Information about Paramedic positions and local EMS systems (Lexington, Louisville: salaries, living in)

[teacher82]

Hello everyone!

My husband and I are considering a move to Kentucky. I have been researching the state but of course with my limited knowledge of the area I can only figure out so much on my own. So I am enlisting your help because I figure you guys are the experts (after all you live there)

The biggest problem I am having is locating GOOD information on the EMS systems. My husband is a Paramedic and shift supervisor, so of course finding him a comparable or better job position to his current one would much more narrow our location area, although from the research we have done the Lexington area (including a range of neighboring cities and counties) seems more our style than Louisville and surrounding areas. We would be coming from outside a large city and want to stick with the smaller cities and towns if possible. Of course this would all depend on the EMS system my husband finds most appealing. And him working in one area and us living in another area is not always out of the question...that is what we do now, although it would be great to be able to live and work in the same area.

Anyways. I am looking for any information that you might know about EMS or Paramedic Practice in your area. I.E Does EMS run as a separate system in Kentucky? He has no interest in being a firefighter so "joint" position systems are out. Does the area operate by county or are the agencies private or a combo of the two? He currently works for a small private/town system that is contracted by the county system. What sort of shifts or rotations do EMS personal run? 12/24 24/48 24/72 or other?? How hard is it to locate Paramedic positions?? He has is BS in EMC w/ a concentration in Emergency Management and by the time we move would be coming with 5-6 years of field experience. Are stations usually free standing or associated with the hospitals or combined with fire stations? Is there a reliable website for locating all open positions in the state? (we have a site like that here) We have found a few local postings but nothing very helpful. We also have been searching for information about salaries for Paramedics in Kentucky. I know this will vary from location to location and alot of times is based on experience and such but any information about that would also be helpful, or a website that I might find that information on.

Ok I know that is a lot of questions for one post LOL but we really need to find or figure out this information before we can really even start to figure out the areas we would want to live in because it will all be based on his job! So it seems silly to pick an area that we like if we wouldn't be able to find him a job! Thank you so very much for all your information and help!! I hope we will be able to find our niche in Kentucky!!!