Loading...
Untitled (2)For Sloper, saving lives doesn't necessarily pay well if -14 Sloper-Willen's Advanced Life Support ambulance, in service since June of last year, viewed from inside and out. L by Ray Fashona Jr. Staff writer Myths and hearsay surround every profession, especially those wh;ch are constantly exposed to the public eye. Are politicians all crr oked? Do firemen really sleep wi+n their boots on? Salaries John Kloepfer, chief of Sloper- Willen Comunity Ambulance Ser- vice, says that misconceptions and half-truths abound about the am- bulance business. as well. "One of the most annoying." Kloepfler states, "is the crazy idea that we're all making a lot of money here. I've heard estimates of $40,000 or $50,000 a year for my job, and $20,000 to $30,000 a year for some of the other guys. If there's a job around that pays like that, show me where it is. Were making no where near that kind of money here." Sloper-Willen operates on about 75 percent volunteer help. There are ten paid members on the am- bulance service staff, and the total facts'and figures Sloper•Willen serves an area of 47.7 miles in southern Dutchess County. Included in the service area are the town of Wappinger, parts of the towns of Fishkill and Poughkeepsie, and the villages of ,fsitkill and Wappingers Falls, -'Last year Sloper-willen served about 50,000 people, a number "which continues to grow by leaps and bounds," according to assis- tant chief Kenny Lowe. The ambulance service operates twenty-four hours a day, and there are -a minimum of two people at headquarters at all times. 'Ninety- five percent of the time there are more than that," Young says. The chief's station wagon, two ALS ambulances, and three basic life support ambulances (two Cadillac station wagons and a van) comprise the Sloper-Willen fleet. In addition to these vehicles, Sloper-Willen has fourteen mobile units scattered throughout the county. These mobile, units are privately owned volunteer vehicles which, in the case of an accident or emergency, can be dispatched from the home of a Sloper employee liv- ing close to the scene. The volunteer, equipped with a first aid kit, does what he can to aid the in- jured- mill the ambulance arrives. Sloper-Willen has been serving the—th—n„tine« I: ---- budget for salaries in 1980 was $145.000, an average of $14.500 per paid employee All staff members are at least state certified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT). and some have completed the four hundred -plus hours of training required to become a paramedic. Not only aren't the employees getting rich. Kloepfer says. but the ambulance company itself has been running at a deficit for years. ALS and ambulance charges Having an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance rush to your side during a crisis will cost you about $225. Sloper's head paramedic Don Young defines ALS as "an emergency room on wheels.' and says each one costs in the neighborhood of $75.000. "I'll be the first to admit our fees are exorbitant.” Kloepfer states. "If I got a bill for $225 for an am- bulance ride. I'd say 'What the hell is this?' But that's how much it costs us to roll the ALS out the door. It's not that we're overcharg- ing." Assistant chief Kenny Lowe echoes Kloepfer's sentiments. "We've got a bad public image because of the high fees. People think we're out to make as much money as we can, and that's it." "We get stiffed a tot,' Kloepfer admits. "Especially on ALS calls. Medicare doesn't recognize ALS. and the majority of ALS calls are for heart patients, who tend to be elder. ly, and on Medicare. Even people whose medical insurance covers ALS only get about $60 towards the $225. Who can afford to take $165 out of his pocket for an ambulance ride?" Municipal funding Kloepfer sees only one solution to the problem of excessive fees. "it is vital that we receive municipal funding.'" the chief says flatly. Last October. trustees of the non- profit ambulance service revealed a plan in which tax dollars from the town of Wappingerthe villages of Fishkill and Wappingers Falls. and parts of the towns of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill. would support Sloper - Wllien in return for bill -free service to residents of those areas. Unresolved legal duestions disapproval by some residents. and hesitancy on the part of local municipalities Killed the plan for 1980. but Kloepfer says he is intent on Lying agair for next year. ­Evenivanv I think munlcinal fun - The ALS Inside the Advanced Life Support ambulance is a heart machine. respirator and sophisicated com- munication system which allows the doctor at the hospital to be in constantcontact with the am- bulance attendants. There are also two huge drug box- es, filled with "every type of drug you can imagine.'" Young, who besides having been a policeman in White Plains was a paramedic in New York City. ex- plains that with ALS, there is no need for the ambulance driver to "race like a maniac to the hospital." ALS can keep patients alive as long as hospital emergency equipment might. Sloper-Willen, which is the only ambulance service in the area besides Alamo in Poughkeepsie with ALS. averages a call a day for the $75,000 "emergency room on wheels." Lives saved Sitting on a stretcher inside the ALS cabin, Young recalls incidents where the sophisticated ambulance saved lives. "At the Wappinger's Day Parade last year, one guy finished mar- ching and just collapsed. We were on hand with the ALS and got to him in about five seconds. Continued on page 13 Saving lives — cont. "He'd had cardiac arrest. We revived him and eventually he was transferred to New York City for a bypass operation. But without the ALS he wouldn't have made it that far." ALS can also be used for transporting seriously ill pa- tients long distances, as in the case of a 10 -year-old boy who got his legs caught beneath a power mower. "He had to be taken to New York City as soon as possi- ble. We used the ALS so we could stay in constant com- munication with the doc- tors .... The oc- tors....The kid ended up los- ing the foot from one leg and everything below the knee on the other. But he's alive to tell you about it." Young, who says he saw every kind of mutilation dur- ing his paramedic days in New York City, adds: "The ones invorving kids still give me a funny feeling in my stomach." The attendants Chief Kloepfer says that there is a high "burnout'' rate among ambulance atten- dants. Many don't stay in the profession very long. "It's a job that demands a lot," assistant chief Lowe states. "It's a very stress related field," explains Kloepfer, who has been the Sloper-Willen chief for five years after work- ing his way through the ranks. "Our paid staff works a minimum fifty hour week. We've got volunteers working forty and fifty hours as well, besides their normal jobs "Long hours and catching meals on the run cause fatigue. Not only that, but when the alarm goes off, the attendant gets a surge of adrenalin. He gets charged up. "After the call is com- pleted, the attendant begins to relax. Maybe he's just com- ing through the door. unwin- ding, and the alarm goes off again. Immediately, he's charged up again. This con- stant charging and discharg- ing of the body causes a lot of stress." Kloepfer, who, despite his post as chief goes out on ''at least three of four calls a week to keep sharp," says that to get an attendantship at Sloper-Willen you have to be "a certain type of person." "I don't want someone who's in it just so ne can drive through red lights and ring bells and wear a uniform. I want people who really care about the patient." That's one reason that after graduating from EMT training, an attendant must serve eight months of on-the- job training with Sloper- Willen before he's ready to be considered capable of going it on his own. ''EMT training is all technical. What the atten- dant learns during his on-the- job training is how to treat the patient emotionally, how to relieve the anxiety of both the patient and the patient's family. "That, after all, is what we're about."