im looking at moving to IL

[milhouse]

hey guys im looking at moving to IL this early spring around march maybe sooner. well i dont have a clue as to what to do. in order for me to go down there i need a job first because i can't afford to go there then look for one. the best thing for me would to get a job on the ambulance. im already an EMT. i only 20 years old which i turn 21 in jan and most place around here require you to be 21 so thats why im waiting till spring. but i dont have a clue, how to get a job with out actually being there. i need some help guys with what ever you can give me suggestions anything would be great. im gonna be moving to Roscoe IL (northern IL by Rockford). now im gonna be calling the health department to find out what i need to do to come over there with a NREMT-b card and also to get a listing of the EMS services in IL and if possible a listing of just the ones in the surrounding areas.

please guys i need your help with this matter as i am kinda lost.

[FCDave24]

I was in your shoes 7 yrs ago, when I moved here from Ohio. I can't tell you if they have changed their process, but here is my recommendation.

Call the Illinois Department of Public Health and explain your situation and your intentions. You will probably need to fill out some sort of application and send them a copy of your certification/license. If you're approved, you'll get your Illinois License. Because you have National Registry, you should (I believe) recieve reciprocity and get your license. However, you may need to establish residency before they approve it.

When I did it, my Ohio certifcation was due for renewal. Illinois renewed my cert and gave me 4 yrs on my Illinois license! This was great, because I had fallen behind on my continuing education.

Unfortunately, I can't help you with EMS providers in Rockford. However, I'm pretty sure there is a Harlem-Roscoe Fire Department. If you're interested in the fire service, I'd check them out.

Hope this helps.

[npfd801]

Harlem-Roscoe is a very good department, you would be well served by joining their ranks. They run paid EMS crews who are contracted through a local hospital based EMS provider. Don't expect to get in that spot right away (there are quite a few Harlem Roscoe guys that have worked for this ambulance provider for years that don't have seniority enough to work out of their own station, that I'm sure would snatch an opening up in a second).

However, Harlem Roscoe does utilize paid on premise FF/EMTs, so that could be a supplemental income. Check out their site:

http://www.harlemroscoefire.com

If you're not exactly in Roscoe - South Beloit, Rockton, North Park (my department) all are very good - each with their strengths and weakenesses, and we all border Harlem Roscoe's district.

As far as getting paid to be an EMT on an ambulance, there are a number of choices in the Rockford area. Lifeline, Metro, ATS and Superior all base private ambulances out of the Rockford area. Superior is likely the largest overall in Illinois, but their presence in Rockford isn't that large compared to Lifeline, at least from what I see now. Lifeline has the advantage of being the private emergency provider for Belvidere, IL and much of Boone County with two rigs, has a couple of units that run quite a bit of EMS runs with Blackhawk FPD, as well as Rockford and Cherry Valley when their own units are all tied up. Lifeline also runs a staffed unit out of our station, and contracts medics to Harlem Roscoe, where they operate the department's equipment.

Metro and ATS also run emergency/911 calls, as each has a contract with assorted departments/communities. ATS contract personnel staff Rockton's ambulance. Loves Park is covered by Metro, who does a ton of runs into that city.

First step, of course as mentioned - get your IL license, which shouldn't be all that hard since you are national. You'll have to test into the system you'll work in here in the Rockford area. OSF/St. Anthony is probably the most used (they run Lifeline), but Rockford Memorial is also a resource hospital as is Swedish American. Metro is tied to RMH, not sure about ATS.

One of the things you'll find is that a lot of the 911 based EMS for the area is based on using private ambulances. The tax base for many of the department's here just isn't "fat" enough to support paid personnel, so privates fill the void. Another ten years, perhaps we'll see a substantial change. I know we're running 1400 calls a year, we NEED staffing during the day. Whether our residents will agree to increase their taxes to accomplish this, we'll see. I know we're a long way off from running out own ambulance and having 24 hour fire suppression staffing...

Good luck!

[milhouse]

do you know what it takes to get on with the harlem-roscoe FD. like whats there testing process. what do they do for tests. i know that you put an app. in and they send you a letter when they are gonna be recruiting. but other than that i dont know what they do. do they start you out as a paid per call vol. or do they hire you on as a full time paid?? also im on a paid per call vol. FD here i have my 1st 3 class (intro ppe and wildland) and thats through the AR fire academy. will those come over or will i have to redo all that.

just anything you can tell me about thre harlem-roscoe FD that would be great ive been just about up and down there website. they seem like an awesome department.

npfd are you on there department. if so please tell me all that you can about them from start to finish.

whats there policy about living in district? do they give you like 30-60-90 days to get residency with in the district or do you already have to live within district ???

anything that you can help me with would be great

thanks guys for all your help that ive gotten so far....