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Action Ambulance

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Action Ambulance reviews

3.9

69% would recommend to a friend

(77 total reviews)

Michael Woronka

78% approve of CEO

65% positive business outlook

Action Ambulance has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 77 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Action Ambulance employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Healthcare industry (3.4 stars).

Reviews by job title

77 reviews
1.0
Apr 25, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They allow the ability to immediately work in a 9-1-1 setting immediately as a new paramedic.

Cons

Their cost cutting causes such a detriment to their employees, it's amazing they stay in business. -I started at $16/hr. Five years later I was making $16.23/hr, which means my real wage actually went down. -They force their staff to pay for their own education requirements (ACLS, PALS, etc.). When they got the contract for Hanscom AFB, the contract stipulated that all staff must hold a current PALS card. Despite it being a requirement, Action forced employees to pay for this education stating, "If you don't want to pay, you don't have to work at that contract." -They promote new, inexperienced staff to management positions, seemingly to save on payroll. This leads to very contentious supervisors who are always looking to dole out write-ups for fear that the more experienced staff may not take them seriously. They also generally do not promote people based on education level, disregarding college degrees. In my five years, many benefits were taken away including 401k match and reimbursement for volunteer hours. -Once MA allowed ALS trucks to include a basic EMT without a waiver, Action immediately began staffing ALS trucks P/B. They claimed they would only do this in the case of operational needs. However, open shifts were never paged out to ALS staff and were filled in with BLS staff the morning a shift began. -Town trucks are often utilized for mutual aid and are required to post at the town line when another truck is out. This is fine within reasonable hours. However, Action sits their employees at town lines 24 hours a day while crews are on 24-hour shifts. -9-1-1 trucks are frequently pulled away from their dedicated contracts and utilized for ALS and BLS transfers.

2.0
Jan 27, 2013

Could be better

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Friendly co-workers, great at getting "feet wet" in Emergency/EMS work, great first time EMS job. Flexible hours. Fun party events annually, okay benefits, awesome secretary/front desk

Cons

The turn around rate at this company is a bit disheartening. People shuffle through and go around, fairly often. Which is the norm in the EMS world in the Commonwealth. Action has a unique business plan, that is often a mystery to the staff who work there. Action does ALS, BLS, special needs transport, senior center van, wheel chair vans and "education". All of which doesn't have a particular direction. Often times contracts are lost, some rewarded replacement contracts are obtained but, if anything bad happens it "wasn't good for the company anyway" is the general consensus. I remember this happening with a several cities/municipalities. If you are looking at some serious BLS emergency work, go somewhere else. There aren't many BLS 911 shifts, and management makes it so inner facility transfers and dialysis are going to be the bread and butter of your world. Take that as your grain of salt. The staff, while friendly, is a bit like high school. There are the "popular" ones and then everyone else. I shifted between both groups, so I've seen what it is like. Unless you are per-diem, this definitely affects your daily life. Senior staff, who have been there a while, are sometimes treated poorly by management. The lack of raises is a pretty common problem. There used to be 5% raises across the board, now 2% is the norm (if anything). Don't be surprised if the person driving "sped" vans is making more than you. The company also totally lacks loyalty to people who has "paid dues". Often I'd see senior staff be fired or forced to leave, and then replaced with staff who aren't as good, and they are paid less of a rate (even if they have same level experience). Middle Management is put in tough position and if they don't "tow the line"; they are quickly ostracized. Not a lot of room for growth unfortunately, If you ask for more training (such as dispatch) you'll be given a list of reasons why that isn't a good idea. I was told by a middle manager that it was "because you could leave us, if we trained you more" which doesn't sit well. It shows a totally lack of faith for the lower staff. The lack of training within the company is sad. There is an FTO program, that hasn't really changed since its rushed inception in mid 2000's. Due to the high turn-over rate, there isn't much room or investment in the employees. HR is horrible to get in touch with. It will take an act of congress/god if you are trying to contact them. But if they want to get in touch with you, all of the phone lines seem to work rather effectively. I had one friend leave this company, and the HR dismissed any requests from said former employee after they left. It was as if a relationship of friendship was never there. Watch out for "cute" games, such as "lost OEMS approval numbers". I had many friends who didn't get awarded hours for training. Bottom-line, if you want to be in this industry long-term, you may be better suited elsewhere.

1.0
Jul 28, 2017

EMT-B

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Can't really think of any pros, unless you like being played with like a puppet. Chance for new EMT's to do 911 without experience and without guidance.

Cons

Management really sucks. Policies change day to day. Often ask you to break protocols for "operational needs". Poor wages with no raises. Management including HR and the owner will not return emails, and won't call back when you have issues. They twist things around to find a way to place blame on the provider. No interest in the employees, only money. Cheap EMS gifts for EMS week when they remember it (34 cent flashlights this year). They rather leave a city short or without a 911 truck to do a BLS transfer.

Viewing 4 - 6 of 77 Reviews

Glassdoor has 78 Action Ambulance reviews submitted anonymously by Action Ambulance employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Action Ambulance is right for you.