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Comment by lutan1 on April 23, 2008 at 10:57pm

Doesn't it come down to education in many siutations? Obviously not in every case, but if we properly educate our community about the hazards of doing what they do, what constitutes a real emergency, etc and also educate our call takers and dispatchers (And perhaps couple this with a review of the protocols to ensure the right questions are being asked in the right way), we'd go along way to lessen the likelihood...

Comment by mike angle on April 22, 2008 at 9:34am

For the last 7 of my 10 yrs in ems i have said that i was not an emergency medical technician that i had been promoted to the very prestiges postion of EMERGENCY MEDICAL TRUCKDRIVER .IT seems that not only the elderly getting there well deserved blue cards but a lot of very capable young adults have been abusing the system because they are to lazy to get a job and support themselves and whatever childern they have brought into this uncertain world don't get me wrong it's not the childerns fault

Comment by Rescuefrog on April 21, 2008 at 8:09pm

I hear you, It took me almost 9 months to complete my medic internship because of the types of calls you get. Out of 230 calls I had 6 full arrest, 4 criticals, less than half ALS and half of that BlS and the last half BS. I don't mind giving care to those that need it or even the ones that is a simple call that can wait and go POV but are to scare to wait. It the ones that start vomiting at 17:00 and call at midnight and their barely vomiting any more and want to go to the hospital. It's the one that uses our services to transport to the hospital and get released(suddenly feel better) and go downtown to shop or visit relatives in jail. It's the ones sitting in jail who use this time to get out and get a glimpse of the real world (probably shouldn't have done wrong). But like Matt and Annette said, keep are heads up and considerate it as practice for the real calls. Maybe we should advocate for the practice calls to count as OTEP hrs.

Comment by Matt Whitmire on April 21, 2008 at 10:25am

I totally understand your pain man. It happens to me at work all the time, but we have to keep our heads up if we're gonna make it to retirement. I guess the way you have to look at is, that these patients pay our salary, and they serve as practice for the big call. We need more public education in this area, but I can only envision it getting worse.

Comment by Timothy Overly on April 21, 2008 at 9:41am

They all seem to have the "magic" blue Medicaid/Medicare card that pays for everything. It's cheaper for them to take the ambulance than a taxi. This isn't meant to be a slam to those who really need these services, just to those who abuse it. I used to hate going to a real emergency and having the patients first worry being the cost, not their life. Or the patient who had a minor headache but their "magic" card gave them a free ambulance ride to the ER, instead of going to a clinic for care.That is why I no longer work as a Paramedic on an ambulance anymore.

Comment by Annette on April 19, 2008 at 12:54pm

Trust me...I hear ya....I try to tell myself I'm practicing for the "real patients". I think public awareness PR campaigns are our best hope. This seems to be getting worse in the Emergency Rooms also. Abuse of the entire system in general is draining our resources. I often stand there with a "smile" on my face thinking "This is not a LIFE threatening emergency, why don't you get in the car?". But then again, we can't expect it to be all "glory"......gotta pay for it with "guts"....sigh....I'd guess that 25% of my calls truly need ALS intervention, and that's being generous.

Comment by Firefighter Nation WebChief on April 19, 2008 at 10:27am

This probably will get better response in the EMS forum...

Comment by michael on April 19, 2008 at 7:42am

Its no better in an urban enviornment. Typical 24 hour day we'll do 15-24 calls, 2-3 real emergencies. I finally gave in to the idea that we are a publicly funded private ambulance company. 911? Not just for emergencies anymore.