Emergency Medical Services
Our Mobile Pre-Employment Phsycial Testing Vehicle. This converted ambulance is a full-service physical testing vehicle. It provides your employees with convenience to be fully examined and be properly cleared for employment before starting.
Fast Response Onsite Testing (FROST) has more than 30 years’ experience in pre-hospital health and safety and is proud of its “cradle to grave” career safety and screening programs. As experts in respiratory protection and aerosol transmissible disease (ATD) prevention, FROST current oversees the initial screening and ongoing annual monitoring of over 5,000 EMS workers in California. Complete CalOSHA 5144 Respiratory protection and 5199 ATD services are available either individually, or on a companywide model.
According to the CDC, Emergency medical services (EMS) workers are primary providers of pre-hospital emergency medical care and integral components of disaster response. The potentially hazardous job duties of EMS workers include lifting patients and equipment, treating patients with infectious illnesses, handling hazardous chemical and body substances, and participating in the emergency transport of patients in ground and air vehicles. These duties create an inherent risk for EMS worker occupational injuries and illnesses; and research has shown that they have high rates of fatal injuries and nonfatal injuries and illnesses.
EMS workers include first responders, emergency medical technicians (EMT), paramedics and others whose occupational titles may not always clearly indicate their EMS duties. In 2010 there were an estimated 210,000 full-time employed emergency medical technicians and paramedics and an additional 244,000 to 273,000 volunteer EMTs and paramedics.
The September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) are a vivid reminder of how vulnerable first responders are to unexpected hazards. The collapse of the WTC created a hazardous environment where New York City Fire Department (FDNY) rescue workers faced numerous health and safety challenges. Virtually every firefighter and ambulance worker in FDNY’s workforce participated in the 10-month WTC rescue and recovery effort; thousands subsequently reported respiratory and other health symptoms.
NOTE: In 2002, the “WTC cough syndrome,” consisting of an initial cough followed by persistent upper and lower respiratory symptoms, often accompanied by gastro esophageal reflux disorder (GERD), was first described by our group. Since then, many investigators have also reported associations between WTC exposure and respiratory symptoms, abnormal pulmonary function and accelerated declines in pulmonary function.
FROST has designed a comprehensive new hire screening process that aligns with other California ambulance companies and then supports that baseline by adding an annual compliance program designed to comply with CalOSHA regulations and to enhance employee health and safety.
Clearly, the economic and market environment for the ambulance industry has changed significantly: more competition and lower reimbursement rates combined with skyrocketing workers compensation costs. Unfortunately, OSHA health and safety compliance has also become more aggressive and now has more requirement areas than ever before. One of the ways to approach this problem is with enhanced employee selection criteria and improved ongoing tracking/compliance.
- When accounting for time and materials, FROST can provide these mobile services at your workplace for less cost than the local OCC health providers, while providing the services a more cohesive and comprehensive result.
- FROST provides new hire baseline examinations that include physical agility testing (PAT) that mimics the essential job tasks in pre-hospital care.
- FROST provides enhanced Cal OSHA 5144 / 5199, TB and DMV compliance with streamlined document management.
- FROST aids the employer in risk management by providing extensive expertise in EMS CalOSHA compliance with an arm’s length relationship to the employer.