Update: Police are attempting to locate the owner of this dog to verify its vaccination records. If the dog is not located with in 7 days the child may have to undergo rabies treatment If you have information call the Crafton Police Department at 412-921-2016.
Northwest EMS turned 2 calls over in 9 months, answered approximately 350 calls. REMS has turned 2 calls over in less than 1 week, with approximately 12 calls.
So again..... is this what Crafton wanted?? Is REMS in Crafton 24/7?
Just remember the council members that voted for this change to our Ambulance service when election time rolls around.
12 comments:
Grow up! Stop watching other services and stay in your own area! Your service sent their Craton crew all the way to Bellvue for a call did they not? All EMS services do this and you know it so stop talking about other EMS services as if they are doing something wrong. "IMMATURITY" "PATHETIC" you should look up the definitions of these words.
I am not affiliated with or employed by any EMS service. I am a resident of Crafton Borough that finds it appalling that Borough Council (some members) has gone as far to "Reduce" the quality of EMS care for the residents of Crafton.
The residents of Crafton Borough were led to believe that the service they were going to receive with the switch back to REMS was the same or better.
I understand the need for mutual aid agreements and see no problem with it, assuming those with in the agreement are able to provide the service needed for REMS to take on another borough 24x7.
This call reinforces the point that REMS was not physically stationed in Crafton 24x7, nor was any other ambulance. If they need to send an ambulance from Crafton to cover a call in Coraopolis then an ambulance should be immediately moved to Crafton from one of their mutual aid providers. It's not acceptable to simply have another EMS provider available, in this case STEMS, to answer a call in Crafton from outside the borough.
Northwest was here 24x7 and reduced the response to a medical calls to approximately 3.5 minutes. Remember, prior to Northwest providing EMS service in Crafton, REMS was not in the borough from 11 p.m. - 7 a.m.
By they way........ while I'm looking up the definitions of those words, consider looking up the spelling of Crafton.
Crafton Watch, obviosly your a REMS hater, your blog is nothing more than hate. You must be a former member of council and have nothing better to do than sit around and listen to scanner land or your a block watch captain and anoy others. Do you know for fact where the STEMS unit was stationed? Probably not.
Your post is old news, try being positive, the residents spoke, deal with it. Just look back at the last election all the haters were ousted.
Yeah Northwest had another truck cover, where did it come from? usually Bellvue, North Fayette, it had to drive to Crafton just like a REMS mutual aid company. Please get a life or write true facts and maybe something positive about the community.
I do not hate REMS, in fact I think they have some great medics and emts.
The residents did NOT speak. Certain Council members spoke, they turned this into a political game. People's lives and those who help, are NOT games.
The move to Northwest benefitted the residents of Crafton. The reversal has not.... There wasn't a single reason to cancel the contract with Northwest EMS and/or refuse to renew it. Did they provide poor service? Did they do anything wrong? NO! In reality, service improved tremendously. Shorter call response times, availability in the borough from 11 pm to 7 pm and I believe we weren't paying for fuel.
Sure, lets look back at the last election.... What did the borough gain? I have to wonder if anyone can think for themselves these days.... But hey, the residents get what they vote for.
I am speechless at the amount of immaturity that has been flying around since the beginning of this whole ordeal. As a Crafton resident, I have had the opportunity of dealing with both EMS services (Northwest EMS and Robinson EMS). I must say that both have professional and highly trained personnel. Although, I do admit that when I read the first blog posted by a man named Daniel Gulasy, I was immediately disappointed in him. As a Paramedic and Assistant Chief with Northwest EMS, he left a bad image of Northwest EMS with not only me, but several others that I associate with. I would have expected more from someone who is an authority figure and should be setting an example. I have not seen one blog, nor have I heard anything negative stemming from Robinson EMS. (Please tell me if I’m missing something). I must thank Robinson EMS for the amount of professionalism that they are displaying. It’s definitely not going unnoticed.
Even as just a resident, I understand how keeping an ambulance in one particular borough or township 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is impossible. On the particular day in question, Saturday, April 10th, 2010, Robinson EMS was in fact NOT in Crafton at the time of the “Dog Bite” call. However, I happened to be listening to my police scanner, and noticed Robinson EMS was dispatched for a vehicle accident somewhere in Robinson Township shortly before the call in Crafton. The ambulance on scene at this crash then requested another unit for a second patient. I’m assuming that this second ambulance came from the Crafton Base. I listen carefully to my scanner, more so now than before the change of EMS services. I do not recall Robinson EMS being on a call for Valley Ambulance during the time that the “Dog Bite” call came in. So you’re saying Scott Township EMS was on standby for Robinson EMS? I’m not exactly sure where Scott Township’s standby point would be, or where their station is located for that matter. I am aware (because I’ve witnessed it), that the bus-way is utilized. Therefore, I’m sure they are in close enough range to respond to a call in an acceptable amount of time. With that being said, I’m sure that all EMS services have the same motive (get to the patient within a reasonable amount of time and provide patient care). When the residents of Crafton need an ambulance, do they really mind WHICH ambulance service it is? I know that I would prefer to have Robinson EMS, but if I need an ambulance, I don’t care who it is, as long as someone comes to help. So let’s say Robinson EMS was in fact assisting Valley Ambulance in Coraopolis. Are you saying that us residents in Crafton are more important than those anywhere else? What if there were no EMS services that involved themselves with what you call “mutual aid?” So if Northwest EMS ran out of trucks when they were covering our borough, you wouldn’t want another service to respond to help you? So Valley Ambulance must have been in that same situation. They ran out of trucks and the person in Coraopolis needed an ambulance. Therefore, Robinson EMS stepped up and helped the person that called 911 at that particular time.
I find it hard to believe that Northwest EMS was in Crafton every single minute of every single day. They only kept one truck in Crafton at a time, so what happens when that one truck went on a call? Sure, they probably sent another truck from one of their several service areas to cover Crafton Borough, but how long did it take them to get from point A to point B?
I would like to point out to “Crafton Watch” that Robinson EMS didn’t do much wrong the very first time they lost this contract to Northwest EMS. Of course they weren’t covering from 11pm to 7am every day, but did anyone ever ask them to change this?
As a Crafton resident, I’m asking that we look at the big picture and put all petty disagreements aside. I believe Robinson EMS has/will do a fine job in Crafton as they have in the past. I again want to thank them for staying professional throughout all of this. Welcome Back Robinson EMS.
Well said Crafton resident!!! You are correct in everything you said and of course North West did not have one of their own trucks in Crafton at all times, I do believe that alot of the time that crew sat in Ingram....Why? So it would be nice if all the ignorance would stop. Robinson is in and North West is out, time to deal with it. REMS will do a great job, and they have other great EMS services backing them up.
Okay, let’s remember a few things here. Not everything written in a blog is true, merely the viewpoint of the writer. But if you want the facts, we can review them and verify them with council meeting minutes. When this whole EMS topic started in 2009, the REMS contract was up for renewal, they were in no way stating that the actions of REMS were unacceptable, merely seeing what was available. Crafton Council decided to see what all was available to make sure the best possible service was provided for Crafton residents, as is their job. Of the proposals submitted, NorthWest was able to provide more with less coming from the borough; and NorthWest was chosen as the provider with the understanding that the formal contract would be signed in January 2010. During this time, NorthWest kept all its promises to the borough by making sure that a unit was in the area 24/7. If a call transpired and the truck in Crafton took it, then another unit was in the area within ten minutes (proven by response times of consecutive calls). If NorthWest was unable to provide a NorthWest unit due to high call volume, another service was used for standby. Sometimes it was Ingram EMS (let’s remember that not all communications are done by radio and NorthWest and Ingram have had a mutual agreement for several years with many providers members of both organizations) and sometimes Carnegie (when Ingram was known to not a have a full crew immediately available, Carnegie is the next closest via the busway). REMS is using first Scott Township which has to pass Carnegie to get to the busway, then Valley Ambulance Authority, stationed in Coraopolis by the Sewickley Bridge (how long does it take them to even get close and why not use the closest providers). However, we need to move back to the sequence of events. Come January, council reneged on its promise to sign the contract that was already voted on and decided to try and flex their new and fledging muscles by reopening for bids. Fact is, Robinson EMS provided bus rides to voters that have been unwilling to vote due to the location of the polls (maybe this is something the Council needs to examine and provide voting booths at the highrises), though not legally wrong, there is the issue of ethics. Anyway, with the new bids NorthWest outlined that it kept its promises from the original bid and greatly improved the response times in the area, including daylight hours when REMS supposedly had a unit in Crafton previously (wonder why then their response times were longer). With the new bids in, REMS was decided on as the provider of choice with nothing to back up the promises made. So now for my personal view: If you are looking for the best service to provide to the resident of Crafton, look at the facts: response times, available units and resources, use of closest service for mutual aid (as they are all willing to provide it), available personnel, and promises kept (let’s remember that those that keep whispering in your ear are usually the ones that have something to hide). We also need to remember that both services originally did no wrong and have highly trained personnel that are professionals. The people you see in the streets everyday and coming to your door when you need help are usually not the ones making promises, merely doing their job. I don’t care what truck comes to my door as long as the people in it are trained, professional, and there in a proven acceptable amount of time. The previous bloggers that were writing “grow up” “pathetic” scanner land” and “get a life” are not presenting facts, merely responding to what they feel are attacks instead of things that can be verified. Please remember that all EMS responses are a matter of record and can be verified. Angry rebuttals reflect poorly on you, the writer.
To Crafton Watch blogger, in one post to said:
"I am not affiliated with or employed by any EMS service. I am a resident of Crafton Borough..."
but in you're next post you say:
"Shorter call response times, availability in the borough from 11 pm to 7 pm and I believe WE weren't paying for fuel."
Obviously WE means North West EMS, meaning you work there. It makes me concerned about what else are you lying about in your other posts.
Concerned Reader - You're wrong, likely again. WE means Residents, residents who rely on the borough EMS provider and pay taxes to the Borough of Crafton. WE, residents, taxpayers, paid for REMS fuel.
Again, I am not employed by or affiliated with any EMS provider.
Sorry about the misunderstanding Crafton Watch.
As a former EMT I'm saddened by the posts on this site, mainly from people from North West EMS. Back when I was working, we cared about one thing, the patients that called us for help. We (all services near us and that worked with us like they should)were all out to do the same thing, and worked together to make that happen. This childish nonsense of watching over other companies and "spying" if you will is just plain wrong.
Why not work together instead of constantly trying to bash REMS? I have never personally had a REMS unit treating myself or a family member, but I have never heard anything negative about their service until this blog was started. And I highly doubt North West had an Ambulance in Crafton 24 hours a day, its just impossible when it takes time to drive from standby point to another and when services get busy and you have to use mutual aide. You say your not "affiliated" with an EMS service, but maybe you should try working at one and see how EMS works. You have to make split second high pressure decisions without even thinking. People are human. I'm not saying that REMS has made any mistakes, but to sit there a pick at every little thing a company does is wrong and is a waste of time and energy when it could be used working together, training, and saving lives.
And to Simply Me, if you have ever worked in EMS or Fire, it is VERY easy to make response times seem better. You can call en-route from the recliner on your portable before you even start walking to the truck or call on scene when you turn onto the street. Not saying North West did this, but times are not always the entire truth.
It saddens me after 20 years in the Fire/EMS service that this is what happens, childish games. We shouldn't even be talking about this. Let each service be, and mind your own business.
People are free to do and say what they want, but there is a point where it gets a bit ridiculous, and that happened when the first post about REMS leaving Crafton was ever created.
In response to concerned reader, I have 12 years EMS/Fire experience and the negativity is coming from all, not just one company. Your point on response time proves what I was saying: REMS response times were on average greater than 8 minutes, while NWEMS were three and a half from time of dispatch to on-scene. Can not fudge that. What concerns me is that people are either one side or the other and will not trust each other, but here is my point, If something "big" happens, these two services (being so close geographically) will have to work together and with all the animosity, will they be able to trust eachother as all in EMS have to do. As I stated before, both services have quality professionals working the streets, respect them! The other point you obviously missed thinking I am for one service or the other is that the services should be working together. NWEMS stills calls REMS when it needs to, REMS will call a service three districts away. Review the public records and you will find out this is the truth. Everything that I pointed out can be verified. Check it out for yourself, unless like other people making unverified statements, you are too lazy to do your homework and take the word of those that smile the biggest.
Well today 5/6/10 REMS handed another call over to Scott Twp i understand EMS and the mutual aid thing i have worked in EMS for 12 years and i still Vol. in Ingram but there is an issue with robinson always having an ambulance at 60 and lorish or sitting at the gas station on 60.
I like REMS and the people dont get me wrong but they the management at REMS need to understand you are too small of a service to handle the service areas your commited to either add more ambulances on to cover all the calls and standbys or get out of Crafton. You have over 10 years to advance and grow.
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