looking for answers

E. Naranjo · Post by **E. Naranjo** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:45 pm

Joe, thank you for your honesty! Not to mention the years of your life you have dedicated to this cause. I must admit, your last post has left me completely flabbergasted. Any way you slice it I thank you for presenting the facts.

E. Naranjo · Post by **E. Naranjo** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:52 pm

Now I wait for our elected leaders to break the barrier of silence and utilize this forum to reassure us that this situation is being dealt with accordingly, yes? no? please?

Trish Scott · Post by **Trish Scott** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:54 pm

God Bless You, Joe! Thank you for taking the time to educate us.

John Bolton · Post by **John Bolton** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:07 pm

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

Thank you Pam Moxham for asking the Question
Thank you Trish Scott for having faith in our elected officials
Thank you Kirk for "trying to keep 'em honest"
Thank you Andy Kohls for keeping us informed on how we can try to make contact with those officials
Thank you Ken Taylor in informing everyone on how the scheduled meetings should be arranged
Thank you Jeff Powers for giving us some history and reference to the issues.
Thank you E. Narnanjo for asking "pretty please" for some word from above (both Heavenly and elected)
Thank you Joe Moore for your true dedication and the informative posting...
Thank you everyone for all your efforts to keep this discussion well grounded, on mark, intelligent, informative.... and polite.

So what are we missing here?
This thread has had over 6,000 views. That is a lot of lurking. Your Turn.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 9:33 am

Great job John. I am just a lurker, but I will be watching the St. James meeting tonight on Joe's webcam. I hope they cover and answer some of the questions asked on the forum. I also pay taxes without a vote, but I will keep my voting fiends informed about what is going on. I hope that the Donegal road project, EMS, sewer issue, and others gets discussed tonight.

sdwhalen · Post by **sdwhalen** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:03 am

Thanks to Mr. Moore for his informational post. Who funds BIEMS ?
Is it a private entity or funded through the tax payers ?
If it is private, would it be feasible to merge it with the Fire Dept. try to get a millage for public safety, specifically for forming and funding this new Public Safety Dept. These Paramedics who have performed for so long will be under the umbrella of this new dept. and will be compensated by consistent tax stipends. They will be able to forecast when they need new equipment, vehicles, cross train with the FD, and potentially expand their foot print with additional FD. personnel.
Those who are not in the public safety business do not really know what it takes to become a Paramedic/EMT/MFR, or to maintain those cert's.
Its like an insurance policy....no one likes to pay too much for coverage, but when you need it, you are glad you spent that extra cash.

medic5740 · Post by **medic5740** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:38 pm

I have no authority to tell people what they can and can not do. All I have is the desire to see BIEMS maintain the Advanced Life Support status, and I have the twenty-eight years of experience providing EMS on Beaver Island. As explained in my previous post, there is very little information beyond that post that I have access to. Any further information would have to provided by the director of EMS, Rachel Champenoy. I have no financial information such as budgets and payments, etc. I'm only pointing out what I believe to be obvious and what the public should be aware of. I have not written a business plan because I am getting ready to retire.

The BI Fire Department has no desire to absorb BIEMS. There is no EMS requirement for the fire department here on the island. We have a few members that are also fire department members. I was trained to FF1, but found myself too busy doing the EMS education programs and being on call 24/7/365 to be able to take the fire training that would have moved me to FF2.

BIEMS has millage in St. James Township, approximately one mill, and currently the Peaine Township Board has matched the dollars for the last many years out of their general fund. BIEMS also bills for the ground ALS ambulance, and the air transport vehicle when it is used.

There has been an emergency services authority in existence for years, but it was never staffed until recently, nor expanded to a five member board. This is in the works, but not done yet.

Both the EMS and fire department have been volunteer for many years. So, there would be no value added for having the fire department take over the EMS, at least I can't see any.

My retirement date, for which I gave a full year's notice, is coming up, and I have seen very little progress in the last 9 months. I have even had to arrange for my own days off, sometimes by bringing off island paramedics to cover for me.

Both my wife and I have some health issues, and I will not ever again stay on Beaver Island and cover EMS while my wife goes to medical appointments or ends up in the hospital with me stuck on the island to cover EMS.

There is one more thing that I think the public needs to know. Even when Kathie Ehinger, the other paramedic and owner of Daddy Franks, is on call and goes on a run, that automatically puts me on-call when she flies off with a patient. When I fly off with a patient, Kathie is automatically on-call. The reason for this is obvious. The State of Michigan requires 24/7/365 availability for an Advanced Life Support agency. If a medic gets stranded, say in Traverse City after a US Coast Guard medivac, the other person is automatically on duty.

There is no ability to relocate another agency from the mainland to cover for us. We have no backup. If Charlevoix EMS has all their rigs out, they can contact East Jordan EMS and ask them to cover, and vice versa. We don't have that luxury. We don't have mutal aid. We are providing EMS services on the most remote inhabited island in the Great Lakes.

Joe Moore

sdwhalen · Post by **sdwhalen** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:46 pm

Thanks again for a honest and forthright answer that I think all who visit and live on the island should read. All those years maintaining cert's, responding late at night, that's something.
Hopefully everyone who reads this will appreciate the sacrifices that have been made.
Thanks for what you do, and what you have done.

Trish Scott · Post by **Trish Scott** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:13 pm

He is positively our hero. And he deserves, at least, the consideration to replace him in a timely fashion. All of his hard work to give us Advanced Life Support on Beaver Island must not be lost.

BMcCaw · Post by **BMcCaw** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:08 pm

Is the St. James Township meeting online tonight?

medic5740 · Post by **medic5740** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 9:14 pm

Sorry, but the township meetings are not being live streamed. St. James meeting was recorded and will be available on

http://beaverislandnews.com

after the video is processed and uploaded.

Joe Moore, editor

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 10:25 am

Thanks for the EMS/Paramedic update from St. James Township. Not sure if it is good news or bad news. Seems like a lot to be done and a short time to do it.

Kirk

pbona · Post by **pbona** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:30 am

Does anyone remember Perry Fortier? Last time I saw him, he was an EMT in Petoskey. Perhaps, as a former Island resident, he would be able to help with this dilemma.

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:37 pm

It is nice to note that the St. James Township website will now be properly maintained and kept current. It would be great as a go-to place for citizens to know what is happening with their government and in the township in addition to simply posting meeting dates and minutes. A good use of improved communications would be posting what is happening with the critical EMS/Paramedic crisis on a real time basis and not keeping taxpayers waiting for meetings or minutes to come out for people to be in the know. The BEST possible use of the website would be an interactive site where citizens could post messages, comments or make inquiries. As it has been pointed out, many of the people paying the highest township taxes reside off Island and need to be kept informed by our officials. This is the opportunity.

Kirk

John Bolton · Post by **John Bolton** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 7:05 pm

IMHO
INTERACTIVE SITE: we are already doing that here on this forum....
except so far the communing is only one way....

Beaver Island Michigan

looking for answers

honesty

no time like the present

Question answered

No live streaming of township meetings

Band Aid