Family Seeks Answers

[Jon]

I-Team Exclusive: Family Seeks Answers

Walt Hunter
Reporting

(CBS 3) PHILADELPHIA Last week, CBS 3 reported on a 22-year-old woman who watched her boyfriend die as she was forced to wait for medical help. In a CBS 3 I-Team Exclusive, Investigative Walt Hunter talks to his family as they ask why it took over 20 minutes for medical personnel to arrive.

In the early morning hours of October 23rd, 22-year-old Richard Badway died in Roxborough Hospital. But his family and friends wonder if a faster medical response could have saved his life.

Badway was in the Roxborough town home of his girlfriend, 22-year-old Erin Whittaker, when he suddenly fell after suffering a heart attack.

“He collapsed and he stopped breathing immediately and I called 9-1-1,” described Whittaker.

She expected an advanced medical unit to arrive promptly, but it did not.

Records show that the closest advanced life support unit was blocks away was busy and Unit 22, based nearly five miles away in North Philadelphia, took the call.

It took medics over 22-minutes to respond.

<Snip>

Engine Company 12, which is not staffed with medics or advanced life support, responded to the scene within nine minutes to offer some help.

Fire officials have not responded to requests for comment.

(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Whole Story Here - Clicky

 

[ptemt]

“He collapsed and he stopped breathing immediately and I called 9-1-1,” described Whittaker. ...Badway was rushed to Roxoborough Hospital where he died two hours later.



I wonder if Engine Company 12 had an AED and if anyone performed CPR...must have I guess if he died two hours after he stopped breathing. Not a complete story from the CBS I-Team.

 

[TTLWHKR]

Did he have a preexisting condition, that would cause his 22 year old heart to become ischemic/go into fibrillation/whatever and go into arrest?

Was he injured, electrocuted, taking drugs, what?

Not to purposly intend to sound like I am insulting anyone.. Just putting out some common sence mixed with sarcasim.

Is the general public of 2005 really so stupid as to believe that a little CPR, a defibrillator, and some drugs can cure every malady?

People are expecting things from ambulances, still called prehospital care vehicles, that is not possible. Open heart surgery cannot be performed in their living room. We cannot correct 50, 60 or 70 years of bad diets, smoking, hard life, and unhealthly living; miracles don't come in a syringe.

Maybe ALS was too far away, but you can't have a medic for every citizen in the United States. Sounds like the proper staffing was in place, but something that happens every minute or every day in the USA was going on... Someone else needed an ambulance, and they had to wait.

They want the medics "system" to be changed? What's that? Leave someone else to die along the street, and respond to his call? Why don't they become paramedics, and do it for free, so that every fire apparatus could have one. If Emergency Services comformed to the dreamy world of every tax payer, sure every home would have it's own police car, fire engine and ambulance... But I sure hope the ower could use them, because they wouldn't be staffed, or equipped. The public doesn't want to dish out the tax dollars to fund EMS, but they are the first to B**ch and Moan about what we do. Even if what they did was common protocol.

We need more details.

 

[PhillyMedic]

Engine 12 does have an AED, and did defib the pt. The problem lies with the system. After midnight in Philadelphia, there are only 27 Ambulances for over 1.5 million people. With one of those being stationed at the airport, and not allowed to leave. In Philadelphia, because EMS makes money, we must transport anyone and everyone who wants to go to the hospital. No matter what the complaint, or if there even is a complaint. All the medic units in Philly at that particular time were on calls, and that man waited 22 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. No Philadelphia is downgrading ALS units to BLS units, and dispatching BOTH to calls. Philadelphia has a broken system, and needs someone to fix it. There are paramedics in Philadelphia willing to take a $30,000 dollar pay cut to leave the EMS system and become firefighters. MAKES YOU WONDER

 

[TTLWHKR]

Originally posted by PhillyMedic@Nov 19 2005, 05:31 PM
MAKES YOU WONDER

Makes me glad I don't live there...

 

[Jon]

Originally posted by PhillyMedic@Nov 19 2005, 05:31 PM
Engine 12 does have an AED, and did defib the pt. The problem lies with the system. After midnight in Philadelphia, there are only 27 Ambulances for over 1.5 million people. With one of those being stationed at the airport, and not allowed to leave. In Philadelphia, because EMS makes money, we must transport anyone and everyone who wants to go to the hospital. No matter what the complaint, or if there even is a complaint. All the medic units in Philly at that particular time were on calls, and that man waited 22 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. No Philadelphia is downgrading ALS units to BLS units, and dispatching BOTH to calls. Philadelphia has a broken system, and needs someone to fix it. There are paramedics in Philadelphia willing to take a $30,000 dollar pay cut to leave the EMS system and become firefighters. MAKES YOU WONDER

Hello and welcome.

I won't argue your post at all.

To explain:

Right now, Philly has downgraded 1 of 40 medic units to BLS coverage (I belive the unit in question is a 24x7 bus, not sure). About half of Philly's rigs are 24 hour (full-time) rigs, the others are 12 hour(part-time) rigs.

Apparently, Philly is pulling FF's off of Engines/Ladders and saying "You are on the ambulance indefinatly." All FF's coming out of the acadamy for years are EMTs.

Problem here is - these guys are firefighters - many of them DON'T want to run ambulance for the next ___ years. The City, supposedly isn't giving anyone a choice, just assigning folks to BLS rigs.


What Philly needs to do is go to a EMT/Medic pair on an ambulance. The EMT rides BLS, the medic rides ALS. Problem is, this only works if the EMT likes to be an EMT, and they care about the kind of job they do - they would work to improve their BLS skills and be able to assist the medic.

Jon