RE: Rural Metro
BY: Chris Nold to Firedog on Fri Oct 18 1996 01:33 am
 > 
 > When I worked for R/M, they had recently bought and merged 7 local
 > services into one. They always used Florida as an example, and we heard
 > that ya'lls moral was great. Now, I can't remember if it was a certain
 > city or what, but how IS the moral around your place? In Dallas, when I
 > left, it was rock bottom...
Rural/Metro Ambulance Orlando is at the top of the moral pile as far as I can
tell from my visits to the other operations.  We have are problems but, most 
of
the people here are happy.  RMA provides all the EMS services for the MEtro
Orlando area.  Orange Country has proposed to start transporting Emergnecy
Calls in order to make up for a 3 million dollar short fall in the FD budget. 
But as most people who have done this for a while know, the interfacility 
work 
what pays the bills.  We have approx.  100,000 Calls a year.  70% of which is
911.  Our budget is set for 124 transports a day.  We average about 200 - 250
calls with transports 56% of the time.  We deal with 4 cities and 1 county
fire dept.  The cities, Orlando, Winter Park, Maitland, Eatonville all 
espond
to EMS calls, and we respond to Transport.  The county FD also response to 
11
call in the un-incorporated areas.  The county has started to transport
patients from these calls in the far east end of their area.  Most of the
combat personnel of the fire dept. (City/County) don't feel that this will 
help
the counties FD budget problems.  We do a lot of uncollectable business here
with 911.   We have about 200 employees, 28 ambulances, and we have just 
azed
out our 24 hour trucks.  Now all units are on a 12 to 14 hour schedule.  Most
of our Ambulances our new, they are Wheeled Coach Mods Turbos.  Which are
pretty nice.  We made 22 million dollar in this operation last year.  We have 
a
17 million dollar operating budget.  Most of all employees are involoved in
some sort of policy making committee.  This helps a great deal with moral a
lot.  We still have profact, but it is being fazed out.  A starting full time
employee paramedic makes about $26,000 including profact.  Paramedics who 
ave
been here 5 years or more make about $38,000 though when profact was at it's
best Bobby usery said that she made $47,000.  Profact can average for a 
erson
doing a 12 hour shift, 7-8 transports a shift, about 250-300 dollars a pay
period.  The nicest appeal to our system is that we can drive around all over
the county.  We are not restricted to one area.  So that makes the day not so
rough if you don't feel like working.  And for those gun ho young people, 
hey
can go down town and run all the gunshot, stabbings, and overdose they wish.  
I
avoid such calls myself.  Unless I have a student.   Anyway,  I am pleased
here, and most of my co-worker seem happy.
Andrew
--- GEcho 1.11+
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