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Team 4 Investigates Ambulance Problems
POSTED: 5:59 p.m. EDT May 20, 2005
UPDATED: 7:14 p.m. EDT May 20, 2005
Story by The Pittsburgh Channel
-- We count on emergency medical technicians and paramedics to be there when we need them.
They count on their equipment to be in good working order. But a Team 4 investigation has discovered that's not always the case.
Investigative reporter Jim Parsons read through hundreds of inspection reports for local ambulance companies. He found problem after problem.
This is National EMS week, and there are a lot of ambulance companies in southwestern Pennsylvania that do things the right way, but some have had problems.
Also, Team 4 discovered that state-ordered inspections of ambulances are infrequent -- and when inspectors find violations, there are no sanctions for the ambulance companies.
Parsons' report appears below. It first aired May 20, 2005, on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.
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You never know when you'll need them. When you do, you assume they'll have all the tools they're supposed to have, and the tools will be in working order. Don't assume.
Susan lost her father in 1999.
Susan: "It was a terrible time that we went through. I wouldn't want anybody to have to go through that."
After undergoing open heart surgery, her father, Dwain, was placed on a ventilator and needed to be transported from one hospital to another. When the ambulance arrived, there was a problem. The ventilator battery on the ambulance was dead.
Susan: "The ambulance people said, 'Our battery isn't working, we can't transport him, we need to get another ambulance in here.' "
In a lawsuit against the ambulance company, Dwain's widow, Joyce, claims that the transport delay caused Dwain stress. He died later that day.
Joyce: "You can't be careless. You have to have all working equipment. Don't they have inspections? Just like they inspect our cars. You can't go out with your car not running and things not working on your car."
At the request of Dwain's family, Team 4 is not using their last name or the name of the ambulance company with the faulty battery.
Pennsylvania does require equipment inspections for ambulances, but you''ll never know what's in those inspection reports unless you travel to Harrisburg and sort through the documents. That's what Team 4 did.
Take a look at some of the violations we found.
Lower Valley Ambulance in Cheswick serves part of the Allegheny Valley. In its most recent inspection, Lower Valley had two ambulances that were missing the required number of hypodermic needles and one that was missing an oxygen mask and the oxygen itself. The inspector wrote on his report, then later scratched out, "Medical waste all over truck. Dirty under bench. Floor, used medical waste."
That was not a surprise inspection. The ambulance company knew inspectors were coming.
At Eureka Community Ambulance in Tarentum, inspectors found violations on board three ambulances involving endotracheal tubes, defibrillators and hypodermic needles.
Clicky
POSTED: 5:59 p.m. EDT May 20, 2005
UPDATED: 7:14 p.m. EDT May 20, 2005
Story by The Pittsburgh Channel
-- We count on emergency medical technicians and paramedics to be there when we need them.
They count on their equipment to be in good working order. But a Team 4 investigation has discovered that's not always the case.
Investigative reporter Jim Parsons read through hundreds of inspection reports for local ambulance companies. He found problem after problem.
This is National EMS week, and there are a lot of ambulance companies in southwestern Pennsylvania that do things the right way, but some have had problems.
Also, Team 4 discovered that state-ordered inspections of ambulances are infrequent -- and when inspectors find violations, there are no sanctions for the ambulance companies.
Parsons' report appears below. It first aired May 20, 2005, on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You never know when you'll need them. When you do, you assume they'll have all the tools they're supposed to have, and the tools will be in working order. Don't assume.
Susan lost her father in 1999.
Susan: "It was a terrible time that we went through. I wouldn't want anybody to have to go through that."
After undergoing open heart surgery, her father, Dwain, was placed on a ventilator and needed to be transported from one hospital to another. When the ambulance arrived, there was a problem. The ventilator battery on the ambulance was dead.
Susan: "The ambulance people said, 'Our battery isn't working, we can't transport him, we need to get another ambulance in here.' "
In a lawsuit against the ambulance company, Dwain's widow, Joyce, claims that the transport delay caused Dwain stress. He died later that day.
Joyce: "You can't be careless. You have to have all working equipment. Don't they have inspections? Just like they inspect our cars. You can't go out with your car not running and things not working on your car."
At the request of Dwain's family, Team 4 is not using their last name or the name of the ambulance company with the faulty battery.
Pennsylvania does require equipment inspections for ambulances, but you''ll never know what's in those inspection reports unless you travel to Harrisburg and sort through the documents. That's what Team 4 did.
Take a look at some of the violations we found.
Lower Valley Ambulance in Cheswick serves part of the Allegheny Valley. In its most recent inspection, Lower Valley had two ambulances that were missing the required number of hypodermic needles and one that was missing an oxygen mask and the oxygen itself. The inspector wrote on his report, then later scratched out, "Medical waste all over truck. Dirty under bench. Floor, used medical waste."
That was not a surprise inspection. The ambulance company knew inspectors were coming.
At Eureka Community Ambulance in Tarentum, inspectors found violations on board three ambulances involving endotracheal tubes, defibrillators and hypodermic needles.
Clicky