In todays world of tight budgets and growing prices on new equipment it can sometimes be difficult to buy new equipment for EMS. There are several factors to consider when purchasing new equipment. Maybe your a small volunteer service that does not have a piece of equipment that would be great to have but you just cant see spending thousands of dollars for something you may only use a hand full of times, contact a reputable EMS supply company that visits their clients some times they are able to put you in contact with other services that are looking to upgrade to a newer piece of equipment and would like to sell their old one, this is a win win situation for all parties the client gets a new piece of equipment and a little extra money and you get a piece of equipment that you wanted at a considerable discount.
When looking at purchasing items like ambulance cots or evacuation stair chairs there are several things to research, for a cot look at the load height of your ambulance and make sure the cot will reach it without having to be lifted, how often do you have to change the battery and battery life it is a powered cot, ask if there are any clauses with the manufacturer on service life as this has just happened recently where a manufacturer has said that the life of the equipment will end on such a date. Well that is not such a big concern for departments that have thousands of calls a year but small departments that only have a few hundred or less will never wear their equipment out in that short period of time. For patient safety look at safety features such as tip over angle.
When your a first responder your key piece of equipment that holds several hundred even thousands of dollars worth of lifesaving equipment consider purchasing emt trauma bags or emt trauma kits that will last you a lifetime. Some people say it is just a bag and look for the lowest priced bag they can find but you really get what you pay for. things to look for are warranty a good bag or kit should have a good warranty otherwise guess what you will be replacing it in a few years and you really didnt save any money, look at features like compartment size: can you organize it to fit your personal prefrence of equipment, type of material it is manufactured of some materials are resistant to fluids and water which is key especially in EMS. lastly look at the zippers make sure it has a heavy duty zipper that will hold up to abuse because a great looking bag is no good if you cant get it open or get to your equipment.
Buying a new piece of equipment can be hard and it always seems like each brand has their one key feature that the competition does not but it is up to you to determine what is the most important to you your coworkers and the patient. good customer service is almost a thing of the past it seems like: so my recomendation to you as a purchaser is to not only look at the price and quality of your potential purchase but also what kind of customer service will you get, If your piece of equipment has an issue ask your sales rep what they will do. If they say the warranty is through the manufacturer and you will need to contact them I would look for another rep because a great rep even if all warranties go through the manufacturer should step up to the plate and be the one making the phone calls waiting on hold to expedite a resolution to your issue because your time is valuable. There are very few companies that have exceptional customer service but Hot Box LLC has made their customers and communities they serve their top priority.