two units all it will take is one two car accident with more than one patient (happens almost every day ) and then there will be zero units in spring hill. Then what? I do not work for williamson but i have known most of the people in the service professionaly for most of my 15 years in emergency work. Everyone should get educated and learn the truth. Go to an ems station or go to the ems headquarters talk to Alan Lovett or Mark King. Both are first class people and run a first class service. Talk to the crews, look at the equipment and see for yourself.
did either of you actually read the WMC and MRH ambulance proposal???
is that the best that they could do in 6 to 9 months (depending who you ask) of negotiations???
to anon 8:39
yes i did. If the proposal is not equitable to both sides then go back and negotiate more. Do not put the city in the position of no options with comments like "too little too late". Getting a second rate service just to thumb our noses at williamson does not seem to me to be negotiating a better deal.
But anon, to understand the way the folks who support this hospital think, you have to google the word ambulance and read the first article and then call yourself an expert. How foolish of you to actually use your extensive training as a paramedic. :)
to anon 21:35
Silly me to think that people might want to listen to myself and a few others i have seen post that work in the emergengy field. What worries me is that the ones who google the word ambulance are our elected officials and we get to live (or not) with the results.
I agree. These will be the same people that we have to take care of when they helped create this whole mess. It is kinda like the alcoholic who wants you to blame you when he is bleeding to death. To the public we will always be wrong. They know so much more than us. That is why they smoke, eat fatty foods, and drink and drive. I mean what do we know? My dad used to have a saying : A hard head makes a soft ass. This will be a perfect example. You want hear it from the two month experts here but thanks for all you do.
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