Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Why is it never discussed that EMS take over fire?

Did I get your attention yet?

This quote from Collier County, FL Medical Director Bob Tober (in reference to fire absorbing EMS) sure got my attention:

“Somehow, providing BLS and the initial ALS (which is all they are really trained to do) is not enough for them because of 1) control, 2) power, 3) influence, 4) some revenue from transport, 5) justification of their existence,” Tober wrote. “Do not forget that 90 percent of what fire (rescue) does is medical. Since EMS is the medical specialist job description in our county, why is it never discussed that EMS take over fire?”

Wow.

Read the rest here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's true. I never thought of it that way, but it really does make sense. We'd see a drastic change in the way things are done, I'm sure.

Good for the medical director for making comments such as this. I'm glad someone is bringing some attention to EMS organization and administration. We've been gobbled up long enough, and need some representation somewhere.