Denver, Colorado

As I came to Denver I realized just how much I didn’t know about all the operations of AMR.  The IFT division is slated to “Inter-Facility Transfers” for the Denver area.  For those of us in the 911 business this can seem quite the boring area to be in, but what I learned about how complex the system is made me think twice.  While the core focus of the business is to do inter-facility transfers it also appears that they are the backup for the 911 system and apear to have many of those calls as well.  When I went to one of the hospitals when delivering a patient I saw over 6 different ambulance companies which just seemed to be overload, but I am sure it is more complex than I was told in my short time there.  I sat down with the GM of the IFT division to learn more about his philosophy as a leader.  Chad Fahlenkamp inspired me with his enthusiasm for the job and the fact that he was so in touch with the crews even not coming from the field was simply amazing.  He emphasized how important it was all about relationships and I couldn’t agree more.

I also had the chance to ride with a crew from the IFT division for a few hours before I jumped on the plane back to the SF bay Area.  While all we had was 2 calls and one of them got cancelled it was a great experience to experience what they did, ask them some extremely sensitive questions and get some real answers.  What I learned from them was that it doesn’t matter where you are from, or what division of AMR you work for.  There are the good times and there are the bad times, but with the right attitude you can find your way through just about anything.  I was extremely impressed with this crew as they told me about a few gripes they had, but what impressed me the most was their positive attitude about their career.  As a fellow EMS 2.0 thinker I immediately felt at home with a similar vision for the future of our profession.

It was very obvious to me that as I visit these different locations there isn’t a clear communication platform that allows us boots on the ground types to collaborate and develop relationships around the nation.  If those in Denver were able to connect with a few of us in Alameda County and toss around ideas from time to time I’l bet you that the level of awareness and appreciation for all that we have to go through as paramedics, EMT’s, VST’s or any field level staff would help us all.  Since I am a paramedic I am coming from a field perspective and I am looking to create a documentary that is true to who we are and what we are all about.