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After taking a swipe at Charlie LeDuff’s last report, I am happy to say he seems to be back on track with a story last night on new developments in the sorry state of affairs that is Detroit EMS. According to LeDuff, both the FBI and the Michigan attorney general are looking into issues involving the delivery of emergency medical care in the troubled city. LeDuff didn’t provide much in the way of detail other than talking about a connection to Medicaid, but he does provide an interesting look at just how bad things are on the EMS side in Detroit. Take a look.
Also on STATter911 …
- Detroit mayor says TV reporter’s EMS blanket story is ‘blatantly false’. Charlie LeDuff stands by story that medic is punished for helping elderly man. – October 15, 2012
- Mobile sign in Detroit says TV’s Charlie LeDuff lied. Former Dep. Fire Commissioner Fred Wheeler’s name on press release announcing campaign.against reporter. – October 25, 2012
- Detroit reporter Charlie LeDuff at it again. Finds donated tower unused & Highland Park’s mayor begging for it. – May 8, 2012
- Detroit close call revisited: Additional video from warehouse & other Detroit fires with Belgian ride-alongs. Plus more on the controversial Charlie LeDuff comments. – October 2, 2012
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The video is unavailable……..
That is a very new development. Let me start checking why.
For some reason WJBK-TV took down the old video and put up a new one. Not sure if there is any difference in the two. I have the new one posted. Thanks for the alert.
Thanks for the newer video, Dave. Just makes me sick at heart to hear and hear and hear of Detroit’s troubles. Like Hate Yard Breathers says, this must be taking an incredible toll on those who are trying to do the job. God have mercy!!
I think one of the most important things people are missing here is the mental toll this situation is taking with the firefighters and medics that deal with this. They are witnessing a failing system at the scenes of these events and giving their all in vein while waiting for ems or back up. Something needs to be done. Period.
I am wondering if I can get a red card to go out to Detroit and help. This is freaking crazy!
Great job Charlie keep on these people.The state needs to take over the city but I don’t know if they can fix the system. It is in such a state that it would take a long time to get it in the right direcion.
The only reason it functions is because of the dedication of the people.
Be safe
Sounds like a dispatching problem.
I still ask, What can we do to help DFD?
PS, Im not sending money or old fire trucks, they (Administration) waste it or never place them in service.
All this, and yet there are hundreds if not thousands of ff’s, EMT-B’s, and Paramedics more than willing to work on a bus in detroit.
What a shame.
Dave was right Charlie brought his A game on this one.
Detroit’s first choice to fund replacement ambulances was a loan…that did not happen.
Detroit’s current plan is a “wish” that someone will donate a fleet of new ambulances to them.
With the 10 or so that remain on the road with odometers hitting 200,000 miles, it is only a matter of time and there will be no more ambulances to respond…they will all be broken.
This is a sad state of affairs for a service that 700,000 people need to rely on.
A “Google” search shows that ambulances can be leased for about $3,000 a month, just one state away.
With all the funds the ambulance transports generate, perhaps they can spare some of that to acquire replacement vehicles right away.
This sounds like Washington DC…… So dysfunctional
I made the comment last week, were sending our men and women to fires and no Ambulances for their protection?
I would say put them in Receivership like they did to DC years ago but not sure that would help.
Also plenty of used Ambulances for Sale, might not be perfect but better than nothing at all
This goes way beyond Detroit EMS. The feds need to investigate the entire damn city, righht up to the mayors office. I don’t think ANYONE will be surprised by the level of corruption they find. These people are raping the taxpayers every single day, without conscience. Throw the book at every single one of these a-holes, and let them rot somewhere. I think the state SHOULD take over the city of Detroit. Yes, it will take some time to turn things around, but the impact and results would be felt almost immediately. I’m so damn sick and tired of these politicians fleecing thier constituents and bleeding the coffers dry.
I like the fact that the mayor is riding around in a mint suburban.
O M EFFFING G!
And I have to justify not meeting our response time of 10 min in 1% of our calls for last year, covering 40 sq miles with 2 ambulances! Thanks Dave, that worked better than Advil on my headache.
A bit tangentially …. Charlie LeDuff was on NPR today, talking about his new book, *Detroit: An American Autopsy.” http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/big-book/charlie-leduff-going-home-detroit-and-problems-ruin-porn
Also, for what it’s worth, I didn’t know until today that LeDuff is a Pulitzer Prize winner from his days as a reporter at the NY Times.
Yes. He was a print reporter for much of his career. I am aware of his Pulitzer.
Wait until Medicare reviews the billing and starts demanding the money back it paid for NON EMERGENT transports. Some may laugh and say Detroit has no money to pay back,,,,,but Medicare will stop paying ANY moneys to Detroit. I do not understand how the Federal goverment hasn’t stepped in and done something here. How can something like this be happening in the United States of America,,,SHAME ON THIS COUNTRY.
Well said He says. The federal government hasn’t done anything because they don’t want to do anything. Neither does state government…and the local Detroit government has pretty much proven the same.
But we just sent 20 F-16 fighter aircraft to our “friends in Egypt. Wonder how those dollars could have been spent in Detroit and other American cities? Wonder how those dollars might help with child hunger, Hurricane Sandy recovery, Hurricane Katrina recovery, and plain old AMERICAN recovery!!
I got news for you all; where I work it is not uncommon to be holding calls for 15 to 30 min before even sending a unit, if we are lucky a stolen car won’t hit them or they won’t break down. Management knows but turns a blind eye leaving the weight to be carried by the dispatchers and the people in the street, Most of our BLS units come in with 16 to 23 runs in a twelve hour shift, ALS slightly less. The EMS system in America is just as broken as the healthcare system, I do feel for the brothers and sisters in Detroit but it is not as uncommon as you think.
Be safe
We need oil and all of our “friends” in the Middle East more than we need Detroit.
hmmm… 20 F-16 fighters could do a lot to change Detroit, just sayin
yep- concerns about Medicaid and Medicare payments for non-eligible transports are typically the final downfall of many ambulance agencies. Lack of aggressive billing and collections also means a poor collection rate so the whole organization is interdependent upon the individual sections that support each other- many EMS agencies contract with billing services that keep up with compliance issues and typically have a better collection rate than many “in-house” billing departments that may simply be going through the motions with no real effort to maximize revenue collection. Dispatching seems to be lacking in motivation (and can’t keep track of where their units are located?) Maintenance is suffering. And maybe the city should just determine it no longer needs to be in the EMS “transport” business and let someone else (public, private, non-profit) step in to provide the service? That has been done in other cities. A recent consultant report about Las Vegas Fire Dept. actually addresses the same thing about what the Fire department should actually do with EMS.
Any dispatcher who can’t figure out for herself that two kids in cardiac arrest need an ambulance more than a skell with back pain need to be relieved immediately.
I look forward to the guys in dark suits with no sense of humor showing up at DFD HQ with some empty boxes and lots of questions. Hopefully Charlie will have some footage for us.