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 Travis Watts/Democrat-News The new kitchen will offer ambulance workers the chance to prepare a quick meal in between emergency calls. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo] |
The new building may seem quite large by comparison with the old building, and some Saline County residents have expressed concern over the cosmetics of the new structure. The new ambulance building has been referred to as the "Taj Mahal" by commenters on The Marshall Democrat-News Web site.
"The buildings and structures around here represent the community," said Ambulance District board member Corbin Allred, responding to the "Taj Mahal" references.
 Travis Watts/Democrat-News The Saline County Ambulance district held an open house for its new building Friday, June 20. The structure, which has been referred to at the "Taj Mahal," has been a heated issue because of its cosmetic differences from the previous building. The new ambulance building is located on the corner of English and Arrow Streets. [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo] |
"It's an education issue," said 911 Commissioner Jesse Coslet. "People (don't) understand the workings of an emergency service."
"Go look at what they (emergency workers) lived in before," he said. "When they did this open house I thought they should have had one at the old building and one at the new building."
Allred said the ambulance district was "pushing liability issues" while in the old building because a lack of space forced men and women to room together.
"It was hurting morale," he added. "(The new building) gives us more room to move around in day-to-day operations."
Coslet said emergency service would improve drastically with the new building because of "easier response time" and "less fatigue on the crew."
In the old facility, dispatchers "could not have two ambulances out at once," a problem that has been alleviated with the new, more spacious building.
Director of Ambulance Operations Wade Kelling expressed confusion as to why the new ambulance building had become a controversial issue.
"We didn't raise taxes," he said. "It didn't cost anything other than what you're already paying."
The money required to fund the project was set aside over a period of several years, eliminating the need for an increase in taxes.
Kelling also said it was especially important for emergency workers to be comfortable during their grueling 48-hour shifts, which are "fairly common in the EMS world."
He added that the ambulance district responds to ten times the calls the fire department receives.
"It's very seldom they're in their quarters," Coslet said. "When they're here, we want them to relax a bit."
"Hopefully the crews will have better morale, which in turn is transferred to the patient," Allred said.
Contact Travis Watts at
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I have read some of the comments, not all, but most. I do not live in Marshall or even Saline County but my husband works at all three ambulances in Saline County. It's horrible to read the negative comments about the new base. We live in Sedalia and we wish we had an ambulance here that was worth something. We have out-dated equipment, bad trucks and rude personnel. When my husband came home and told me about the new base, he was excited. You see, since he works at all three bases, I don't get to see him much. He doesn't get to be HOME much. He loves being home. I have met some of the other personnel at SCAD3 and they are all nice. Wade is an awesome guy. These guys and girls give up so much to do work that most people won't. I like it when my husband comes home in a good mood from Marshall because he gets to relax between calls when he is there. I think it is a great investment to have a relaxing place to work, especially when they have to run horrific calls like that wreck that just happened. It is a very nice place to go to work for him and he loves it there. Good job SCAD3 for giving your Medics and EMT's a nice base!
StinkyPinky maybe you should look at mast again. Paramedics start out brand new making $16.17 and a brand new EMT is $14.20. That is a far far cry from what we make here. Emts after 5 plus years are only making 9.50 or so. Hummm. Competitive with mast are we......
OK,
Been there........the medic that died had left prior to dying.....yes, but he was one of three..and I think you definately know who and why the other two left.....furthermore, I have never told anyone to push away from the computer. I believe I said you were sad!!!! And as for the pay at SCAD,,,,,the pay has increased so they are competitive with MAST and other big districts across the state. Just look its public. I think you will be suprised how SCAD has improved, not only with the building, but the quality of employees and equipment. Let's just all get along and enjoy the new thing and hope WE never have to use it.........
Thankless job, I don't think so, the thanks come from holding that newborn baby that you just delivered or that little lady that puts her arms around you neck for a hug, and being there to help in the most traumatic and scarry times of their lives. Sure there is alot of tradegy in this job, and maybe if you feel that it is thankless or underpaid then it is time to get out.
Get the public involved, kind of hard to do when the board meetings are held during the day and only posted on the ambulance door. Most americans who are able work during the day to make a living to have insurance to help pay for your services. I guess we sometimes we forget that the taxpayers are the ones paying our salaries. And to you Stinky maybe you should do some history checking I do believe the one that passed away was no longer and had not been a scad employee for sometime. He was working at another ems station. As far as telling me to push away from the computer, thats kinda hypocritical, considering you were on the computer long before I was. And as far as the directors job goes, they gave it to the one who will do what they want,not the public.
OK,
Now here this, Saline Medic and Been there. Been there obviously, you are a very misinformed person if you say you know what is happening. Of the three "full time" people who have left in the last three years,,,, One died, one left for personal reasons and one was fired. Now you better do some research before spouting your yaps......You ARE both sad!!!!!
To all on this blog. I said I would not respond in the blog format to the questions that arise but would be happy to answer any questions put to me in other formats. I and my crew members seem to be getting attacked here. As I said in my previous blog entry the anonymity of a made up blog name gives people who have an ax to grind a forum to do so. Some of these people seem to be disgruntled former or present employees. I may even know who they are. Airing their personal grievences in the public format seems a little unprofessional to me. We like so many other operations have our internal politics. It's difficult to please all the people all the time. The issue of most of out staff not living in the District comes from the statewide shortage of paramedics. Of the six full time paramedics I am the only one who lives in the city. Four of our six full time EMTs live in the Dist. Three are in various stages of becoming paramedics. As for our staff not being able to work anywhere else. I can think of only two of our full time employees that do not work part time for another service or EMS related job. This I assure you is not because they can't but because it is their choice not to do so. As for the board not posting the Director Job. They are not required to post a job when a current employee is promoted into that position. It is the job of the Board of Directors to do what they feel is best for the Dist. I serve at their will. When my staff are being attacked I feel a need to defend them. I assure you all that Saline County Ambulance has as good a staff as anywhere in this state. They are dedicated and work hard. My job is to take care of them so they can take care of you. Now grind your ax's if you must. With freedom of speech also comes the responsibility to be as factual as possible in the public forum. Slander and Liable still aply. As I said before I am available to answer any real questions that the public has. It saddens me that after I said I would take my leave from this format that I had to come back to defend our staff. If you don't put your real name on it then it is not a complaint it's just; for the lack of a better word, whinning.
Wade Kelling, EMT-P
Dir of Amb Ops.
Been there and Saline Medic,
Can I ask why either of you took up the line of work you're currently involved in?
Concerned, Been there done that, again don't assume anyhing about who I am or what I have done. Chip, there is none, just facts, sorry they hurt. Again been there done that, can you say that.
Been there done that..
I think the reason that they do not work at their former jobs, is because they accepted positions at the Saline County Ambulance District.
I believe that SCAD #3 is still home based. New personnel were interviewed and hired when different shifts were arranged. I believe that 2 new paramedics were also hired to replace lost staff.
I don't believe that the district has suffered with the addition of the new staff. The district however is not quite the same with the staff that was lost for what ever reason.
Don't be angry with how things are now. If you do not agree with how things are done or how they are being ran...push away from the computer desk, knock that chip off your shoulder, attend the meetings, put forth your input into what ideas you have to make it better, when its election time run against the board members that you feel are not holding the publics best interest at heart.
Attacking the people that handle the numerous calls day in and day out does not accomplish anything, other than bring them down. If you have been in EMS for any amount of time, you know for the most part it is a thankless job. They provide an outstanding service and from what I understand provide outstanding care by doing their jobs to the best of their ability.
If you think your plan, ideas, or goals are in the best interest of the public and not personally motivated by some twisted hate or revenge notion then I have given you a few steps to take to make a difference. What will you do?
by the way , what makes you think you are so smart saline medic !!!! :]
Hey there Cutler06- honestly, no I haven't. I wanted to keep my figure at about 120 lbs. But thanks for asking.
Sometimes it hurts when true things come out that pepple don't like to hear. Do I know that they wourked other places, sure I do. Maybe you should check and see why they are no longer employed at these previous places. Maybe I know more that what you want me to know. Keep things at home, Scad was homebased, check out why its not now. I still think we have lost sight of whats most important, taking care of the public and not kissing up to the staff or board. We chose to do Ems because its what we love. should not expect to live in a Taj Mahal.
Been there done that wrote "Keep things at home. We also should question why most of the staff are from out of town and cant get jobs other places"
Why does this sound like you are insulting the staff that works at SCAD? Do you know each staff member personally and why they are working for SCAD? Do you know if this is the only district that they work for?
Good point on the fact that hardly any of the staff there are from marshall or the district they cover but if they paid more maybe you could get people to live here. Also you get what you pay for. The new director well he does what Mr. Allred wants and only what he wants, who do you think got the board to slip him into that nice bossy position. hummmmm
Come on folks. I think alot of people have lost sight of the important issues and like to make comments on things that they really have no knowledge about. I think our most important issue is taking care of the public. Do I have a right to talk about any of this issues, you bet I do. I have been in Ems for many years, and do know what is going on. So if anyone would like to challenge that, it would be fine. Do the ambulance guys need a new building, sure they do, the only problem is it will look just like the other one, because it was not taking care of. Why do we need our sleeping quarters on the first floor and offices upstairs, how easy is that for the patients and families. Was anyone questioning the way the director was hired. Our public dollars at work, it wasnt advertised. The one there know does what the board members want and not always what is good for the community. Yeah that money did not raise our taxes but sure could have been better managed.It is not a matter of who's job is more important. They defend this building, then why wasnt anything used from our local community.Keep things at home. We also should question why most of the staff are from out of town and cant get jobs other places, and worry about the directors extra curricler activities. Maybe we should question why previous very qualified staff are no longer there. Do I have a right to speak about this. Most certainley do. Think deeper than the building.
A couple of things that I have observed about society today as a whole is that they can arm chair quarterback any incident after it is over. Hindsight is always 20/20 and if anyone thinks that they can do better, go run for the positions in the community, move away from the computer and griping about a situation, to a position where you can make a difference.
The other thing I noticed is that some have trouble looking at the future possibilites. The new SCAD base may look big and may have un-used space in some opinions. Did anyone stop to think that with this extra space that they have room to grow?
I will agree each one of us could have done a different job of how the building turned out, some may have been better and some may have been worse. The building is done, it looks good, and its the proud new home of our ambulance district.
Lets not focus on the past, lets us focus on the future. If you don't like the way something is being done or the way an elected official is handling their position. Move away from the computer screen, go to the meetings, run against them in the elections, but most of all be an active part of change for the better...not a continual line of negative, arm chair quarterbacks that sit in front of their computer screens or with others saying they could do better.
This is the Show Me State...don't talk about how you would have done it or changed this or changed that...freakin Show Me!!!!
Happy EMT...put your post on the front page...it seems to have grown to there also.
Hey there Pumpkin08, have you ever worked w/ the EMT's and Paramedics? I doubt it, or you wouldn't have made such a ridiculous comment. I've personally observed our staff crawl in an overturned vehicle (leaking fuel), to place an IV, and comfort, a trapped motorist. If you don't call that risking your life to save another, I don't know what is. These folks have families of their own to think about and routinely place themselves in harms way to save others. Who cares about wasted space in a building, they'll probably end up using it for something. We have a very professional staff of paramedics that do a great job and it's unfortunate that they have to spend time defending themselves in the paper. Enjoy your new space folks, you deserve it!
First off I'm new to this whole blogging thing and unlike wade i refuse to use spell check so bear with me. I would like to point out several issues but first off READ CHEESES POST!!!!!!!!!!!!! He or she has only touched on that issue. If you all want to talk and blog about issues that are in severe need of being addressed that is the issue……. Ok now on the the other stuff.
1. if u havn't taken a tour of our old building you should. I am probably the lightest sleeper ever and had to bunk with someone of the opposite sex who also snored so loud it would wake the person up. There were many nights I received almost no sleep due to the cramped and limited quarters we had to live in. Do you really want someone who has had no sleep for almost two days driving you or your loved one on I-70. You should also go notice that the ceiling had mold growning on it, the ceiling was falling in and missing in some places and that you could see daylight in one of the bedrooms when u look at the ceiling. Also we had no carpet and in the day room and a bay area that forced us to pull the ambulances into the street to clean and access them fully. Being on a blind corner, Boy that sure sounds safe huh…. I'm surprised I was never hit by a turning car!!!
2. If we had been able to build a basement and only one story had been showing with exactly the same stuff inside would people still be complaining. Heck No you wouldn't be. In my opinion I'm glad they had to make it two stories above ground. It looks attractive from the street and adds to the town. And as someone stated earlier it makes us look more professional having this nice building and it was well past due.
3. Yes there is some wasted space and some things should probably be changed if they had it to do over again but when u look at it on a blue print that is just a flat paper with lines it looked good and frankly hard as heck to tell how the finished product would actually look. In case your not up with times, stainless steel is the new trend and far as the huge t.v., pool table and some other stuff, it was all donated by Mortons, at no cost to the tax payers. Probably as a peace offering for taking half of my lifespan to build the building. And while on the subject of taxes you all should think Joe Blodgett for that. He was a wonderful boss who was great with money and was able to penny pinch money away for this new building so that taxes wouldn't have to be raises.
4. As far as people mentioning Corbin, ya there is times that I would like to toss him under the ambulance but there is times that he really has a good point or idea and he is only one board member you know. Maybe you all should come to the board meetings, I DO and am informed now. And besides the fact that I'm sure some of you on here live in his district of town so that means you had a chance to vote for him or run against him if you were that unhappy.
5. I gotta agree with one point from an earlier blog. We do a tough job at all hours of the night and are away from our familys for at least 48hrs at a time. We are grossly underpaid in my opinion.
Well, Cheese, whether it's a new building, old building, or a tent doesn't really add to your point. So, I guess my first curiosity is why the question of crew availability is only now a voiced area of concern.
My second question is, by what means do you suggest patients who require medical care be transported from one hospital to another? An ambulance equipped with, oh say, medical equipment seems to be the logical mode of transportation.
Why aren't you complaining about those foolish Saline County Deputies who have the audacity to use a police car to transport PRISONERS inter-county?
To give you insight into some of your concern about this practice, it comes down mostly to matters of liability. If Fitzgibbon Hospital or any other medical care facility has to transport a patient the hospital is obligated to provide such transport. If the patient declines the use of an ambulance when it is suggested, that patient must sign a release form releasing the hospital of any claim should they die on the way. Also, a lot of insurance companies, if the patient refuses the ambulance ride, will not treat the case as a referral but instead as a *voluntary* or *elective* procedure not covered under their plan...the beaurocractic BS we deal with in this day and age. This means the patient could end up paying for the procedure almost entirely out of pocket.
I've never heard of crew availability and long waits being a problem before. Of course, I subscribe to "JJ's Perpetually Perfect People Pills" and I will never die, let alone require an ambulance ride. Anyone else have this problem?
Perhaps, there is a more pressing problem that the citizens of Marshall should be concerned about than the size of the new ambulance building. Whether or not there is a crew inside to respond to your emergency.
Many may not know this, but the Saline County Ambulance District is and has been Fitzgibbon Hospital's own personal patient transfer taxi to other hospitals in Columbia, KC and even St. Louis for quite a few years. The problem with this is, at any one time SCAD only has two ambulance crews working. Frequently, and I do mean frequently, as in several times a day, one crew is transferring Fitz's patients to one of the above mentioned cities and is out of town for hours at a time.
This leaves only one crew and one ambulance for the city of Marshall and surrounding area. When this remaining ambulance and crew get called out that leaves no SCAD crew/ambulance for Marshall. So, they then place Slater and Sweet Springs in that order on stand by to serve this area. Sure, the Marshall Fire Department has first responders that often get called when there is no ambulance available, but they are limited in their abilities to help. They do not have an ambulance or it's equipment and they cannot transport a patient so they have to wait on Slater or Sweet Springs also.
Obvious problem with that is a HUGE delay in response time. I don't know about you, but if I have to wait the 20-25 EXTRA minutes it takes to get an ambulance here from Slater or Sweet Springs for myself or a loved one during a severe injury or heart attack, I won't be happy...maybe even dead.
You also have to be concerned if you are a citizen of Slater or Sweet Springs as your ambulance crew is now heading to Marshall so where does this leave you when you need one?
I would like Mr. Kelling to please answer why SCAD is and continues to be Fitzgibbon Hospital's personal taxi service and how he feels about the increased risk this places on the tax payers of Marshall. Maybe this pre-dates his time as director or maybe he is just not at liberty to say why.
The next time you call for an ambulance, you should be more concerned not about the size of the building, but whether or not anyone is inside that building to help you.
Hey Cheeta,
Finally you and I agree.....I am glad to see this day. You have always had a very unique way of voicing your opinion and today you and I ARE on the same side. The EMS crew finally has a home away from home. They spend more time there than they or most of them do at home. It should be homey for them.
As for Saline Medic. You obviously are bitter about something......maybe your working conditions in your old run down building....Jealous??? I say yes. Maybe if you worked on your Medic skills, you could come work here, but I doubt you can teach an old dog, new tricks. If you work in EMS you should know how buildings should be and you SHOULD be proud to even be associated with this district......now get over it!!!!
I often wonder myself why private, wealthy individuals don't do more benevolent things or act more wisely with their money. To be honest, sure, it's a little jealousy on my part. Why don't we all cut the crap and be honest: we all have our own ideas of what people should do with what we don't have--MONEY--and it's usually born out of our jealous nature. They have it. We don't. We want it. Is that a fair and accurate account of the human species?
But I'm really struggling with the hostility over the new ambulance building.
The money was SAVED over a long period of time;
No services were cut, and to my knowledge, the public did not suffer one bit from lack of services while these funds were being saved;
There was no increase in taxes beyond what's already paid, thereby avoiding any extra out-of-pocket expense on the part of Saline County Citizens;
There were no services that suffered during the transition from the old building to the new building.
Folks, a lot of this looks like "They've got it. We don't. We want it".
Mr. Kelling--who I wouldn't know if he personally gave me mouth-to-mouth--has been forthright in answering questions.
Yeah, the Open House time was a tad inconvenient. Big stinkin' deal. Has it occurred to anyone who feels they didn't get enough time to look it over that it is a public building? Make a phone call. Drop by. Tell 'em you wanna look around. I bet they'd be glad to do it. They're proud of it, and they should be.
There was no Eminent Domain.
Nothing was taken or stolen or misappropriated from anyone.
An eyesore of a vacant lot has been revitalized.
The fire department building, now aged somewhat, was built specifically to house equipment and firemen. When it was built, it included all the amenities of the day. A few have been added since.
When the police station and Saline County Justice Center were built, they were built specifically to serve a purpose.
Can anyone really say that for the old ambulance building? The SCAD now has a building built specifically for a purpose.
What. Is. The. Problem?
For your information bareback I have talked to people ranging from a couple of employees, board members and even the former director of Saline county ambulance and I attended the open house and asked questions myself. And it sure seems that most of the board is made up of lay people who are easily wooed by Mr allred and his smoke blowing about how he knows what's right and best because he used to work for a service in the city. So barebackride DO NOT tell me to get the facts straight, I did. But it appears that you are someones little puppet who thinks Allred is perfect and can do no wrong so it is a waste of time to argue with you. Just out of curiosity what input have you contributed. Did u attend the Ambulance Board Meetings????
I did like the appliances they have. I just think that the Board could have used the money they saved up more wisely. There is a LOT of wasted space in that building. The board had the money to put up brick and sod the yard. Maybe they should think about giving the employees that spend 48hrs there running 911 calls at all hours of the night a pay increase. They are grossly underpaid in my opinion for the hours and job they have to do.
On the plus side I have seen the building they used to live in and believe this new building is a great and long needed improvement. And it does add greatly to the community. When people drive by and see the new building it gives a sense of pride and looks like a true ambulance department that has qualified personnel working there ready to take care of the sick and injured. Not some run down shack that gives off a negative appearance.
Smokin' Cheetah. As for the hight of the Ambulance Bay I am not sure of the exact reason. I was not involved with the planning or design of the building. I was named Interim Director well into the construction phase. I will ask the Contractor if there was a spacific reason. I do know that we have an exhaust handling system and radiant heating overhead which heats objects and not air. The radiant heat is less costly and more effective for large areas. The elements whice project the heat are large and are shielded from above. I have noticed in all the other EMS or Fire Dept Bays which I have seen with this type of heating the ceilings are high. There may be a requirment for distance between the elements and solid objects. It may be a code issue.
knew that on funding was sure others were wondering , just wanted to see who would get bent out of shape about it , and i hope most people will agree , the fire house looks bad and the police station yard is very nice always but the building could use some help , and now with the knew ambulance shack up the road a bit , they now look even worse , but thx for responding now you can straighting back up , it's all good in old marshall!!!! lol
For your information Saline Medic, furnishing the kitchen, which included the beautiful stainless steel appliances was done by the contractors - the Ambulance Board didn't run out and buy them - there was no additional cost involved. Would you have felt better about it if they'd been bargain-basement plain-jane white?
Why don't you get the facts before you start your complaining? I imagine Corbin Allred did vote, perhaps give his vote of approval, on stainless steel appliances, but he's only ONE vote from the Board of Directors. I understand Corbin did a lot of FREE on-site supervising to make sure the job was done as the BOARD wanted it done and in a timely manner. What have you done that makes you think you have the right to find fault with any Ambulance Board decision? Perhaps you should have attended their open-to-the-public meetings and voiced your opinion there before the building was built.
The facility is a wonderful county asset and addition to our community and I resent comments like yours and others who probably didn't bother to get involved at the beginning - just wanna find fault with all the time and effort a few citizens who cared enough to get it done! I did talk with Board members and ambulance staff, I asked questions. I care enough to be informed from the get-go. It's not perfect but how could it be? No one currently walking this earth is. The end-result is still great and came from a tremendous joint effort of very few citizens.
On the other hand I do appreciate your comments explaining the difference in funding for the MARSHALL Fire Dept. and the SALINE COUNTY Ambulance Dist. You can use your brain when you want to!
Mr. Kelling, you didn't seem to answer the question from smokin cheetah as to why the area were the ambulances park is so huge and waste of space. Last time i looked there was no room for record storage or spare tires just a roof and lots of air. Or how about GoChiefs comment about the stainless steel appliances. Someone had to give the final approval and go ahead to buy them. Or maybe that is another one of Corbins Allreds bright ideas, he appears to have alot of them it seems.
This town is over… if you was smart you would know that the fire and police dept is funded by the city of marshall. That is why they are called MARSHALL fire and police. The new Ambulance is SALINE COUNTY Ambulance. They are totally different. If you have a problem with the way they look you should blame the mayor and city council for spending money of the new runway and beasley museum instead of the fire and police depts and personel.
Thanks prd. But the truth is that was an account shared with me by one of my good buddies...
A former Saline County EMT, now working down south.
But yeah, pretty cool and darn nice of Morton Builders to do that:)
This is off topic...just trying to be fair.
Yesterday I asked why one of my posts had been deleted (under this article). Turns out, I never posted the stinkin' thing. Cerebral flatulation, senior moment, or something. Regardless, the MDN is not responsible for that and I apologize for the inference.
Toodles:)
stinky- forced to work? Did they not choose this profession? That is their choice. As for the pool table I just commented maybe I need that developer. Pretty cool. Quite the imagination there Cheetah.
again another over done story , nice building i agree , but could have scaled back in several areas and saved funds on basic needs and still have the same needs takin care of , has anyone looked at the fire house latly could of used some of that over spent ambulance money on the out side appearance of the fire house and maybe a little outside work on the police station :]
PRD123. The pool table was a gift from Morton Builders. They have built other EMS bases and stated they like to give the crews who do the work something. We appriciate their thougtfulness. It was not part of the contract.
Pool table is cheaper than a shrink.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING WILL CONTAIN DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE THAT MAY BE CONSTRUED AS OBSCENE AND GRAPHIC IN NATURE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION:
Imagine, if you will, it's your first month on the job as an EMT and you get the call to respond to a vehicle accident on I-70. On arrival you get your first personal close-up of liter upon liter of human blood sprayed all over the highway. As you approach the firemen working to extricate the occupants, you get your first personal view of a beheaded child half in and half out of mangled wreckage, and you hear for the first time the blood-curdling scream of another child whose limbs have been torn off. On closer inspection you find half of Mom in the engine compartment, and the other half of her at the next mile marker. Need I go into detail about the amount and condition of visible organs and flesh?
To top it off...you hear a cell phone ring from inside this mess and it hits you for the very first time, some daddy somewhere is waiting for his wife and kids to come home.
Now imgagine it's NOT your first time, but the hundredth time after 10 or 15 years on the job. Do you think you could ever "get used" to that?
Give 'em a pool table. They (as well as firemen and police) deal with more than 96 year-old patients in dementia, cats in trees, and stolen bicycles...
Did they also outfit the kitchen with a pool table? Maybe I need to look into hiring that developer.
Amen Bareback.......
People have NO CLUE when it comes to this sort of topic. If they were forced to work 48 hours straight with a nap on a way back from a four hour ride to St. Louis with a screaming 96 year old dementia patient, they would lose their "freakin" mind. However EMS people just hum right along and take it in stride...to come back to a dingy, roach infested, moldy bedroom, lay their head down on a hard couch and 10 minutes later get called back out for another ride into the night. You all say TagMahal, I say HELL YES!!!! And they even deserve better....Nuff said!!!!
When SCAD#3 started they were in the old ice cream factory. That was in the 70's. I'd say waiting 38 years for a place they could call home and be proud of for years to come is long enough. Like firefighting and law enforcement this work is one of the most rewarding and worst jobs to have. I say give'em whatever they need, it could be you they see next.......
For the love of Yahweh!! How does a building help, Janine?
It's not the building, per se. It's the fact these guys and girls can get decent rest in between runs into the great unknown to save our hides. You really wanna guy who's been cramped into a room with six other dudes, running on 37 seconds of sleep, dozing on a donated 20 year old box spring being the one to show up to give you CPR? What's the problem? NO TAXES. I could care less if they added to the payroll for an extra employee to stand around and wipe EMT butts as long as it doesn't cost extra tax dollars.
Thank you, Kathy, for getting answers. And thank you, Mr. Kelling, for being forthright with the information.
Frankly, the height of the building makes perfect sense when you compare it to the cost of of digging a basement--something I hadn't considered. Anyone around here priced excavation lately, as in building or setting a house on a slab versus a basement? It comes with a hole (pun and mis-spelling intended) lot of extra baggage, especially inside the city limits.
And fine, I'll be the one to say it. The damn thing looks good. Great, in fact. Cosmetics? Aesthetics? You bet. Hopefully the rest of the downtown area will do the same. It's tasteful and appealing without being in drastic contrast to it's surroundings.
While I'm on my wagon: go ahead and bash the EMT's, their facilities, whatever. About twelve years ago, it was a Saline County EMT that correctly diagnosed an emergency with my father. He told the ER doc what was going on and the doctor called BS and sent him home. Forty-five minutes after he got back home, that same EMT was there reviving him. He had died as a direct result of the very problem the EMT told the doctor he had.
Personally, they could have given every one of them a Bentley as far as I'm concerned. If they spent money they've been saving and didn't increase our taxes then I don't really care. At the risk of sounding conceited, my hide is worth it. If your heart is still beating, so is yours...
Why don't you grumbling, negative response, unknowing complainers go sit out a 48-hour shift in a non-pleasing work-environment and see what kind of building you'd prefer to work in!!! Walk in the ambulance employee's shoes before you start in on what kind of shoes they have! Did you even bother to go through the building and ask why things were the way there were??? I did! And I think it's a great place for those men and women to race out to help someone in need. Maybe it'll be one of you grumblers one of these days laying in an overturned car in a ditch waiting for help - maybe one of your loved ones!
And thank you Corbin Allred for not being wishy-washy and for not always saying what's just politically correct - but rather standing up and honestly expressing your LEARNED-BY-EXPERIENCE opinion for what you believe is correct and best for the workers as well as the community.
The Director of Operations should use spell check. He has become reliant on it over the years and it has hurt his spelling.
In response to GOCHIEFS. The elevator came about due to the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements that all public buildings with a second floor must have an elevator. Many of the ADA requirments added to the size of the building. After soil studies were done the basement which was planned for was dropped so rooms that had been planned for a basement had to go above ground which also led to a larger building than initially planned. Stainless steel appliances. The Ambulance Dist hired a developer to build a turn key structure. They outfitted the building with the appliances.
I think the Director of Operations should use spell check and I don't understand what the new building has to do with the contention that EMT's and Paramedics now can do their job better. What did they do before while in the old building? How does a building make them do their job better?
In response to pumpkin08's blog about Fire Dept vs EMS. The conversation I had with the reporter was probably 15 minutes long. The context in which the statement appears was not fully represented. Fire and EMS work very well together in this community. Our jobs although along the same lines are very different. Many of us in EMS came from a Fire Dept background and many of our employees are still firefighters in the communities in which they live. I would never diminish the roles of the firefighters. That said, EMS may not run into burning buildings but we are there to take care of the people when firefighters bring them out. We may not cut people out of wrecked cars but we are inside them doing our jobs to keep the patients alive while extrication is in progress. When help is needed with a medical emergency that requires more manpower the Fire Departments are there in a flash to assist us and do a wonderful job at that. Our jobs again are different but our goal is the same. We appriciate all the assistance we recieve not only from the local Fire Departments but also the local Law Enforcment community. If a life safty issue is at hand we all work togther for the common goal of saving lives and treating the sick and injured.
P.S I wish i could have afforded the all stainless steel appliances when i redid my kitchen. I guess when you have elevators anything else would just look cheap.
Does this mean the ambulances will spend less time at WalMart,Applebees,Mcdonalds and Arbys??
Cheetah - Director of Ambulance Operations Wade Kelling told me this afternoon that there are several reasons for the high ceiling in the new building:
1) Records storage - district records must be kept for long periods of time, some for only 7 years, but others must be kept permanently; 2) Spare tires - they can't keep them in the ambulances because of the medical equipment the vehicles must carry; 3) Elevators in the building required a higher ceiling; 4) Larger vehicles, including one Kelling expects to be delivered tomorrow, need more headroom than the existing vehicles. The new vehicles cost a little more, but last a lot longer.
I usually wouldn't give a rodent's hiney hair because usually I deserve it, but I'm gonna ask in this case.....why was my last post deleted?
"The cost of the exercise area is money well spent, however."
That totally just made my day. LOL
Oh great, Now that we have put eye appeal on the Ambulance Building for the community, I'm sure Corbin is telling us our tax money for the 911 center will be well used to make it look good as well. More tax money spent and Corbin Blowing Wind around Just like Slater's Weather Problems...haha...
Comparing it to the old building is senseless and a copout. Is it bigger and more lavish than necessary is the question. I took the tour and am inclined to say yes, the garagemahal is a little extravagant.
The cost of the exercise area is money well spent, however.
Not out of complaint either.......Kelling- does that make the fire dept less important than an EMT because "the ambulance district repsonds to 10 times the calls the fire dept receives"? They risk their lives to save others. Can't say that for an EMT.
Cheetah, I've left a message at the ambulance district office for Wade Kelling. When he gets back to me, we'll post an answer to your question. We're curious, too.
I have only one question, and it isn't out of complaint. It's really just my curiosity and lack of knowledge.......so, I'm trying to learn something.
I've noticed the area where the ambulances park seems to have quite a bit of space overhead; vaulted almost. What's the reason for this? I'm sure it serves a purpose. Anyone?
BTW, I think the new building looks great:)