mechanic

vehicle technician

dispatcher

mechanic helper

emergency medical technician

GEM Mobile Health

Typical day:
 Days are usually the flip of a coin, landing on tails more than heads it seems, but the days it lands on heads are usually okay. Clock in system is finicky,  there are mandatory messages at times and you can’t clock in or out unless you read and acknowledge them. After morning checks if time is properly given, you proceed through the day. Calls are a wide variety. Information about calls are not always accurate and at times specific key information is missing, so when you get to a call is generally when a plan is formed between you and your partner or yourself if you are doing wheelchair calls.

Learned: 
Job makes you have to be resourceful, you adapt as you deal with situations and are left to your own devices. You will surprise yourself with how you can connect the dots and pick up on things and apply it to other calls as well as situations.

Management: 
Newark branch management is generally solid, above that there is little or no knowledge or interaction outside of the branch unless visits are had and you meet upper management of the company that come by. Certain management will be mentioned and noted at times off and on, but there is not really a putting of the face to the name.

Workplace Culture: 
It’s what you make it. If you find a “group” you like or pick and choose who you interact with things are fine. There are certain groups and situations that are lack luster and you will say in your mind why, but they can be avoided if you keep to yourself and you’re head low at appropriate times.

Hardest part of job:
At times, you will not have the appropriate resources to handle calls. In which case you make due with what you have, wait until the proper resources are available, or need to put your foot down and insist you need resources if who you are coordinating with is trying to “hold off” for whatever reasons. 

Yes this is inter-facility transport, but still nonetheless it is ems and there are times you will need to help people in emergency situations if the situations unfold before you and assistance is required. There will be calls that will unnerve you, make you break down after, and more. I’ve seen my share of coworkers have difficult times after calls. But in the end when doing the job, you are there to help people and do what you can that needs to be done.

Enjoyable part of job:
For this, it is the amount of people that you will interact with and more on calls. Transporting you hear a lot of fascinating stories and more that you will learn something from, make you want to be a better person and do more for your community, and further. There are tons of characters that will cross your path off and on.

In addition to the people you come across on the job and working, the coworkers can be an enjoyable thing. There are many unique and wonderful personalities that reside here. With the right people in your work life as well as good partner the day can go by pretty fast and there is never a dull moment.

Everything stated is from my personal experience and perspective. Everyone’s time and experience is different here. Keep that in mind while reading this.

I started my EMT career in GEM and was fortunate enough to have a variety of experiences in which to practice and sharpen my EMT skills. The calls range from discharges to emergency calls in a 911 setting.  The supervisors I work with are supportive, encouraging, and helpful, not only work related matters but also in aiding  with personal matters one may have. The rigs are well maintained and well stocked and the charting system quite easy to use. For the most part, I am fortunate to work with helpful partners that are professionals in patient care and in demeanor, which makes the shifts flow effortlessly. Extra overtime shifts are also easy to obtain. 

Patient carry ups are always inevitable in this field, but safety for one’s well being as well as the patient’s is of the utmost importance. If a patient is deemed heavy to lift safely, it is either assigned to another crew capable of carrying said patient or a lift assist is always provided. Safety is of the utmost concern and quite emphasized. 

As working in all agencies and companies, there are downsides as well. Starting pay is a bit slight as compared to other companies, but jumps up to competitive pay after a year. I have worked for a hospital based EMS company and a couple of 911 agencies and hold overs are indeed present, however in my experiences working with said groups, hold over is a means of finishing up a current job well within or a reasonable time frame beyond a crew’s shift. Either we get out on time or get out within a reasonable time frame beyond our shift allotment. It is understandable that GEM is a company at the end of the day, however 2 or 3 hour hold overs are commonly imposed “just to squeeze one more run.” Due to GEM’s vast coverage area, a crew can be dispatched 45 minutes away to a facility and transfer a patient to another facility 30 minutes from its current location.  Let alone a 45-60 minutes drive back to base. Close to the end of a crew’s shift, holdovers can well stretch into 2-3 hours. Such practice truly wears down a crew that is already fatigued and drained. This is especially true to those that have to work the next day. 

So in summary, GEM is a good company to work with, just be prepared for the inevitable long holdovers that will occur in one’s shift.

You typically will work 11 hours a day (13 hours is not uncommon) driving all over the state of NJ. You will be paid $10.00 and have to do residential pick-ups in inner city Newark, Camden, Trenton etc to bring residents to medical appointments. Some days you will get local or otherwise regional routes. You will never know where you will be headed next. It isn't uncommon to drive 250 miles a day. You select your own schedule but will not know exactly what day or time you will work until the day before. 
When I started, my trainer told me they will keep new drivers relatively local and then once you get used to it they will send you further out to tougher assignments. 
There is very little interaction between the field workers and office staff. I didn't even know who I would have go to for a question for at least four months of working there. After while, other workers told me that only certain people in the clique` of dispatchers stay regional and get the days they want to work. Even people you drive will tell you they usually have the same person take them to appointments throughout the week. There was gripe with some workers total mileage consistantly being over 200 a day and other averaging 100 a day. Nine times out of ten employees would vent about the negativities of the job.

Long hours, when you call up to the main office Management can t be reach the operator will say that management is busy but that s a lie management  would  be at there desk talking about employees like what kind of work place is this then the wheelchair vans are not the best then when you have a good wheelchair van someone takes it then your stuck with a bad wheelchair van then the dispatcher   
has no clue how to talk to you it s like your a little kid and there the parent for a little  bite of money your moving people that s over 300 hundred pounds plus dealing with family members of the person your transporting then you don t have time to eat  something one min your in southern nj the next min your in philly then the next min your all the way up in northern NJ WTF for a little bite of money we should be making lease 18 and hr for all the running we do as a driver but that s not going to happen

This place is horrible.  They recently gave raises to "compete" with other places but a lot of us are still not making anywhere near what alert, rwj, ham, or township's make.  With this whole pandemic, they have made us reuse surgical masks a whole week before even giving us n95 masks.  We dont carry the kind of equipment you would think an ambulance should carry, and recently one of our employees became covid positive and is still allowed to work, putting everyone at risk.  Our supervisor in lakewood is actually a good guy, but the higher ups are terrible.  And if you get hurt on the job do not expect workmans comp. They pay you 10 dollars an hour to come and do office work. You will be held over for your 2 hours every shift most likely for discharges and for dialysis runs, and the benefits are terrible. The medical is expensive for bad doctors.  Work elsewhere

12hr shifts. Primarily dialysis and doctor appointments, occasionally a nursing home ER trip(ab labs or a fall)

Calls on sent on a completed basis, so you will not be able to pre plan your day. Dispatch will request crew/driver to post at specific site and than send them a call 30 to 40 minutes away that should have been picked up hours prior.
BLS units will end up doing MAV(wheel chair runs) just to stay busy.

Health benefits are incredibly expensive, 401k is not matched, OT is available somewhat readily but the base pay is incredibly low in comparison to other transportation companies.

Vehicles are very old and often fixed with broken parts. If the truck turns over its good enough to drive. Crews especially overnight will leave truck filthy. 

I have been an employee of GEM Ambulance since October of 2009   I started in the field as an EMT and eventually moved into the communications department as a dispatcher.  Over the years I have experienced the kindness and generosity of GEM’s management team, but I also experienced the compassion and empathy from my fellow co-workers (who didn’t know me at the time) as they transported two of my family members.  

In each of those situations, I found myself to be the anxious family member I remember comforting.  All I wanted was for my mother and mother-in-law to be transported to their final destinations as safely as possible.  Each of the crews who arrived to transport my family members put my mind immediately at ease.  I can only hope that I did the same for the patients that I transported while in the field.

Compensation is fair only because you wind up working 20+ hours of overtime; no work/personal life balance unless you are in upper management. Company is run by people in their early-twenties who walk all over management and get what they want through bullying and aggression. People who are loyal to the company for 10+ years get screwed over by people who are willing to throw others under-the-bus to get ahead. I learned a lot from this job because I was required to be entirely independent on my own judgement, but it was at the cost of my mental health. My first year there I worked 33 days in a row in hopes it would show my loyalty and dedication to the company but it didn’t get me far. 

It's a good job long term but is not great to new hires which I believe is responsible for turnover rate. The higher start pay has helped but the disrespectful and poorly educated dispatchers inability to manage simple tasks and then be rude about their own shortcomings is definitely the company's weakest link. Dispatch office should be dismantled and re built so old terrible people dont train their bad habits to new. Their are definitely problematic field workers s well but only a small number of them. This is the best ems company in delaware with all it offers and deep down everyone here knows how bad the other company's are. That doesnt mean that it is perfect though. A lot does need to change

A typical work day involves back to back jobs all across NJ North or South ( no matter what base you work from), typically the only break you get is driving to and from jobs.  The direct manager is good and try’s his best (I can only account for the one at the Totowa Base). The disconnect between the dispatchers and EMTs is clear and most often ends in unpleasant conversations because neither group cares about what the other needs. The hardest part of the job is communicating with dispatch, 2 hour hold over for “grey” area “emergencies” ( late dialysis pickups that your 20 mins away from and you get off in 30mins ) . A good part about working here are the few good people you meet and the patients we give service to. Overall, it’s a stepping stool whether into or out of EMS.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Mechanic 2 salaries reported	$30.00 per hour
Vehicle technician 7 salaries reported	$16.00 per hour
Dispatcher 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour
Mechanic helper 9 salaries reported	$18.39 per hour
Emergency medical technician 8 salaries reported	$20.38 per hour

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