emt-basic

support specialist

human resources assistant

paramedic

emergency medical technician

Empress EMS

  Great for new EMTs/Medics you will get a lot of experience and get it very quick. If you have any experience, don’t waste your time and apply elsewhere. They sold themselves as a great place to work in their interview and I was offered the job within 2-3 days. They were helpful with the reciprocity process as I was moving from another state and NY Reciprocity takes a LONG time.  New hire Orientation is a 2 week long basically EMT refresher. Which at first I found helpful moving from another state and having to learn the New York protocols. However as time went on it became very clear that management doesn’t care and you are just a number that is easily replaceable. Management and Dispatch  play favorites. At one point during a lecture in orientation I was singled out after they found out I worked for one of their competitors and I was no longer referred to by name and was referred to as “that (insert competitor company name) person” also having a fire fighting background I was singled out and told I was wrong and was told “you must have a F****  S tattooed to your chest”. I had been an EMT for almost 10 years in another state before moving to New York and was treated as if I graduated school yesterday my experience in another state was completely disregarded. Unfortunately I parted ways with the company in a very short time. 

Empress is a great place for gaining experience as an EMT or medic but is one of the more poorly ran companies I’ve been apart. Starting from horrible communication between dispatch and EMTs. Supervisors don’t make it comfortable to come to about problems because majority of the time they’re apart of the problem. They give leeway to workers who are clearly not fit to work as EMTs but are quick to fire anyone who shows rebellion to an unjust order. I’ve seen people crash vehicles, perform CPR wrong, and drop patients be allowed to continue work and care but someone fired for simply denying to transport past their scheduled time to leave. It’s a bad culture. There is a handful of great people that work there but the bad apples make the culture there very hard to work at and or recommend to friends or family. 

Training consists of 2 weeks of intensive, paid training. Perhaps not the best place to start as a brand-new EMT, but if you're seasoned, you'll find that your skills are put to use. I was never put into uncomfortable situations by management. Some of the ambulances are old, but if a truck isn't 800, it doesn't go on the road. Excellent support team to keep all the gears oiled. Supervisors tend to be a bit of a fraternity and if you're not one of them, you're simply lower than them. Upper management actually comes around to look at the facility and interact with even the lowest of the new EMT's. They'll offer a "good morning" and "what's up?". Pay is a bit low, but fair if you stay and acquire seniority. Benefits improve rapidly after 2 years of service.

When it comes to working at Empress here is my advice: 
Plan to get off 2 hours after your end of shift time.
Management likes to play favorites and if you aren’t one of them you will get the short end of the stick.
The workplace here is very toxic ( both in the north and south divisions). Best advice is to keep to yourself and just do your job. If you are a new medic, don’t expect to just start working off the bat, they will make you go through a “step” program which supervisors call a “hazing” process new medics have to go through. If you don’t want to be abused then I say go elsewhere. 
The hardest part of the job is the workload and bs from management 
The most enjoyable part is the 911 experience and helping patients but that’s it. 



I heard iffy things about this company coming in, but decided it couldn’t be as bad as I had heard. It was actually worse. Management are unreasonable, perpetually angry, and could not be understanding of someone in my orientation class missing ONE day of the long, drawn out, two week orientation for an important personal reason. 

Your best case scenario is avoiding all management, keeping your head down, and doing the job, but that is an awful work environment to be in. Your worst case scenario is management firing you before you touch an ambulance purely out of them being grumpy that someone looked at them the wrong way.

I can not warn you loudly enough. Work ANYWHERE else

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working at this company is the experience you could possible get if your the right person. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Physical destruction of your body due to outdated lifting techniques and policies that require you to carry 75% more equipment then needed into a call. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
At most companies it’s a popularity contest . 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
When I first started it was busy busy busy, towards then end when I left I felt like they were trying to work me into an early grave.

Lasted three months at this company. First overtime shift that was taken was taken away from me, then when I made it clear I was leaving, the owner of the company called. He said if I left the property, I would be fired. How does something voluntary become mandated?

The group of friends I made from the company will forever be welcomed as not all the coworkers are bad. Some supervisors definitely let their position go to their heads. You'll be doing transport after transport, after about 7 months or so you'll earn seniority. It helps with being able to transfer to their 911 locations.

No other agency requires you to pass an agility test, however this company does. If you can’t do a lunge or a squat with 50 plus pounds of gear in your hands and get up without using the gear then you won’t pass their nightmare agility test . Not one person at the sub company I was supposed to work for could pass this test nor did they have to do this test. I have never had an issue with how I lift a patient and never hurt myself or anyone at that point. This company puts you through this test as an “insurance” requirement as their management team put it. Their management team acts like one giant frat group. 

The management isn't great. The field supervisors are okay. The equipment is better than what it used to be but it's often inadequate for the job we have to do (missing pediatric pulse oxes, IO needles, busted tablets, buses without working radios etc) But you can make money here if you have thick skin, don't mind working horribly difficult shifts in dangerous urban areas.

They run you constantly your whole shift and are not flexible when it comes to any aspect of your life. Administration is very petty and hold grudges over little things. Scheduling is not flexible with your time. You’re always gonna get held over. The equipment is broken & is old and outdated. The ambulances themselves are in even worse condition. They’re constantly cutting corners to save money. But at soon as the state does inspections they send all their buses in to be “serviced”

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Emt-basic 3 salaries reported	$22.67 per hour
Support specialist 6 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour
Human resources assistant 5 salaries reported	$23.50 per hour
Paramedic 4 salaries reported	$25.38 per hour
Emergency medical technician 3 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour

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