Paramedic to Hospital Base frequencies

[KB6KGX]

All paramedics service in LA County are from fire depts. The ambulance companies are only EMT. So any comms with hospitals will be from fire. The only exceptions would be Mercy Air who has flight nurses and LASD'S Air-5 which has paramedics deputies on board. On some busy weekends they have a trauma surgeon on board who also happens to be a reserve deputy.

In the past 5 years I'be never seen LACOFD Paramedics use a radio, its always been by phone.

Not exactly true. There are many private ambulance companies, the largest being American Medical Response (which does contract with many fire departments, including Ventura County Fire), and they DO empty Paramedics, in addition to EMTs. So to say that “All paramedics service in LA County are from fire depts. The ambulance companies are only EMT” is not an accurate statement.

As for your comment on “Air-5”, I was a patient on that about 20 years ago. One of the crew was an Orthopedic Surgeon. Good thing, as my injury was a shoulder dislocation.

 

[KB6KGX]

Wrong, several private ambulance companies have 911 contracts in LA county.

Absolutely true. AMR (American Medical Response) is the largest of these, and Ventura County Fire uses them almost exclusively, although I’ve also seen Gold Coast responding in some areas. With LA County, I’ve also seen McCormick and Bowers, and it is likely that other companies are used depending on the area.

 

[KB6KGX]

1) Private company sends an ALS ambulance to convalescent home transport and discovers that the patient is in need of acute care and not a simple transport. The ALS provider then initiates paramedic care and makes base…

Most IFTs (Inter-Facility Transports) are by EMT. The reason that a Paramedic unit will be used is if the patient has IVs or other accompanying medical equipment that needs to be monitored such as a respirator.


6) MCI's, where many providers are called upon. Although most of these would go through the MAC (before somebody jumps on me for this point).

Interesting you mention Medical Alert Center. Though back in the day, you’d hear them all the time on the radio. But I can’t say I’ve heard MAC on the HEAR frequency more than 5 times over the past ten years.

"The real reason for not hearing much traffic on the radio is due to cell phones. 90% of your base runs are done via cell phone these days."

True, unfortunately. In Orange County, though, the ambulances still talk to the hospitals and give patient info over the radio as they’re on their way in, so the hospital knows what to expect.

As for the “MED” channels, I’ve confirmed this with a friend of mine who recently retired after 35 years with LAFD, and was both a paramedic AND held the rank of Captain. The last few years of his career, he was in charge of ALL the paramedics for LAFD. I asked him about why I haven’t heard anything on the “MED” channels in ages and he said exactly that: they use cell phones for patient privacy purposes. Strange, since even when they DID use these frequencies, I NEVER heard any information transmitted that was a potential privacy issue.

 

[LZJSR]

As it relates to Ventura County...

AMR, Gold Coast, and Lifeline ambulance are the contracted ALS provider for the entire county. AMR purchased Gold Coast Ambulance several years ago and now operate as a quasi-joint organization, however, the employees are still in separate unions, and there is a GCA HQ on Bernouilli in Oxnard and AMR HQ on Fitch Avenue in Moorpark.
The County Board of Supervisors assigns the ALS providers through a competitive bid process, and AMR, GCA, LMT have those contracts.
Ventura County Fire, Fillmore Fire, and Ventura City Fire, through a partnership with AMR, have first responder ALS resources on some of their apparatus, and several paramedic engine companies, however, the ultimate responsibility for ALS care lies with the paramedics of AMR, GCA, and Lifeline.
There is a strong partnership between the agencies, with little to no "turf wars." The first on scene paramedic usually provides primary care, and if that paramedic happens to be from a fire resource, then if the patient is critical that fire paramedic often accompanies the EMS Ambulance paramedic to the hospital, but for the most part, patients are stable and there is a hand-off on scene to the AMR, GCA, LMT paramedic for continued care and transport.
Ventura County EMS resources use cell phones exclusively for patient to hospital information, but there are 5 MedNet radio channels that can be used as VHF on scene tactical channels for large scale incidents, or for training, however that is rarely done.

 

[KB6KGX]

I listen to this above freq. with this p.l. I have monitored it for years and never heard anyone else on this frequency. It's one of my favorite channels... In my area we get a lot of hurt people fly out Glamis and Occotillo recreation areas to Desert regional hospitol( Palm Springs).Not one single boring call.....sometime they talk about their fuel or how many on board...

I will put it in and see what happens! Maybe in your area there is a lot of interesting traffic, but her in Los Angeles, at least the last time I listened to it, a lot of private ambulance routine transfer stuff.

 

[KB6KGX]

As it relates to Ventura County...

AMR, Gold Coast, and Lifeline ambulance are the contracted ALS provider for the entire county. AMR purchased Gold Coast Ambulance several years ago and now operate as a quasi-joint organization, however, the employees are still in separate unions, and there is a GCA HQ on Bernouilli in Oxnard and AMR HQ on Fitch Avenue in Moorpark.
The County Board of Supervisors assigns the ALS providers through a competitive bid process, and AMR, GCA, LMT have those contracts.
Ventura County Fire, Fillmore Fire, and Ventura City Fire, through a partnership with AMR, have first responder ALS resources on some of their apparatus, and several paramedic engine companies, however, the ultimate responsibility for ALS care lies with the paramedics of AMR, GCA, and Lifeline.
There is a strong partnership between the agencies, with little to no "turf wars." The first on scene paramedic usually provides primary care, and if that paramedic happens to be from a fire resource, then if the patient is critical that fire paramedic often accompanies the EMS Ambulance paramedic to the hospital, but for the most part, patients are stable and there is a hand-off on scene to the AMR, GCA, LMT paramedic for continued care and transport.
Ventura County EMS resources use cell phones exclusively for patient to hospital information, but there are 5 MedNet radio channels that can be used as VHF on scene tactical channels for large scale incidents, or for training, however that is rarely done.

I really appreciate the explanation. I have been living in Simi Valley for six years, and but haven’t spent much time monitoring until recently. A sign of the times, maybe, but I know that LA City Fire paramedics use cell phones to talk with the hospitals, as well. Too bad. I know their reasoning. “Privacy”, HIPAA, whatever. But I’ve been listening to EMS radio since the 80s and have NEVER heard anything transmitted that would be considered a “privacy” issue. No names, no personal identifying information other than, for example, “we have a 35 year old male with a history of…”, and so on. How would anyone conclude, “Hey, that’s Bob Johnson!”

Also thanks for clarifying the ambulance situation. I know that AMR has bought up most of the independent private ambulance companies that I remember from back in the day. Didn’t see any “AMR” logos on Gold Coast or Lifeline rigs so I wasn’t aware that they’re all under the same “umbrella”.

 

[w6srf]

What about smaller ER's like San Dimas. I live pretty much across the street and want to listen. Thry are pretty busy. Any help with that frequency?

Sent from my UFO mother ship

 

[Code20Photog]

San Dimas does not have a base station. There are only a few regional base stations around the county. They in turn will notify the receiving facility (If they are not the hospital the paramedics are transporting to)

Besides, it's all done over cell phones in LA County anyways, so there's nothing you can listen to.

 

[Code20Photog]

Not exactly true. There are many private ambulance companies, the largest being American Medical Response (which does contract with many fire departments, including Ventura County Fire), and they DO empty Paramedics, in addition to EMTs. So to say that “All paramedics service in LA County are from fire depts. The ambulance companies are only EMT” is not an accurate statement.

AMR is no longer the largest private EMS company in Los Angeles County. They have lost nearly all of the zone contracts, and whittled down to a small operation compared to the late 90s, early 2000s. CARE and McCormick have both grown exponentially in LA County. CARE has all of south and eastern Los Angeles, Schaeffer has the San Gabriel Valley, and McCormick has the South Bay, West LA Areas, WeHo and West County (Malibu/Calabassas/Agoura). AMR has only the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley zone left from their heyday.

 

[Ghstwolf62]

San Dimas does not have a base station. There are only a few regional base stations around the county. They in turn will notify the receiving facility (If they are not the hospital the paramedics are transporting to)

Besides, it's all done over cell phones in LA County anyways, so there's nothing you can listen to.

If memory serves wasn't QVH the point of contact for runs to SDCH?

 

[jrholm]

Not exactly true. There are many private ambulance companies, the largest being American Medical Response (which does contract with many fire departments, including Ventura County Fire), and they DO empty Paramedics, in addition to EMTs. So to say that “All paramedics service in LA County are from fire depts. The ambulance companies are only EMT” is not an accurate statement.

As for your comment on “Air-5”, I was a patient on that about 20 years ago. One of the crew was an Orthopedic Surgeon. Good thing, as my injury was a shoulder dislocation.

Many ambulance companies do employ paramedics, but in areas covered by LACOFD the paramedic service is strictly provided by them and not the ambulance companies.

 

[Citywide173]

Many ambulance companies do employ paramedics, but in areas covered by LACOFD the paramedic service is strictly provided by them and not the ambulance companies.

All of the 9-1-1 paramedic service is by them. There is plenty of transfer and contract emergency response work (some nursing homes, long term care facilities and assisted living) that utilize private ambulance companies with ALS response.

 

[Code20Photog]

Two things. One, the policy was changed about 15 years ago, that if a private ALS unit was first on scene of a 9-1-1 call, they could begin ALS interventions as needed. I was on an AMR Paramedic unit that routinely responded to 9-1-1 calls and at the time, we could only operate as a BLS unit until the fire agency arrived.

Second, LACoDHS has strict policies against private non 9-1-1 emergency responses to facilities, such as convalescent homes. This was done because many of those types of facilities were using private ambulance companies to circumvent the 9-1-1 system, and not have DHS EMS forms generated for patients that would in turn be a paper trail of substandard care. It was a borderline epidemic before DHS put a halt to it. Our AMR dispatchers were instructed to activate the 9-1-1 system if a facility called and asked for a code 3 response, regardless of the jurisdiction, be it LACoFD, LAFD, or any other FD. (Sometimes these places would call nearly every private company, and yet LAFD rolls up without them even knowing they were responding.) We got called out one night to a convalescent home for a patient that was in dire need of ALS, and when I went to call 9-1-1, the nurse literally ripped the phone out of the wall. True story she SCREAMED at me "I want to speak to your supervisor!" And I pointed to my supervisor patch on my uniform (I was filling in for a medic who went home sick) and she disappeared. Accidentally stole her BP cuff too. Still have it to this day. Dial glows in the dark.

Third, what most private ALS units do is simply hospital to hospital transfers of patients that need to be on a monitor. It's pretty mundane work. I can't even remember a call going south in all my years at AMR, my unit or any in the division that I can recall. The patients that are that critical go by Critical Care Transport which has a RN on board.

 

[Citywide173]

Wow, big difference out there. Here, the state requires licensed facilities to have contract ambulances to alleviate the burden on the 9-1-1 system. It doesn't work, but it's there. We respond regularly to nursing home that have called their contract service who has no availability and dumps the call to the 9-1-1 service zone provider (may be 3rd service, fire based or private) who initiates a response, and the facility staff usually doesn't even notice the different uniform. The only problem comes when they want to send to a distant facility and are informed of the statewide closest point of entry policy-then they pull the "I didn't call 9-1-1" line. In a city like Boston, where overnight staffing is 11 BLS and 3 ALS, it does put some extra weight on the system.

As far as transfers, Paramedics take almost everything, including patients with blood hanging.

 

[tkenny53]

After reading these pages, no one mention the radio device these freq's were used from. If you remember back in the 70's paramedics contacted hospitals via the Orange Box, a portable radio set. TV show Emergency, was a good example of this process. Smaller devices and Cell service made way for this new communication. Unless someone pulls out an orange box and starts to use it, you may not hear a thing.

 

[Aero125]

Unless someone pulls out an orange box and starts to use it, you may not hear a thing.

The LA County EMS Agency still has the 463/468 hospital medic radio system actively listed in the list of communication protocols. Each 911 receiving hospital is assigned a couple sets of frequency pairs and PL tones and paramedics have these programmed in their HT or Mobile radios, there is no more need for a separate radio box. LA County has chosen to use cell phones as the primary medic to base process because it works, but has and practices with the radio backup system. Orange County is an example of another county that happens to use their 800 trunked system for their primary protocol, that's what works for them.

 

[Mikerh91]

LA County has chosen to use cell phones as the primary medic to base process because it works, but has and practices with the radio backup system.

LA County base station protocol is to actually use the radio as the primary form of contact. The cell phone is an alternate, but because of reliability, the ALS providers use the cell phones.

 

[KB6KGX]

Every call, Mercy Air must talk to their own dispatch in Omaha (I think it's Omaha) via the company freqs 131.675 or 155.220

OMAHA?????? As in Nebraska?????

 

[KB6KGX]

The LA County EMS Agency still has the 463/468 hospital medic radio system actively listed in the list of communication protocols. Each 911 receiving hospital is assigned a couple sets of frequency pairs and PL tones and paramedics have these programmed in their HT or Mobile radios, there is no more need for a separate radio box. LA County has chosen to use cell phones as the primary medic to base process because it works, but has and practices with the radio backup system. Orange County is an example of another county that happens to use their 800 trunked system for their primary protocol, that's what works for them.

As I posted in an earlier comment, the official reason for the reliance on cell phones rather than the “Med” channels was for patient privacy. However, as I said then, I’ve been listening to the LAFD Paramedics on these channels since the early 80s and have NEVER heard anything remotely “sensitive” going out over the air. Nothing more than age of the patient and whether they were male or female, and whatever their condition was. No names or identifiable numbers, or anything that could lead anyone listening in to be able to identify the “patient”.

 

[KB6KGX]

AMR is no longer the largest private EMS company in Los Angeles County. They have lost nearly all of the zone contracts, and whittled down to a small operation compared to the late 90s, early 2000s. CARE and McCormick have both grown exponentially in LA County. CARE has all of south and eastern Los Angeles, Schaeffer has the San Gabriel Valley, and McCormick has the South Bay, West LA Areas, WeHo and West County (Malibu/Calabassas/Agoura). AMR has only the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley zone left from their heyday.

Wow, things sure have changed. I remember that there used be a LOT more private ambulance companies, but many of those were “absorbed” into AMR’s expansion. Now, I’m seeing more privates out there that I’ve never heard of before.

I know Care is all over Orange County, as well, at least they are in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Anaheim and those areas.

You’re saying that AMR is only in Santa Clarita and AV now? AMR is also in Simi Valley, where I live. Which frequencies do they use here, or do they just use the VCFD frequencies?