emergency medical technician

paramedic

emt-basic

driver

tow truck driver

ELITE AMBULANCE

I worked at Elite for three years as an EMT-B. It really used to be a wonderful company to work for. They used to care about their employees and their patients, you used to be more than just a number and patient care was prioritized.
During the pandemic, this company lost sight of patient care, started viewing their employees as just a number or a warm body to fill a seat, stopped seeing their patients as people and seemed to only care about the money, but that wasn’t even reflected in our paychecks. 
When I started in 2019, I used to be excited to come to work. Management cared about us and our wellbeing, we would get some down time on shifts and in general, shift would be fun. When things shifted, all that went out the window. They run you for all that you were worth and then some. You’ll be all over the coverage area, as dispatch doesn’t know how to appropriately zone most of the time. We’d clear up from a call and be sent half an hour away for an emergency and be told “This call has been holding for x hours.”, or we’d be sent to pick a patient up two hours late for an appointment. You’d walk into facilities only to be yelled at because the appointment was at 10AM and now it’s noon and you’re just showing up. BLS crews would be dispatched for ALS calls and be told “ALS is 20 minutes away, just see what you can do” only to learn ALS was never dispatched, the nearest available unit is 30+ minutes away and you’re on your own. If you call for a 911 ALS intercept, you get chewed out. It got to a point where if I was on a BLS unit and getting these calls, I felt like my license that I worked so hard for was in jeopardy every time I clocked in. They’ll lie to you about what’s in your scope and what calls you’re allowed to take. EPCR’s are changed without consent and without informing the employees. They are comfortable putting sub-par providers on the streets 1:1, even when multiple employees complain repeatedly to management, so if you’re more than half way competent, there’s a good chance you’ll be the best provider on the truck and have to care for your patient, babysit your partner, call the hospital, etc. These complaints will fall on deaf ears.
They’ll call you on your off days and beg you to pick up extra shifts. I remember some time periods I would be working 80+, sometimes 100 hour WEEKS, because they just really needed to put another truck up. Some employees would mess with times and take forever to clear and those employees would get maybe 2-3 calls on a 12 hour shift, whereas the employees who do their job quickly and efficiently and clear in an appropriate amount of time would catch 7+ calls on a 12 hour shift; keep in mind you’re being sent everywhere, from the city to far suburbs back to the city, back to the suburbs, and so on. Towards the end of my time at Elite, I would drive home so exhausted I’d be in tears the whole way. Dispatch and management plays favorites all the time. If you have a good station manager, there’s only so much they can do to help you, as the regional managers (the manager above them) are usually problematic at best. Management is male dominated and most of them have minimal to no respect for female employees. Pay is a joke, you’ll usually sit at your starting rate, no matter how long you’ve been there or how much experience you have. For a while, I was training people who were making a cent more than me. Pay is reactive, they only raise starting when they start losing people. They have cameras in the cabs and are more than happy to call and scream at employees when they don’t see them wearing their blues on the camera but refuse to acknowledge any of the times they see employees sobbing and unraveling on the camera.
In summary, I used to be proud to work at Elite. Clocking in was something I really looked forward to. At the end of my time at the company, work was something I dreaded. They used to care about you, but the caring culture has gone out the window long ago. While you’ll get to run emergencies even as BLS and that will be exciting, the emergencies will sometimes be well beyond the level of care you are able to provide and there will be no available units in the company that can provide the level of care your patient needs and deserves. If you work here, watch your back, because no one else will.

It's good for a beginner compared to most private ambulances. Pay is decent and some of the people are great. Some garages are more tight knit than others. I'd say this place is best for someone just looking to get their feet wet in EMS before moving on to 911 EMS or fire. You don't do much outside of basic IFT/nursing home "emergencies" which 95% of the time turn out to be non-emergencies (for example, someone in a facility needing to go to the ER for falling 3 days ago because their doctor wants to play it safe and have them evaluated in the hospital even though they have no symptoms, but the call was technically classified as emergent since the patient is going to the ER) . Again, this place is good to get a feel for EMS as a new EMT, but you aren't going to be doing real emergencies at all and there are a looooot of tedious transfers that can sometimes be long distance. You can still learn a lot though. Scheduling is great and extremely flexible. One thing is they hire way too many EMRs so most crews are 3 person with 1 EMR and 2 EMTS or 1 EMR and 1 EMT (if the crew is 1 EMR and 1 EMT then they will not be allowed to do any emergency calls, only transfers). The EMR school is a 9 day training program and they also aren't allowed to do anything besides drive so as an EMT you will be in the back running every call/making every decision for your patient because your partner is someone who went through 9 days of training and is only allowed to drive. They will hire pretty much anybody so the good people are great but the bad ones are usually terrible and would not know how to function in the event of a real emergency. Finally, there is a lack of consequences for things like call-offs, mouthing off to management, being late, not showing up, etc. During my time at Elite there were people who would straight up not show up or would call off on a consistent basis, or they would scream at station managers/coworkers and become belligerent when asked to do their jobs. They never even got a write up and if they did nothing ever happened.  People are rarely held accountable here for anything. Consequences and accountability do not exist here. Moral of the story: best for beginners to learn and then leave. Do not stay here if you want to grow in EMS. 

I worked for Elite for an entire year full time, working approximately 50-80 hours a week. I only worked so much because over time is the only way to actually have a decent paycheck. While living at home and going to school that was barely enough to cut it. 

I am currently part-time and have been for eight months. I only continue employment here until I secure a full-time fire position or a second part-time fire position.

They treat basics and medics the same; like trash. Dispatch will boss you around and try and tell you what to do. Despite having orders from your resource hospital they will still try and tell you what to do and get angry and punish you when you do not listen to them.

Dispatch will not care about your safety. You will be sent on calls with no medical necessity in the most inopportune times such as a blizzard and other inclement forms of weather. They will happily run you into the ground will calls whether or not you are on a 12-hour shift or a 24-hour shift without break. They will pair you with nondriving partners so you can be stuck driving 700 miles in a single day. I have actually had to drive that much in a single 20-hour shift.

You will be held over for upwards to five hours despite informing dispatch you have a strict off time due to childcare needs or schooling. The type of calls we run are very predictable and there is no reason why you should be held over so grossly and often. 

They will not pay for uniforms and they will not reimburse you for them either. When uniforms are destroyed in the field they will not pay for those either and will then berate you for not wearing a proper uniform.

They will dictate you to take rigs into service that are grossly unfit for the job. Every single rig has some sort of dash light on, ranging from check engine lights to SRS lights. These are safety risks that they do not bat an eye over. The majority of them also are not well planted at freeway speed, which you will see a lot of. They almost all shake excessively above 50 MPH.

The benefits are garbage, expensive garbage at that. I think the only reason they get away with it is because of how young everyone is and most of us are able to be on a parent's health insurance.

The turnover rate is massive, most people last a few months. People call off constantly and it severely inconveniences you if it is your partner since dispatch will make you drive upwards to 90 minutes away to get a partner.

Despite all of these issues, if you are attempting to get your foot in the door and are fresh out of EMT-b school a private is the only way to go. They will hire anyone regardless of ability and intelligence.

Elite ambulance, the company over the years has grown exponentially. For example, when I first started with the company in 2014, the company only had 3 garages in the Chicago land area. Now they have 10 covering Chicago, Indiana and Wisconsin. I really enjoyed working for Elite. Each of our garages was micromanaged by garage managers who then reported to the other managers at our main headquarters. Our day to day life started out the same, by coming into the garage, making sure the ambulance is stocked, all the equipment works properly and ready to go on time. On the ambulance would be yourself, your partner and possibly either a third rider or student depending on the day. After we made sure everything was ready, the crew goes up in service and then is available for calls. A typical day would consist of scheduled dialysis, doctor appointments, transfers, and emergency calls. Usually the day would start off by a post page to go stage an area that our company has designated to be a "hot spot" or more frequent calls in those particular areas. I would say the hardest part of our job is not having quarters to go back to. So, what we have to do is sleep, eat and work in the ambulances all day and all night until our shift is over. Also, dealing with death, is something that takes getting adjusted to. In our line of work, there has the potential for death for our patients or even the employees. The people working on a particular patient could do everything in their power to save the patient's life but sometimes, even their best efforts it's just not enough. So dealing with death could be hard for some people. In lighter news, the most enjoyable part of the job is where you have that patient that you bring back to life or you save them from some sort of ailment. That is the most rewarding aspect about working in the medical field. Secondly, having an amazing partner to work with for your 20 hour shift makes the day go by really quick and you have fun. I was fortunate enough to work with one of the most knowledgeable paramedics I've ever came across. He has taught me more about EMS, anatomy and physiology that anyone would ever learn in a textbook. I was honored to work with such a paramedic in my time working at Elite Ambulance.

Work starts with a dispatcher berating you because you are late to go up in service because the crew before you did not properly stock your ambulance. You go up for your first call and it is a doctor's appointment that takes you an hour drive to a patient then 40 minutes to the appointment. You are expected to drop off the patient and LEAVE them at the appointment. Your dispatcher will tell you to do so and will become upset if you remain on site. Your patient is alone and is paralyzed on the left side with an amputated right leg. Being a decent care provider, you remain on site in order to take the patient back home. The appointment was one hour, plus 40 minutes to the patients home. You drop the patient off and clear from the call.

Next, you will get an emergency call for a patient with chest pain and respiratory difficulty and be told to drive code-3. You realize the patient is 45 minutes from your current location and your dispatcher pushes the call forward, expecting you to drive with lights and sirens the whole way, creating a hazard for you and everyone you pass on your way to this call. At this point you can see where this is going...

This behavior carries on for 12, 24, 36 hours depending on what kind of punishment you decide your shift to be. Crews are ran day in and day out with poor equipment and loose guidelines to follow. Crews will not get a break or a lunch and there are no quarters. The whole shift is spend in an ambulance. Elite does not seem to care about their employee health or well-being. Training opportunities are not paid for and only occur in one location, despite having employees all over the chicagoland area. The road crews are phenomenal with patient care, but interaction among other employees is poor and is typically a negative experience.

What is the best part of working at the company?
As an educator, Elite gave me the tools and flexibility to achieve what I needed. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The same stresses of ANY private EMS agency will prevail here.  EMS workers are subjected to harsh weather conditions, equipment breaking/malfunctions, etc.  Individuals nationwide need to start taking ownership in their rigs and their equipment to run a smooth ship.  Elite, like ALL ambulance companies, need to honor contractual obligations with those they have partnered with.  This can lead to late calls coming in, (Close to shift end time) Longer shift times, break times not at the optimal time.  These are not things they wish upon their employees, it is the industry. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It really depends on what station you are at.  I wont lie, cultural atmosphere can be different from one station to the next. This is normal for the EMS and Fire service!  Overall, from the HQ to a satellite station, culture is based on respect of others, doing your job properly and accepting diversity in all aspects of the job. You get out of the work environment what you put into it!

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I cannot answer this question as a "Street Medic" as I was an Educator.  But typically, you come in, 10-15 minutes BEFORE shift start time. Start your daily rig checks, call into dispatch, if there are calls holding (Which there usually is) get ready to take in your first run.  It could be a dialysis patient going home, a hospital patient going home, an inter-facility transfer, responding to 911 calls (Station and contract dependent) or a number of other medical calls. Eat when you can, although dispatch is pretty good about giving you a break when they can./

Elite Ambulance from the outside looks like a perfect private medical company. No place you work will be sunshine and rainbows but here are a few things I’ve learned working at this company. 

The toxic attitude from all management is so mentally draining. You will walk into this job trying your hardest but after month one, you will wish for death. The only positive of working here is the people you’ll meet and get to interact with. 

Street employees (EMTs & Medics)! You will be ran through the dirt every single shift regardless of how busy it is. Not a single person dispatching is certified to dispatch. You will work with subpar equipment and be thrown in a horrible ambulance that will most likely break down on you during shift. 

Zero accountability at any level of this company. You will be able to basically get away with anything besides calling off. No one is responsible for anything, it’s always someone else’s problem. Do not come into a position here trying to make the place better. Many of us have tried to help this company and they are stuck in their old ways. Management team consists of only family, you will NOT make a difference. On the rare chance you do improve a policy or procedure, you will not be appreciated for it. DO THE BARE MINIMUM FOR THIS PAYCHECK. 

Annual reviews do NOT exist. 
Team work does NOT exist. 
Policies do NOT get followed. 

After hearing all of this, it pains me to say but unfortunately Elite Ambulance is the best private EMS company in the state. Fastest and cheapest way to get an EMR/EMT license and offers a nice paramedic tuition assistance program (locks you into an employment contract). After working an unreasonable amount of hours on the street, you’ll be able to pay your bills. 

Hope this helps.  

Elite is an entry-level EMS job. That's all to it. I don't recommend staying here for more than 6 months. You will gain experience. The emergencies that you get BLS and ALS are definitely a plus and you learn a bunch. The BS of the company definitely outways the positives though. Elite is a company that does not have your back. There are individuals in management that are excluded from that statement but seldom do you encounter these individuals. I understand a for-profit company has to make money but you are expected to treat patients as customers, not patients. It has happened to many of us that we have gotten in trouble for doing something that is in the best interest of your patient. Elite would be a much better place to work if upper management would be able to take suggestions and criticism and build something better from it, instead of silencing the people who speak up. I hope when Elite reads this review that changes will be made. Throughout my time working at Elite, improvements were made in the right direction but very slowly and seldom did any of the changes employees begged for get implemented. Elite - I say this with the upmost respect and kindness, please listen to your employees when they ask for reasonable change, don't allow individuals in the company to try and silence and punish employees for doing the right thing.

Low pay, no self-respecting paramedic should be working for less than $28 an hour, for all the stress and time it takes to become a paramedic and keep your license in good standing, you're being robbed.

No power loaders, even for ALS and CCT. 

2022 hourly pay:
EMR: $16
EMT: $17.50
Paramedic: $24
CCT-Paramedic: $28

There is no differential pay for night shift.

There is, or at least used to be, a  shift bonus for workers scheduled EVERY Friday night or Saturday, but NO bonus if you only pick up the odd Friday or Saturday. To get the bonus, you have to sacrifice EVERY Friday night or Saturday, and you'll have an extremely hard time changing your schedule after agreeing to that.

PTO policy needs to be improved. PTO hours don't roll over and can't be cashed out, it's use-it-or-lose-it. After 1 year of full-time employment, you get 48 hours of PTO. After 2 years, you get 96 hours. After 4 years, 144 hours. The trick is, turnover is so high due to burnout and low wages, hardly anyone makes it 4 years full-time.

We're frequently held over after the scheduled end of our shift, up to two hours regularly, the longest I've seen is 4 hours. That's really hard to deal with when you have to be back at work the next day.

The company has 12 hour, 13 hour, 24 hour shifts, as well as experimenting with some "power shifts" during peak busy hours.

Management here is awful, the way they treat employees is awful, the way they conduct business is awful, the equipment is awful, the policies are awful. I could go on and on about everything which is awful. The job itself is great, the patients are great, the job is not hard (I was a MedVan driver, not EMT). The most frustrating part of this job are the people we’re working for. They don’t care what you have going on in your life outside of work, they don’t care if they keep you two hours late every day of your shift. They don’t care if you’ve recently had surgery and need to go home because your incision is bleeding and it needs to be taken care of. Truly this place sucks. Dispatch only care about dispatch and they disregard how anyone feels about anything as if they’re receiving some insane bonus to make our lives hard. If you don’t mind being overworked, underpaid, disrespected, and condescended to—this is the perfect job for you. 


PS- on this review I marked I do NOT approve of the CEO. I’m honestly unsure if the CEO is the owner, but whoever is in charge of equipment is who I do not approve of. The equipment they have everyone using ridiculously outdated—actual vehicles themselves included and the most important. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Emergency medical technician 72 salaries reported	$58,513 per year
Paramedic 45 salaries reported	$69,960 per year
Emt-basic 12 salaries reported	$19.21 per hour
Driver 13 salaries reported	$17.12 per hour
Tow truck driver 2 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour

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