Thursday, December 4, 2008

911!



An elderly Cleveland lady died tragically earlier this week in a house fire. Today, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the EMS truck from the closest fire station was unavailable because it had been dispatched (via a 911 call) to the comprehensive, internationally known, super-famous medical institution downtown for a very important stat situation. Apparently they had an extraordinarily obese patient who needed to be moved from a clinic office across the street to the ER. Orderlies were not available. The elderly woman almost escaped the fire, but was halted only a few steps from the front door by a wall of flames. Spokesmen from the fire department were unable to determine whether the delay in EMS response played any role in her unfortunate demise.

Well, at least it's reassuring to know that northeast Ohio's largest employer can always resort to calling 911 when they get in a pinch. I mean, what if the floors in the front foyer of the hospital start to look unacceptably grungy as we move into the slush and snow season and janitors can't get it mopped up fast enough? Just call 911! And if the OR turnover times start to drag out, compromising profitability? Call 911! Get the local firemen to transport the patients to the PACU ASAP!

4 comments:

rlbates said...

You would think they could do like we do in the OR and page for "help needed to move a patient" when an extra hand is needed.

Resident Anesthesiologist Guy (RAG) said...

I take it you don't much care for TCC? I interviewed there and liked it well enough, but was worried about my family's safety. I only saw the inner city of Cleveland and was rather upset by what I witnessed and experienced. But yeah, that's ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Ambulances (and firetrucks) and how they respond is one of my favorite peeves.

Perhaps some City/Safety Planner will come along and enlighten me.

They all race off to calls for help in vehicles on the public tab getting about 8 mpg. Even with falling fuel prices that's expensive.

So you get a scene and 5 emergency vehicles. The late arrivers hang out a bit then turn their horns back on and roar off.

There has to be a better way to schedule/handle emergencies.

Anonymous said...

I've referred patients to the Cleveland Clinic and they usually come back and tell me that they never want to go back. I think that "the Mecca" has basically lived upon their laurels. I've heard rumors that they won't accept insurance from some of the Medicaid HMO's here in Ohio.