Medics Caught on Tape Allegedly Decided Disabled Man Not Worth Saving

Medics Caught on Tape Allegedly Decided Disabled Man Not Worth Saving
Wednesday, December 31, 2008


Two EMT workers in Britain were arrested after they were heard allegedly discussing whether they should bother to resuscitate a disabled man who had collapsed at home and subsequently died.

Barry Baker, 59, who lived alone, dialed 911 saying that he thought he was having a heart attack. An ambulance was sent to his house while a controller kept him talking on the line.

By the time the ambulance arrived at the house in Patcham, Brighton, Baker had collapsed, but the telephone line was still open and was being recorded.

It is alleged that staff in the control center heard the two medics making disparaging comments about the state of the house.

A police source, who asked not to be named, said that the medics were then heard discussing Baker and saying “words to the effect that he was not worth saving."

The source said that the two men were allegedly first heard commenting on the untidy state of the house and then saying that it was not worth bothering to resuscitate Baker.

They are said to have discussed what to tell ambulance control and decided to say that Baker was already dead when they got there.

“Obviously the crew did not realize that the phone was still connected and, of course, the 999 call was recorded on tape,” the source said.

Sussex Police confirmed that two men had been arrested and that a full-scale investigation into the incident was being carried out by the major crime team.

Baker, who used sticks to help to him walk after undergoing hip replacement surgery, made the emergency call to the South East Coast Ambulance Service headquarters in Lewes in the early hours of Nov. 29.

EMT-HERO DAD DIES OF HEART ATTACK

EMT-HERO DAD DIES OF HEART ATTACK
By REUVEN FENTON and ALEX GINSBERG

From The NY Post


December 25, 2008 --
A Queens EMT who had saved at least two lives while off duty died suddenly after suffering a heart attack as he unpacked his car, his devastated wife said yesterday.

Wendell O'Brien, 42, who had been with the FDNY since 2001, had just returned home from Florida with his wife, Marcia, and children, Wendell Jr., 13, and Amanda, 11, when tragedy struck Monday.

"He made me want to live my life better," said Marcia, 40, a hospital administrator. "He was just amazing."

O'Brien, of Rosedale, was recognized by The Post for saving the life of a neighbor's child in 2003.

He rushed to the aid of Hannah Holguin, 9, who was choking on a bottle cap. He performed the Heimlich maneuver, then accompanied her to the hospital.

"I just feel heartbroken," said a tearful Hannah, now 14 and living in Tennessee. "We were so close. He was like a second father to me. He was my hero. If he wasn't there that night, I wouldn't be here."

Two years later, O'Brien helped stop a suicidal woman from throwing herself into the East River.

O'Brien's death "is a great loss to the department," said FDNY spokesman Steve Ritea. "He was a model employee and will be greatly missed."

A wake will be held from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home, 179-24 Linden Blvd. The funeral will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Church of God of Prophecy, 194-15 Linden Blvd.

35 Rescue Saves the day!!!!!!

This post is a reprint from the FDNY EMS rant board ( though this is definitely not a rant...lol)


Rescue Medics save 14 from CO poisoning
« Thread Started on Dec 11, 2008, 11:53am »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rescue Medics Save 14 from CO Poisoning


Rescue Paramedics Brian Frayne and Zarina Ronay of Station 57 saved the lives of 14 people who were ill from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in their home on Dec. 8, with the help of their newly issued CO detector tools.

“It was a horrible situation,” said Paramedic Frayne. “But we were able to use our training and our tools to help people when they needed it most.”

At 8:01 a.m. the paramedics were called to 433 Pulaski St. in Brooklyn for an unconscious victim. After walking three steps into the apartment, the paramedics’ new CO detectors sounded the highest possible alarm.

They called for backup and work quickly to vent the first floor apartment and get the five adults and 12-year-old girl out.

“Everyone thought they were fine,” said Paramedic Ronay. “We needed to convince them they needed to leave - don’t grab anything, just come.”

Once they evacuated the family, Paramedic Ronay treated them as Paramedic Frayne ran to the second-floor apartment. When he received no answer, he forced entry and was able to pull another family to a second ambulance that had arrived.

Five children were among those living in the second-floor apartment, including an infant who was “cherry red” from the CO exposure.

Once outside, the grandmother from the first apartment said her son was still inside. So Paramedic Frayne returned to search the apartment.

In a small room under the staircase, Paramedic Frayne found a man sleeping. He tried to wake him, but the man was unconscious from CO, so the paramedic dragged him from the apartment to the street.

Firefighters had arrived at that time and finished the searches. Although they vented the apartment for 10 minutes before fire units arrived, firefighters still were getting CO readings of 500 parts per million (ppm), a dangerously high level (FDNY members consider levels more than 9 ppm dangerous).


Rescue Paramedics Brian Frayne (left) and Zarina Ronay of Station 57.


Paramedic Frayne and Ronay transported the family of five from the first-floor apartment to Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in Brooklyn.

After arriving at the hospital they also learned a young boy in the family also had been feeling ill that morning, but was sent to school. The paramedics sent an ambulance to pick him up and bring him to the hospital for treatment.

“This would have turned out to be a really bad job later on in the day,” said Paramedic Ronay. “I’m just glad it turned out the way we wanted it to turn out and I hope they’ll all be OK.”

In all, 14 patients were transported to area hospitals. It was determined the high CO levels were caused by a faulty gas burner in the basement.

“The rewards you get on this job are fantastic,” said Paramedic Frayne, who spent 10 years working in retail. “You don’t always get a thank you, but you feel good [after jobs like this one] and it reinsures you that you made the right choice to join EMS. I’ve been with the FDNY for 15 years and I’ve loved every year of it.”

The Department recently received a grant from Homeland Security for the purchase of CO meters for all EMS members.

Learn more about how to keep your home safe from CO poisoning.


Brian and Zarina are on 35R2. Both are excellent medics. I ended up getting assigned to the job after they called for help. In the text it read that there were only 2 pt's,boy,was everyone in for a surprise when they got there. In the end,everything turned out for the good. Job well done to all

FDNY LT. DIES FIGHTING STATEN ISLAND BLAZE

Comments: 0 Read Comments Leave a Comment By MATT NESTEL, JAMIE SCHRAM and ALEX GINSBERG
Lt. Robert Ryan

Last updated: 2:35 pm
November 23, 2008
Posted: 1:38 pm
November 23, 2008

A veteran Fire Department lieutenant was killed battling a Staten Island blaze early this morning after the ceiling of a burning home collapsed on his head, the FDNY said.

Lt. Robert Ryan, 46, was rushed from the scene of the fire at 39 Van Buren Street in the New Brighton section, to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

"He was a brave man who lost his life protecting the city," Mayor Bloomberg told reporters, who asked all New Yorkers to pray for the fallen firefighter.

Ryan and four other members of Engine Co. 155 were on the second floor of the burning house when the ceiling gave way, knocking off the lieutenant's oxygen mask and helmet and sending him into immediate cardiac arrest, officials said.

The 17-year member of the city's Bravest was injured once before in the line of duty, resulting in an assignment to desk duty for about a year.

In total, 25 units and about 100 firefighters responded to the two-alarm blaze, which broke out just after midnight.

Officials said the initial investigation indicated that faulty wiring was the cause of the fire.

Neighbors on his block -- already named for an FDNY captain who died in the 9/11 attacks - were in shock this morning.

"He always said the job was wonderful and he wouldn't give it up," said neighbor Rita Formica, 62, a schoolteacher. "He always said that."

Ryan leaves behind a wife, Kathleen, two children, Kayla, 12, and Chris, 7, and two stepchildren, Alex, 10, and Emma, 8.

"She's just lost her husband last night," another neighbor said of Kathleen Ryan. "She just got home from the hospital and she's beside herself."

CITY'S AMBULANCE CHA$E

By SALLY GOLDENBERG

Last updated: 3:28 am
November 26, 2008
Posted: 2:47 am
November 26, 2008

First gas, then milk, now ambulances.

The city is raising the cost of an ambulance ride - with transports for the most critical patients going up to $850 per ride - as part of Mayor Bloomberg's orders to slash costs to raise revenue and plug future budget holes.

Basic Life Support rides will increase to $515 from $475; Advanced Life Support will jump to $750 from $600 and Advanced Life Support for the most critical patients will go up to $850 from $700, FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told a City Council Public Safety Committee hearing Monday.

PAID CME IS BACK !

-----Original Message-----
From: John Langley [mailto:langlej@fdny.nyc.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:05 AM
Subject: CME

PAID CME IS BACK !

I figured, in case you weren't already aware, that there is a command order
just published that will require us to attend one 8 hour CME session over a
6 month period beginning December 2008.

Scheduling will be up to each individual, and it will be on overtime....

JL

John Langley, EMT-P
Division 2 ALS Coordinator

Confidentiality Notice:
This message may contain information that is
confidential or privileged.

If you are not the intended recipient,
Please advise the sender immediately and delete this message.

Link shared by webmaster@bronxems.com

http://www.ems1.com/safety/articles/438432-Violence-in-emergency-department-a-growing-problem

[Message sent by webmaster@bronxems.com via AddThis]

Ambulances get sirens you can feel

MSNBC.com


Ambulances get sirens you can feel
Booming like a 1980s video game, the Howler can even make liquids ripple
The Associated Press
updated 7:59 a.m. ET, Wed., Nov. 12, 2008
TULSA, Okla. - You're in the car and you've got the radio cranked up insanely loud. Chances are, you're not going to hear that ambulance siren wailing behind you.

Soon, even if you can't hear it, you'll be able to feel when an emergency vehicle is coming.

Oklahoma's largest ambulance company will become the first ambulance service in the nation to outfit its entire fleet with new Howler sirens, designed to emit low-frequency tones that penetrate objects within 200 feet — such as cars — to alert drivers.

The Emergency Medical Services Authority has equipped one ambulance with the new siren and plans to have them installed on all 77 units in Oklahoma within six months.

Officials say the sirens are ideal for cutting through a sea of traffic, and give emergency responders another tool to let drivers know an ambulance is heading their way.

So far this year, EMSA vehicles have been involved in 16 intersection accidents, typically caused by an unyielding driver. Fifteen of those times, the ambulances were on a call, said EMSA spokeswoman Tina Wells.

"The most frequent thing motorists say to us is they didn't see the ambulance coming," Wells said at a Tuesday news conference, where the new technology was demonstrated.

During the demonstration, two ambulances were parked near each other. A plastic stepladder with three glasses of liquid on top was placed in between the vehicles.

'Much safer'
The ambulance without the Howler sounded its siren and produced its familiar wail. Then, the Howler, which produced booms that sounded like a 1980s video game played at an earsplitting level. The liquids in the three glasses rippled. Wells jokingly said the new sirens sounded like "a vacuum cleaner on steroids."

"It's going to make going through intersections much safer," said Tulsa Police Officer Mike Avey, who has worked traffic accidents. "People are on their cell phones, people have $1,000 sound systems. You're going to feel it."

The new sirens cost less than $400 each, meaning the entire EMSA fleet can be outfitted for less than $40,000, Wells said.

"A moderate accident is going to cost $15,000 in body damage alone," Wells said. "We see the potential for recouping this almost immediately."


Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27676244/

FDNY PROBIE DIES DAY AFTER DRILL

FDNY PROBIE DIES DAY AFTER DRILL
By ED ROBINSON and PHILIP MESSING


November 12, 2008 --
A probationary firefighter who collapsed during a training exercise on Monday died yesterday, authorities said.

Jamel Spears, 33, who joined the FDNY in July, fell unconscious after finishing an 18-minute drill at the Fire Academy on Randalls Island.

He wore full gear during the timed exercise, which required him to perform a series of strenuous tasks, such as climbing a ladder and handling a hose, authorities said.

The drill is part of the 23-week training program.

Firefighters tried in vain to revive Spears at the scene. He died at Mount Sinai Hospital after lapsing into a coma. Spears was a Navy veteran who served aboard the USS Alaska from 1995 to 1999.

The lifelong Bronx resident is survived by his wife, Sherita, a city cop assigned to the 41st Precinct, his son, Mahlek, 12, and daughter, Jya, 8.

Emailing: Lt Stone Collage

Lt. Stone Retirement Dinner Poster Collage

Multimedia message

Multiple mva w/ overturned transcare ambulance @ e170 st. and GCC!

www.ny.gov - GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS LAW ON MANDATORY OVERTIME IN HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

Quoted from http://www.ny.gov/governor/press/press_0815082_print.html:

www.ny.gov - GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS LAW ON MANDATORY OVERTIME IN HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 15, 2008

GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS LAW ON MANDATORY OVERTIME IN HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

New Law Will Enhance Patient Care; Aid in Increasing Nurse Recruitment

Governor David A. Paterson this week signed legislation to ban mandatory overtime for nurses in hospitals and other health care facilities, including those operated by the State. This important law will significantly decrease the risk of serious, preventable medical errors brought upon by fatigued and overworked nurses.

“By prohibiting mandatory overtime, New York State’s hospitals and health care facilities will be able to provide a greater quality of care to its patients,” said Governor Paterson. “Additionally, this legislation will allow our facilities to retain and recruit a vital nursing workforce, which is necessary to maintain the high standard of health care that New York provides.”

This new law will prohibit health care facilities from requiring nurses to work more than their regularly scheduled work hours, but does not place a specific cap on the number of hours that can be worked per day or week. The bill contains exceptions to the mandatory overtime prohibition for the following situations:

 

• Natural or other types of disasters that increase the need for nursing services,
• A federal, state or county declaration of emergency,
• A nurse engaged in an ongoing medical or surgical procedure,
• When necessary to provide safe patient care where no other alternative staffing is available; and
• A nurse voluntarily agrees to work overtime.

Tina Gerardi, RN, Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Nurses Association, said: “We have fought for this legislation for more than eight years. Our members across the State have told us that employer-mandated overtime is endangering their patients and their own health. This is a landmark measure for both patients and nurses.”

Denis Hughes, President of the New York State AFL-CIO, said: “Limiting mandatory overtime has always been about workplace fairness, safety and the well-being of nurses and the patients they treat. This legislation will ensure that patients are no longer cared for by overworked nurses, and it will allow these dedicated professionals to perform to the best of their ability. We are thankful for Governor Paterson's active role on this most important issue. And we are grateful to the Senate and Assembly for working together and agreeing on this vital legislation.”

While the entire nation faces a serious shortage of nurses, New York State is committed to reinvigorating its ongoing efforts to attract more nurses to the State's health care facilities, both public and private. This bill will aid in that effort by encouraging more nurses to enter and remain in settings involving direct patient care.
This law will take effect on July 1, 2009, in order to give health care employers, including state facilities, ample time to plan for implementation by increasing recruitment efforts and contracting for temporary services.

The first-year cost of the legislation – related to greater potential staffing investments that will be partially offset by lower overtime expenses – is expected to total $8 million in 2009-10. This fiscal impact has already been accounted for in the Division of the Budget’s state financial plan.

Even though the State is currently facing significant financial difficulties, Governor Paterson believes that we must still make critical investments such as this to protect the health, safety and lives of New Yorkers by prioritizing our spending on essential government functions.

Furthermore, over the next year, Governor Paterson will work with health care employers, nurses, labor unions and other stakeholders to craft a plan to ensure that this new law is implemented in a way that minimizes potential fiscal implications to the State.

 

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Lt. Gonzalez on patrol!

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Just after a fire on 138st and cypress.

Emailing: CME OCT, Wayne Philips

Just posting some updates that may be of interest, Our condolences to
Wayne's family and friends....God Bless!

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Artie and Robert at Bat 55.

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More FDNY EMS Heroics (From JEMS Magazine)

FDNY paramedic Jake Dutton with bullet impact point on ambulance 57V3A.J. Heightman, Editor-in-Chief, JEMS, Steven Morelli, Deputy Chief, Division 5, FDNY EMS
20070612
2007 Jul 12
A.J. Heightman
FDNY EMS Crew Acts Heroic Under Fire
A.J. Heightman, Editor-in-Chief, JEMS, Steven Morelli, Deputy Chief, Division 5, FDNY EMS
2007 Jul 12
On Saturday, June 7, a Fire Department of New York (FDNY) ambulance crew, operating as paramedic unit 57V3, stopped to assist a driver involved in a motor vehicle collision they encountered while transporting another patient to a hospital. They ended up having to seek cover when threatened with a weapon by the vehicle’s driver. This same crew, minutes after being threatened by the gun-wielding driver, reversed their course and treated the perpetrator after he sustained mortal gunshot wounds in a gun battle with police. What follows is an accounting of the incident.

At about 2 p.m., the ambulance was transporting a 9-month-old female with seizures to Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. While proceeding south on Albany Avenue, the crew encountered a car that had just struck a lamppost. The driver appeared to be injured and possibly trapped.

Paramedic Jacob Dutton, the driver, stopped the ambulance and proceeded to approach the car. As he closed in on the vehicle, the driver of the automobile raised a handgun and pointed it at Dutton’s face.

Dutton immediately retreated, running toward the rear of the ambulance. His partner, paramedic Joseph Fraiman, and their Northeastern University paramedic student observer, Duncan Regonini began to emerge from the rear doors of the ambulance. Dutton yelled for them to remain inside and continued running until he was behind the vehicle, out of sight of the armed driver.

When Dutton was safely behind the ambulance, Fraiman and Regonini questioned the integrity of the ambulance for bullets, so the entire crew, along with their patient and the patient’s parents, left the vehicle for the safety of a nearby delicatessen.

While this was occurring, members of the New York Police Department were arriving on the scene. As the FDNY crew entered the deli, an exchange of gunfire began. The crew then ushered their patient and her family, as well as the patrons and staff of the deli, toward the rear of the store for protection.

During the shooting, several teenagers appeared in front of the store, and the crew then redirected their efforts to getting the teenagers inside where they could also be protected.

After more than a minute of continuous gunfire, the scene grew quiet. The crew first ascertained from NYPD that the scene was secure and then left the deli to determine if there were any on-scene injuries. NYPD officers advised the crew that there were no police officers injured but the perpetrator was shot numerous times.

The crew of ambulance 57V3 began assessing the patient as other ambulances arrived on scene. Dutton stayed with the gunshot victim and Fraiman remained with the original patient along with Regonini. CPR was started, and C-Spine immobilization was performed as the pulseless and apneic patient was placed into FDNY ambulance 37W.

The gunshot victim was transported to Kings County Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Additional units on the scene removed the remaining patients and several police officers involved in the shooting. It was later determined that the initial involved ambulance (57V3) sustained damage from an errant bullet. The vehicle’s body was dented but not punctured. However, the bullet’s impact point on the left rear of the ambulance patient compartment was dangerously close to where the stretcher is positioned and just forward of the vehicle’s fuel port.

Immediately after all patients were removed from the incident location and the scene was secured by NYPD, 57V3’s crew was removed to the 77th Precinct to be interviewed by detectives and a district attorney. After their statements were taken, the crew members returned to their station, where they were interviewed by a member of the FDNY Counseling Services Unit and then sent home.

NYPD Sergeant Shawn Kelly commended the members of unit 57V3 for the outstanding job they did of ensuring their initial patient, co-workers, ambulance occupants and deli patrons were protected, and for providing an accurate accounting of the incident that was crucial to the investigation.

This incident demonstrates the inherent dangers EMS crews are confronted with on a daily basis, and the dedication, composure and professionalism FDNY crews and other EMS crews throughout the nation exhibit when confronted with dangerous and challenging circumstances.

EMS
UNITS

STAFF
INVOLVED

57V3

Jacob Dutton, EMT-P
Joseph Fraiman, EMT-P
Duncan Regonini, Northeastern University student

37W2

Joanne Lopez, EMT-P
Franer Genois, EMT-P

28Y2

Anne Sale, EMT-P
Daniel Rella, EMT-P

57W2

Steven Hornbrook, EMT-P
Mario Bastidas, EMT-P

C573

Lt. Vincent Variale

---

JEMS.com Editor’s Note: For a complete discussion on what constitutes patient abandonment, read the JEMS.com article “Patient Abandonment: What it Is—and Isn’t” by W. Ann Maggiore.


A.J. Heightman
Editor-in-chief of JEMS A.J. Heightman is a former EMS director and EMS operations director who has researched and specialized in MCI management training for 30 years. Contact him via e-mail at a.j.heightman@elsevier.com.

EMTS KICK UP STORM ON BOOTS

By MELISSA KLEIN
PETER CAPETANOS
They gave him a rash.Posted: 5:06 am
September 28, 2008

These boots are made for balking.

Eighteen city EMTs and paramedics who griped about having to wear new department-issued boots have been reassigned to desk jobs, the FDNY said.

The 8-inch-high, leather-and-fabric footwear was issued about a year ago but not until Sept. 8 ordered worn by anyone lacking a medical excuse.

"Any member who refuses to wear the boots is to be relieved of duty," reads an FDNY memo obtained by The Post.

The boots are part of a $1,300 ensemble of protective jackets, pants and gloves. But the jackets and pants are for such assignments as reporting to the scene of mass casualties, to keep blood and chemical contaminants out, while the heavy-duty boots are to be worn daily.

EMTs said the footwear has caused back pain, rashes, bleeding and even stress fractures.

The FDNY said it was awaiting delivery of possible alternatives.

By TOM LIDDY
CRAIG ROEDER Brave paramedic.Last updated: 9:52 am
September 26, 2008
Posted: 3:42 am
September 26, 2008

FDNY paramedic Craig Roeder tossed aside all thought of his own safety to crawl under a car that had flipped over on the Van Wyck Expressway and was hanging on a guardrail, leaving one teen trapped beneath the wreckage and another inside.

The Dodge Charger had careened into an embankment last Dec. 5, killing two youths and injuring three others. The twisted wreckage teetered precariously on the guardrail.

"At that point, there was no thought of it [his own safety] in my head," said the humble hero, who is assigned to Station 54 in Springfield Gardens, Queens.

Roeder, 34, first treated a teenager who was on the ground beneath the car, and dragged him to safety.

Then he noticed movement inside the car and realized there was another victim there.

Roeder sprang back into action, crawling through the shattered rear windshield, past two bodies, to reach the driver.

He went to work keeping the victim's breathing passage open and his neck immobilized as firefighters delicately cut away the twisted steel. Twenty minutes later, the driver and Roeder were freed.

Meanwhile, Roeder's partner, Kenneth Silas, had run up the embankment to treat a fifth victim, this one tossed from the vehicle.

"A job like that definitely sticks in your mind," Roeder said. "It's horrific because people died, but it's also rewarding because we were able to save people as well."

Roeder was nominated for a Post Liberty Medal in the Bravest category by the FDNY.


tom.liddy@nypost.com

2 NM hospital workers fired for taking photos

2 NM hospital workers fired for taking photos By HEATHER CLARK, Associated Press Writer
Mon Sep 22, 6:30 AM ET



Two University of New Mexico Hospital employees have been fired for using their cell phone cameras to take photos of patients receiving treatment and then posting the images to a social networking Web site.

Director of Public Affairs Sam Giammo said Sunday the photos — mainly close-ups of injuries being treated in the Albuquerque hospital's emergency room over the past few months — were posted on an employee's private MySpace page.

Giammo said he's never heard of a similar incident at the University of New Mexico Hospital or any other hospital.

A few other hospital employees were disciplined and the investigation is ongoing, he said.

UNMH values patient privacy "very, very highly and we will do everything we can to protect them," Giammo said. "We just won't tolerate unprofessional actions by any of our staff. We just won't stand for that."

The photos were discovered after a hospital supervisor received an anonymous tip about them Tuesday and launched an investigation.

Hospital managers personally oversaw the removal of the photos from the Web site and from the employees' cell phones, Giammo said.

"We have to rely on the people telling us that they don't have any others," he said.

The patients in the photos could not be notified that their pictures had been taken because their faces and personal identifying features had been removed from the photos, Giammo said.

Giammo said the MySpace page could only be accessed by the employee's online friends, not the general public.

Giammo said the employees who were fired violated a hospital policy that bans the use of cell phone cameras in patient areas. The other employees were disciplined for not bringing the photos to the attention of managers, he said.

The hospital is treating the matter as an employment issue and law enforcement has not been involved, Giammo said.

The use of cell phone cameras in hospitals have caused breaches of patient privacy or concern about such violations in California, Arizona and South Dakota in recent years.

FW: Andy Poliakoff from 17F3

 

 

 

FDNY HERO!

By KELLY MAGEE
BRAVEST: Fire Lt. Jim Congema rescued five members of one family in The Bronx.Posted: 4:31 am
September 19, 2008

Battling zero visibility and searing heat, FDNY Lt. James Congema single-handedly rescued three family members trapped in their Bronx apartment and helped save two others.

In the early-morning hours of March 23, 2007, Congema and two members of the forcible-entry team were first to arrive at the blazing, two-story building at 171 Unionport Road in Parkchester.

They made their way down a 30-foot, smoke-filled hallway, only to find the first-floor apartment door jammed. They broke through and found the first unconscious victim.

Congema, 40, and his fellow firefighters quickly located a second victim 10 feet away.

The other firefighters took them to safety while Congema got on his hands and knees and crawled deeper into the apartment.

He found two more unconscious victims and pulled them out.

Congema went back inside, past two rooms that had been completely engulfed in flames, to a second bedroom. He entered even though the windows were blocked by safety bars and might have trapped him had the flames spread.

"The last one was a young girl," Congema recalled. "After I found her in the bedroom I started the extrication myself." He carried her in his arms to safety just in the nick of time.

Congema's heroics helped save single dad Efrain Ramos Sr., 43, his son, Efrain Jr., 18, daughters Jennifer, 17, and Jessica, 10, and Ramos' brother, Carlos Beltran.

Congema lives on Long Island with wife Deanne and their three children, Emily, 3, Ashley, 16 months, and Andrew, 3 months.

"At the time you're thinking of the task at hand, what you're trained to do, and your instincts," he said. "After the fact, you think of your family right away."

"I feel great, it's rewarding to be involved in something like that," said Congema, who was nominated by the FDNY for a Liberty Medal in the Bravest category.

Photos from the field.

Late night @ Lincoln

10-13 Party for MOS in Need

 

Hero EMT slain in love triangle; girlfriend's ex sought
BY OREN YANIV, TAMER EL-GHOBASHY and SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Monday, September 15th 2008, 7:57 AM


Jason Ruiz
A hero paramedic who once jumped onto the subway tracks to rescue a stricken woman was stabbed to death early Sunday, cops and relatives said.

Police have arrested the woman's enraged ex-boyfriend, Enrique Pizarro, 25, at about 11:30 p.m. Pizarro was charged with murder and possession of a weapon.

Jason Ruiz, 30, an FDNY emergency medical technician with a long record of bravery, answered a knock on the door of the woman's Sunset Park, Brooklyn, apartment about 1:30 a.m.

The woman's ex-boyfriend immediately started arguing with the pair and pulled a knife.

The suspect stabbed Ruiz, whose father is a retired police detective, twice in the chest and ran off, cops said.

"I heard the screams," said Mario Velazquez, 40, a neighbor. "When the [victim] screamed, somebody ran off."

Ruiz was taken to Lutheran Medical Center but died an hour after the stabbing, cops said.

"It was an unfortunate tragedy," said Ruiz's cousin Carlos Pantoja, 33.

Ruiz's girlfriend had been "harassed" by her ex-boyfriend recently, family members said. Cops said they knew the suspect's identity and were hunting him.

Ruiz, a paramedic for four years, was mourned by fellow emergency medical technicians as a fallen hero.

They hung his uniform at their office at Woodhull Hospital in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Flowers surrounded Ruiz's helmet. Candles sat by his overalls.

"He would do anything for anybody," said EMT Yvonne Aparicio, 30.

"The department is saddened by his loss," said FDNY spokesman Jim Long. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

In July, Ruiz was recognized for rescuing a woman who had suffered a seizure and fell onto the subway tracks at Marcy and Myrtle Aves in Brooklyn, Long said.

Ruiz and his partner, Juan Rios, jumped onto the tracks without waiting for the power to shut off, pulled the woman to safety and provided emergency care.

"He was the first one on the tracks doing what he was trained to do," said Rios, 27.

He was awarded a medal for "meritorious acts" in 2006 and 2007.

"He was very loyal," said the sister of Ruiz's girlfriend, who asked not to be named. "He was a good guy."

oyaniv@nydailynews.com

With Edgar Sandoval and Barry Paddock

EMS News



EMTs beat me up, says Bronx hospital security guard BY EDGAR SANDOVAL and ALISON GENDAR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS Tuesday, August 19th 2008, 12:24 AM [Photo]Lombard for News Hospital security guard Riza Sever A Bronx hospital security officer claimed he was worked over twice - first by two irate FDNY medics who beat him and then by his boss, who threatened to fire him. Riza Sever, 28, was working the night shift at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx on Thursday night when two FDNY EMTs came in with a patient on a stretcher. Sever said he and EMT John Rugen got into a shouting match about who was allowed in the emergency room. Sever said the situation turned ugly when Rugen cursed him out and shoved him. Rugen's partner, EMT Jay Yim, soon got into the fray, and started hitting him, Sever said. "I thought he was running to break it up," Sever said. "He hits me in a rapid succession, three or four times. I flew out of the double door of the ER." Another Bronx FDNY medic rushed over to break up the fight, he said. Fellow hospital security officers arrested both EMTs, but Sever's supervisor voided the arrests and threaten to fire Sever if he filed a complaint against the two. "They told me, 'How do we know you did not start the fight?'" Sever said. "I was just doing my job." Sever said FDNY brass grabbed all of the security video. "I would not expect anyone in uniform who also works for the city to treat me like this," he said. A hospital spokeswoman called the matter a "misunderstanding" and said the incident was under review. An FDNY spokesman said the two EMTs were not arrested, but declined to further comment. FDNY sources said the incident was handled at the hospital that night. Sever filed a police report yesterday at the 40th Precinct stationhouse in the Bronx. About 15 fellow hospital officers went with Sever for support - since they said they got none from their administrators or their union. "It's like we are furniture to them," said hospital officer Maxie James, 30. "They can replace us and that's it." agendar@nydailynews.com Edwin Martinez

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Edwin thought you would find this story from NYPOST.COM interesting:

'EMT SLAYER' NABBED
By ALEX GINSBERG
A Brooklyn man who allegedly flew into a jealous rage when he caught his ex-girlfriend with her new EMT beau was arrested yesterday and charged with fatally stabbing the hero paramedic. Enrique Pizarro, 25, was awaiting arraignment yesterday on second-degree murder charges for the bloody confrontation outside the apartment of his former girlfriend on Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park. According to law-enforcement sources, Pizarro visited the woman's home early Sunday morning and ran into her new boyfriend, 30-year-old Jason Ruiz. In July, Ruiz, an FDNY paramedic, leapt onto the G train tracks at the Myrtle-Willoughby station to save a woman who had collapsed after a seizure.

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