Paramedics in Hawaii (Honolulu, Hilo: transplants, employment, military)

[Amorenohawaii]

HI. I was searching firefighter/paramedic jobs in Hawaii and had not much luck. I plan on relocating to the islands sometime next year. Does anyone know much about the testing and selection processes of employers? I am familiar with the steps on testing into the state to practice as a paramedic but (other than Honolulu County) not too familiar with the oppurtunities available there. Can anyone help with info?

[atp162]

On Oahu, the paramedic employers are the City & County of Honolulu EMS Division (911 only), American Medical Response (interfacility transports and 911 backup) and the Federal Fire Dept. (military bases/housing areas only.) C&C and AMR utilize MICTs only (Mobile Intensive Care Technicians, the term used for paramedics in HI.) The FFD utilizes FF/MICTs but their hiring only occurs on an as-need basis and opportunities are few and far between. C&C has continuous recruitment, but be forewarned that the State of HI’s education requirements for equivalent training hours and the City’s own performance expectations MICTs are fairly high (see the kcc.hawaii.edu link below.) AMR’s employment website currently is not advertising for MICT positions but locally they are still hiring, especially for the Big Island, and there are some openings on Oahu. AMR on Oahu can be reached at (808) 531-0477; ask for their business line number to make employment inquiries.

EMS Employment Info, Official Web Site for The City and County of Honolulu (http://www.honolulu.gov/esd/ems/emsemply.htm - broken link)
AMR | American Medical Response | Careers (http://www.amr.net/Careers/Search-Jobs.aspx - broken link)
Mobile Intensive Care Technician: FAQs

For Kauai and Maui counties, AMR is contracted by the State for 911 services. Employment opportunities there are fairly rare, as the MICTs tend to stay in their positions for many years.

On the Big Island, Hawaii County Fire Dept. handles EMS (they use FF/MICTs) and AMR is contracted for non-emergency interfacility transports in Hilo and Kona. HI County FD has preferential hiring for MICTs because of their longstanding shortage, but being a gov’t agency, their hiring tends to occur only once a year at best.

Employment Opportunities - Department of Human Resources

If you have flight paramedic experience, the 2 aeromedical employers in HI are AirMed Hawaii and Hawaii Air Ambulance:

AirMed Hawaii (http://www.airmed.com/hawaii/contact.html - broken link)
Hawaii Air Ambulance (http://www.hiairamb.com/contactus.htm - broken link)

Hope this helps! Good luck in your job hunt.

[hotzcatz]

Dunno about paramedics, but aren't fire fighters required to be local residents? Or was that police? I remember reading awhile back - on one of the Hawaii County websites perhaps it was - about the residency requirements to be hired for some fire/paramedic/ambulance type job but I forget the details right now.

[atp162]

I can't speak for the police, but prospective FF's and paramedics apply all the time from out of state. They do have to come here to fufill any pre-employment requisites such as exams, physical agility tests, and interviews. As many of the public safety jobs in HI are run by gov't agencies, if the applicant meets minimum requirements such as age, valid driver's license and has up to date certifications, the employer can't discriminate. Private employers such as AMR on Oahu and HI Air Ambulance have hired many medics who are recent transplants to HI.

[Amorenohawaii]

Thankyou very much. Your reply was imformative and helpful.