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L.A.’s Shortage of Paramedics

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Re “An SOS From Los Angeles’ Lifesavers,” Dec. 17.

The plight of Los Angeles’ paramedics can be traced to one reason; the hiring practices of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

I recently participated in the emergency edict to hire 100 paramedics for the LAFD. I was a 25-year veteran L.A. County paramedic applying for the job. I was told by the captain who interviewed me that I was the highest experienced paramedic he had ever heard about applying for the job, and how much of a prime candidate I was. I dropped out of the hiring process because after eight months, this “highest experienced candidate” would have been terminated and my paramedic career would have been over because I would have basically burned my bridges with my current employer. There were dozens of paramedics like me who didn’t bother to apply because the LAFD would have used us for a few months, then discarded us because our appointments were temporary, not permanent positions.

The LAFD needs to go back to its former practice and hire single-function paramedics. Single-function paramedics don’t want to be firefighters. They want to be paramedics exclusively and are willing to do the job and its functions. Literally hundreds of experienced paramedics like myself are willing to man the LAFD’s rescue ambulances, but the department insists on only hiring firefighters for permanent positions, not paramedics. I am not a firefighter, and I have no desire to be one. I am a paramedic, and a damn good one.

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Firefighters do not want to work on the LAFD’s ambulances. They want to promote up the ranks. They want to become engineers, captains, battalion chiefs and higher ranks. They know that once they are assigned to the ambulances, the critical shortage of paramedics (an LAFD problem since the 1970s) will ensure that they never see a firefighter position that will result in those highly desirable promotions.

The LAFD continues to place bandages on arterial wounds. Sorry guys, but the patient is still going to bleed to death if you don’t address the real problem.

If the LAFD used an accelerated process (as in the emergency hiring of those 100 paramedics) and guaranteed a permanent, full-time position with the department, there wouldn’t be a shortage of paramedics. If I haven’t burned out in 25 years, I doubt I would burn out now. If paramedics like myself were hired, there wouldn’t be a shortage.

It was sad to read about the plight of paramedic Max Hengst. Max and I were partners in San Marino back in the 1970s.

With that in mind, I would like to tell the captain who handled my application packet that as soon as he guarantees me a full-time position with the department--instead of an eight month temporary--I’ll be back to accept.

LOUIS C. FARAH

Burbank

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