EMT's Suspended: Refused to Help

rockin'robin

rockin'robin

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NYC fire department suspends EMTs accused of refusing to help dying pregnant woman

Two emergency medical technicians accused of refusing to help a pregnant woman who collapsed in the coffee shop where they were taking a break were suspended Monday, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg called their behavior inexcusable.

The Fire Department of New York suspended Jason Green, a six-year veteran, and Melissa Jackson, a four-year veteran, without pay while the Dec. 9 incident is investigated, spokesman Steve Ritea said.

Witnesses, first speaking to The New York Post, said the EMTs told employees at the eatery in downtown Brooklyn to call 911 and then left when they were asked to help Eutisha Revee Rennix, an employee who had collapsed.

An ambulance was called, and Rennix, 25, was taken to Long Island College Hospital, where she died a short time later. Her baby girl was too premature to survive. A message left for Rennix's mother Monday wasn't immediately returned.

Home telephone listings for Jackson and Green weren't unavailable. A call Monday evening to the EMT's union office wasn't immediately returned.

Ritea said that all FDNY members "take an oath to assist others whenever they're in need of emergency medical care. It's their sworn duty."

A union spokesman said Monday that EMTs generally consider their jobs to be a 24-hour kind of thing.

"Our people tend to spring into action whether they're on duty, off duty, whatever they're doing," said Robert Ungar, spokesman for the Uniformed EMTS and Paramedics, FDNY.

The city's EMTs have a "very strong bond with the people of New York City that they serve," he said. "They view themselves as always being on duty."

He said the union was waiting to see what the results of the Fire Department's investigation would be.

"If there was unprofessional conduct by these EMTs, the union does not condone any type of conduct which in any way can harm members of the public," he said.

On Monday, Bloomberg repeated comments he made over the weekend criticizing the EMTs, saying refusing to help goes against human decency.

"There's no excuse whatsoever," he said.
 
:shock:Wow! They were on a break so I assume they were in uniform.
As stated "There is no excuse" but I wonder what their excuse was?
 
Wow absloutely careless of them. why suspend them instead of firing them? they cost the woman's life, plus the baby's who was too premature to be born at this moment and they fucked it up by failing to responde for help...whether they are on break or not, they MUST help because its something called an EMERGENCY. and they are EMTs, and yet they dont feel like doing their jobs even when they are on a break...*scoffs* what a bunch of so called "heroes" they are...emergency happens ANYWHERE AND ALL THE TIME you just never know when you would be expected to help someone, even if you are on a break and you dont feel like it, it's YOU as the EMT who they depend on to save someone, whether you like it or not.
 
It's terrible, no excuse. I'm not an EMT, a doctor or whatever, but if anybody needed help, I'd sure help them. I'm sure there will be serious charges brought against these 2 EMT's!
 
It is more than likely that they will lose their license to practise Emergency Medicine.

When someone in a Medical profession puts another person's life in danger I would think that losing their license would be one of the few consequences that will happen.
 
DGirl101 said:
It is more than likely that they will lose their license to practise Emergency Medicine.

When someone in a Medical profession puts another person's life in danger I would think that losing their license would be one of the few consequences that will happen.
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EMT does not have medical license. Just a EMT certification and state license but yea I know what you mean.
 
I hope these EMT get charged with involuntary manslaughter ( the worst they can be charged with under the law) they take an oath to help wether or not they are on duty.
 
Kateweb said:
I hope these EMT get charged with involuntary manslaughter ( the worst they can be charged with under the law) they take an oath to help wether or not they are on duty.
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that's really a stretch by a very tiny strand of thread to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in this case. It's more like reckless endangerment or... worst case - criminally negligence.

While this looks pretty damn bad for these EMTs... I rather not rush to judge them harshly. We have to wait for investigation to reveal more facts. We need to find out why they did not render a medical assistance. I read some source saying that they were either very burnt out or not qualified to handle such case because they were just dispatchers, not field technicians despite of having EMT certificates. :dunno:

Either way - shame on them for not sticking around until paramedics arrive......
 
New York City.......sounds like a great place to live. :roll:
 
ncff07 said:
Those 2 did leave but the female that left did call 911 herself for help and and far as them helping they may have been emt's at one time but NOT active emt's. They were both dispatchers.

FDNY EMT accused of ignoring dying NYC woman is shot dead
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I built houses for a living and never was a boy scout much less an EMT. I would have stopped to help. Hate to talk about the dead but these two were scum.
 
Wait wait, I am a former EMT and I can probably shed some light on this.

1. Were these EMT-Bs, EMT-Is, or EMT-Ps? Each one has a different scope of practice and depending on the amount of training you have and what certifications you hold that are current, they may or may not be qualified to handle the case. Especially if the ambulance was a Basic and not an Advanced Care ambulance (yes there is a BIG difference). Also the Good Samaritan laws kind of kicks off-duty EMTs in the teeth sometimes. If you are an off-duty EMT in a coffee house you have two options depending on your level of training and certifications. If the case something outside of your scope of practice and you respond and act outside your scope of practice and further complications follow, you could be held liable and could have your certifications suspended and/or revoked completely. Like for instance a by-stander can give someone suspected of a heart attack an aspirin and be covered by the Good Samaritan laws, but as an EMT-B in the State of Arkansas I would be acting outside my scope of practice as I am not 'qualified' to administer aspirin as that is a medication generally reserved for EMT-Is and EMT-Ps. I would acting outside my scope of practice and I could be held liable and have my certifications revoked (they are currently expired).

Also, did they call for an Advanced Response vehicle better equipped to handle the situation. Yes, in NYC generally a Basic Response vehicle arrives first and they do have to make the call to possibly 'stay and play' for an Advanced Response vehicle or to 'load and go' if they can administer the proper care enroute to the hospital. However, I am not certified in NYC nor was I ever certified in NYC so I can't get into specifics in regards to what their protocol is for such cases.

Also, did the woman deny transport and/or care? All patients if they are not incapacitated have the right to refuse care. Perhaps this might have been the case and they were waiting for the lady to have a lowered level of response before being able to administer care, sometimes they will stay and try to persuade the patient to seek care, especially if the injury/illness is urgent and the patient does not realize the extent of their condition.

I wasn't there, so I really cannot say. However if they were on-duty and flat out failed to respond properly, they could have been charged for Patient Neglect. This is a very serious offense and could also lead to further charges such as manslaughter depending if they just failed to respond properly or if they deliberately denied her care based on race, religion, ethnicity, appearance, etc.

This is a hard one to call for sure given the limited facts presented in the story.

All of this is JMHO based on my experience and what I know and what I was trained to do.
 
How long did you run as a EMT? For those that dont know:
EMT-Basic
EMT-Intermediate
EMT-Paramedic

theres also CCEMT-P, Critical Care EMT-Paramedic.

Units where I was at are BLS and ALS (Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support) There was also 1 critical care unit and 1 QRV, quick response vehicle.
 
ncff07 said:
How long did you run as a EMT? For those that dont know:
EMT-Basic
EMT-Intermediate
EMT-Paramedic

theres also CCEMT-P, Critical Care EMT-Paramedic.

Units where I was at are BLS and ALS (Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support) There was also 1 critical care unit and 1 QRV, quick response vehicle.
Click to expand...

I was an EMT-B that ran as third ride for an ALS service for about six months, then their budget got shortened and I was let go. The service I was with has 3 bases, the main station has 4 ALS units, and 1 QRV. The other station has 3 ALS Units, and the third station was just an outlying one ALS unit station to serve the extreme southern parts of our county. What sucked was that at this time EVERYONE was getting into EMS and sadly there were more EMT-Bs than actual available positions for so I ended right back in a chicken plant after all was said and done. I was so burnt from that, I just let my certs expire. My AREMT # was 22843.
 
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