Discipline in Pittsburgh EMS snow mess death. One fired and three face suspension.
Previous coverage of this story here and here
Watch press conference & listen to recordings
From the AP:
An emergency worker is facing termination and three others suspensions in connection with the death of a Pittsburgh man who waited 30 hours for an ambulance during a snowstorm last month.
Public safety director Michael Huss says radio transmissions indicate emergency personnel showed a lack of compassion in dealing with calls before 50-year-old Curtis Mitchell died on Feb. 7.
In a recording played at a news conference Tuesday, emergency workers speaking to each other complained that they weren’t running a “cab service.”
Paramedics’ union President Anthony Weinmann says the union will fight the action against its two members. The other two workers facing punishment are managers.
Mitchell and his girlfriend placed 10 calls to 911 before he died.
More in an excerpt from KDKA-TV article:
Acting Crew Chief Josie Dimon, a union employee was fired after she was heard on transmissions between paramedics making disparaging, profanity laced comments such as “this ain’t no [expletive] taxi service.”
Crew Chief Kim Long, also a union employee, and two non-union supervisors, District Chief Norman Aubil and District Chief Ron Curry were suspended for three days.
Although paramedic union President Anthony Weinmann said his medics were following orders, city Public Safety Director Michael Huss said he expected more. Mr. Huss said he was particularly concerned about the lack of compassion EMS workers showed both in the field and in the 911 center.
Paramedics had wanted Mr. Mitchell, who had abdominal pain, to walk to the ambulance when they couldn’t get it up to his house.
“He ain’t [expletive] comin’ down, and I ain’t waitin’ all day for him,” acting crew chief Josie Dimon was heard to say on a 911 recording played at a news conference today. “I mean, what the [expletive]. This ain’t no cab service,” she said during a transmission at 2 a.m. Feb. 6. A 911 dispatcher eventually aborted the call.
“We don’t believe our people should be disciplined. This was a system failure and just to blame the paramedics is totally unfair,” said Tony Weinmann, president of the Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics.
Channel 4 Action News’ Shannon Perrine reported that at one point during the morning meeting, police had to separate a paramedic and Joe King, the president of the city’s firefighter’s union. The exact nature of the argument is not clear.
