Take Me To Post Comment Form Southern California EMS (www.socalems.com) was founded by Ed Castillo, a 20 year veteran of the fire/ems field who saw a need for a real event medical standby company to step up to the plate. During the course of several months dating back to 2006, Ed began a secret mission to explore these other so-called medical standby/set medic companies and in doing so was shocked to find how unprofessional and how lax these companies were. It was a surprise that no one had been in any legal proceedings due to their incompetent staff and shady hiring practices.

Here is what Ed found during his research in his own words:

"During this time, I pretended to be an applicant and called on several companies. One La Canada based company called me back for an interview and I drove out to La Canada to meet with the owner of this operation. The company was based out of a small garage in front of a home and the office area was a complete wreck. My first impression of this operation was not very favorable and I felt like I was just another body that would be used to fill his roster. The owner was not very warm and never once smiled. He and I talked for about 10 minutes before he pulled out the hiring paperwork and he took copies of my impressive resume and my certifications. During this time he proceeded to pull out a very large packet that contained a contract, and a list of things that I would need to purchase on my own before he could send me out on anything. I then decided to interview him and find out more about his operation and what I found out was really shocking. The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that this guy was not even at least an EMT and he has never even been one. My first thought was how can a guy like this even run a set medic company? Oh it gets better! I also learned that in addition to set medics, they also sub-contract out MD's, nurses, security, set tutors, divers, and a host of other services. I saw this operation as nothing more than a mill operation looking to get as many jobs from the production companies as they can. I am not prejudice at all but this guy was middle eastern and had no clue about his role. I walked away from this operation thinking to myself that it was a total sham. He never asked about my background, he never offered skills testing, he had no written test, no nothing. I could not believe what I had witnessed and I also felt that if this guy is doing this, how many others are running their businesses like this?

"The answer came pretty quickly as I investigated further. There were numerous other companies that operated without conducting any kind of background checks or any testing of any kind. In my mind that is a very dangerous way to conduct a company that deals with the public and the public deserves better than this. The bottom line is that most of these companies are mis-representing themselves to the general public in regards to their services offered. If event planners were educated in this industry, they would know what to look for and what questions to ask of these companies to make sure that their staff is qualified and up to par with skills, etc.

"It was about a year ago when I got a call from La Crescenta High School seeking medics for their football games and I was thrilled. I asked the sports director what happened to the last company they hired and he said they were no shows quite often and they were horrible at follow up calls...in otherwords they had very poor customer service. This was a Northridge based company I am very familiar with and I know from experience that their reputation has been tarnished quite badly recently due to unprofessionalism. Why does this happen? It is because that this private industry of event and set medics is not regulated. Anyone can start a company and call themselves medics but that does not mean squat unless they can deliver on that.

"Ok, now lets talk about a few other things such as appearances in the field. I have seen all types such as a bunch of guys dressed like security guards or military wearing their BDU's. How tacky is that? I guess these guys want to feel important. Then there are those types who wear street clothes as medics. There was a case where medics could not be located because they wore street clothes in the crowd. Fire Dept. was called in and boy were the event organizers pissed off. These same organizers after seeing our operations decided to give us all their events. Hmm, I wonder why? My favorite thing is seeing guys who are out of shape, overweight, too old and look like they would become a patient themselves. I mean what I have seen out there makes me want to vomit.

"For the last two years I have been monitoring these so-called companies and getting the latest intelligence on their hiring practices and the way they conduct business operations. I use this information as well as my 20 year career to make sure that my company is doing things just the same way as other major fire departments run their day to day ops.

"We do the following and this has gained the attention of many private standby companies from all the States:

**All candidates must send a resume and cover letter to be considered
**They must have at least one year 911 experience, no IFT's.
**They must pass a written exam and a skills exam based on NREMT
**They must pass a physical agility test
**They must pass an extensive background check and drug background check
**They must pass a 90 day probationary period
**They must all possess at least NREMT-B certification and AHA CPR
**They must all attend mandatory in-service training
**They must abide by the company uniform code

"As you can see, we place alot of expectations on our staff but this ensures that my clients are getting what they deserve. Would you want any family member treated by a green medic or someone who is unsure of their skills. I hope not! I would never allow that.

For the last two years I have put all these companies on notice and have raised the bar in this unregulated industry. It is about time that event planners and organizers realize there is a difference. I am actively educating these people on what to look for and what questions to ask. I mean someone has to, right?