Midwest medical Reviews

Many years have passed that I have served faithfully with this company which has given me so much. I consider this an honor to have been able to know many incredible professionals and wouldn t have it any other way. However, like a coin there are two sides to it. I have been plagued time and again, having decided whether to place my thoughts onto paper and have them addressed though out of fear of retaliation, I accept the fact that there will be concerns and frankly, outrage against this review. This is regarding the dispatch center, its staff and management issues.

First and foremost, having spent several years with this company, I have grown to know many of the familiar voices of the people who have worked or are currently working in the dispatcher center. Often times, the constant Hmm and Uhhs come over like a chorus of Buddhist monks. Too often, the incompetence of the dispatch center is so overwhelming that many hospitals have stopped calling the 1-800 number to dispatch and began calling the stations directly. Pertinent information is not being delivered to the crews in a timely or proper manner. Runs often go unanswered, tones not dropped or simply pushed onto a station because another city s station cannot handle their own call volume. Dispatchers consistently phone crews with different runs and do not communicate with each other even though they sit across the same room from each other. Any attempt by crews to reaffirm their concerns/ability to make the run is met with overwhelming "holier-than-thou" attitudes. Dispatchers are often untrained (no actual certifications as EMD to my knowledge), unfamiliar with basic medical terminology or even the concept of triaging calls in accordance with severity is unfamiliar. For instance, a hospital called for an immediate, emergent transfer of a STEMI and the dispatch center will reroute the closest ALS rig to do a BLS hospice transfer first. Other times, BLS crews are doing emergent prehospital calls while ALS crews are stuck doing dialysis runs. It is obvious that patient care and condition is of no priority to the dispatchers. The average joe is able to walk off the street and fill out the application to become a Midwest Medical Dispatcher and somehow earn more money starting out than an EMT working on a rig. This is insane and quite frankly, insulting to anyone who actually holds a certification & performs patient care.

The crews are working to the best of their abilities, having been on call after call with little time to check a truck, restock equipment, fuel the rig or grab a bite to eat. Often, rigs from out of town are called in to do non-emergent transfers or even emergent prehospital calls, leaving their normal area of operations uncovered for several hours. Crews often criss-cross each others territory on their way to calls due to lack of proper communication and critical thinking by dispatch. Because of the dispatch center and its staff , I strongly advise anyone to reaffirm their needs to the dispatcher in an urgent manner as most of them are unable to comprehend what an emergency actually is. Your crews you request will arrive and do their job to the absolute best of their ability though we cannot trust our dispatch center to do theirs!

I was a former pilot for Midwest MedAir. The culture felt unsafe when I worked there. I've seen maintenance rushed in order to appease higher ups and maintain flight status.

The company liked to pressure pilots to fly in unsafe conditions (thunderstorms, icing conditions, strong winds). Taking unnecessary risks was encouraged, because it resulted in more revenue for each patient flown. I've known pilots at this company that had to land in farmers fields because they pushed weather too hard. I was reprimanded many times when turning flights down due to safety concerns. I've even had the FAA call me to question me and cross reference complaints from other pilots about company culture.

My first indications that this was a poor company to work for was when I flew 30 days straight because pilots kept quiting and I had to fill the schedule. As far as I know, there isn't a single pilot still working for this company that I worked with originally. Even the Director of Operations and Chief Pilot have left.The turn over for pilots is very frequent, which hurts overall combined experience level of flight crews. The med crew was awesome. I really enjoyed working with them. Company culture was very poor though, and I would not trust this company with flying a family member of mine.

I had Methidist hospital call Midwest Medical Transport to bring my sister home to assisted living because I thought they were a good company. The driver was not friendly. He refused to bring her 2 balloons and her 2 small flower arrangements with her.
So our sister and brother in law had to take them. So they may as well have taken her home too.
I think he was lazy and not a people person .
Then we get charged $45 for just a bad service..

Great company with a CEO that s attentive and in tune with the employees.

The number of stars is an average between the professionalism of the transport van personnel (superb) and the management decisions (uh...definitely not superb). My signif. other, for whom I'm POA, was unsympathetically informed that the company that "lift assist" will no longer be provided for patients who need transport from home to outpatient clinics. (Lift assistance is for people who cannot safely walk or get down stairs themselves to get into van). This patient is on dialysis, cannot walk more than a few feet (and even that is with severe pain); lift assistance is mandatory. We were told that company is shifting away from this type of service toward regular ambulance transport, and patients who do not require lift. In that case they should change the company name to Midwest Ambulance Company, or some such.

When my sister in law needed transport to the ER after a bad fall, the 2 crews from MMT and the dispatcher were prompt and very professional. I don't know their names or I'd have called them all out personally, but they were great!

Fantastic crews that are dedicated to their patients and each other. You will be hard pressed to find a better crew to take care of your patients, throughout this entire company. The reason for the low rating is the fact that this company has expanded far beyond their infrastructure capabilities, and refuses to do anything about it. It makes it harder for the crews to do their job. This company has the potential for greatness, but they have to get out of their own way first.

Horrible company to work for! Poorly managed. Horrible hours. 168 hours in a two week period is mandatory for on call stations, however you are only paid for 80. Unless you are on actual calls for more than 80 hours. Yes that s correct. Management manages by threats of termination etc. Junk equipment, worst charting system in the industry, zero chance of running emergency calls. The company has shut down all 911 stations and discourages station managers to run anything but hospital discharges, doctors visits, and long distance transfers. If you like being shorted 80+ hours a paycheck, poor equipment, and poor work conditions this is place for you!! Dispatch center uses non-medically trained call takers to triage calls.

We are extremely satisfied with the service we received today. The attendants were kind, courteous, professional and very helpful. They arrived on time with smiles and ready to help in less than perfect conditions. They even called for extra help to assist with a difficult loading situation. The ambulance was clean and had top level equipment. Well worth every penny spent!! Would recommend to friends. We will use their service again! 5 Star! 5 Star! 5 Star! Keep up the great work!!!