EMT City: Dustdevil - Viewing Profile - EMT City

May 19, 2010

UK girl jailed for drunken attack on paramedic

An Oxford student has been jailed for a drunken attack on a paramedic

By Chris Riches
The Express

OXFORD, England — A brilliant student has been jailed for a drunken attack on a paramedic who raced to her aid as she lay slumped on a pavement.

Oxford Brookes University's Melissa Massey, 20, tipped to graduate with a first-class honours degree this summer, wept when told she must spend the next eight weeks in prison.

Mortified Massey, who owed her life to medics after being hit by a drunk driver as an 11-year-old, admitted assault and apologised.

She had no recall of the incident, Manchester Magistrates Court heard.

She was sprawled against railings at 1am after a New Year's Eve party when paramedic rapid responder Ann Sumner, 43, knelt to help her.

Massey hit her and tore out clumps of hair.

District Judge Alan Berg said such assaults had an "incalculable" impact on the profession and described it as a tragedy that Massey had found herself in the dock.

He said: "The incidence of this type of offending in city centres in particular is far too great and the courts have got to step in.

"They're the only body who can try to bring this outrageous, barbaric behaviour, drunken barbarism, to an end. I'm not prepared to allow members of the medical profession to be used as punch bags by drunks."

As Miss Sumner carried out checks and covered Massey, of Denton, Greater Manchester, with a blanket, the student launched an attack that "seemed to go on for ages", the court heard.

An unknown man joined in, punching Miss Sumner in the neck and chest before walking away and saying "Respect - Happy New Year", said Gareth Hughes, prosecuting. The man was never traced.

Miss Sumner, who was treated by colleagues for shock, scratches and bruising, needed a month off work.

Massey, who has won an internship with a consultancy firm and was hoping to do a Masters degree in America, said: "I'm absolutely morti-fied. I feel terrible. I want to offer my deepest apologies to the woman and her family. I don't normally drink like that. Paramedics saved my life when I was younger and I have the utmost respect for what they do."

She spent almost a week on life support after being knocked down as a child.

Massey was described as a "motivated young woman", founder-president of her student union's Women In Business Society and spent a summer teaching in India.

Alastair Reid, defending, said she had downed cheap drinks that night and her actions will "haunt her for a long time".

Miss Sumner, a paramedic for 20 years, said yesterday she is still psychologically scarred by the attack.

She said: "She pulled out whole handfuls of my hair. You could see gaps on my head. I didn't sleep properly for days."

Trauma: NBC TV Show Cancelled (for the Second Time); No Season Two

Published: May 14, 2010



To no surprise whatsoever, NBC has cancelled their Monday night medical TV show, Trauma — for real this time.

Trauma revolves around a group of brave first responder paramedics in San Francisco. The high-action series is populated by an ensemble cast that includes Derek Luke, Cliff Curtis, Anastasia Griffith, Kevin Rankin, Aimee Garcia, Billy Lush, Jamey Sheridan, and Taylor Kinney.

The NBC series got off to a poor start last fall with just a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 6.68 million viewers. The ratings fell from there and the show was essentially cancelled when the network decided not to order additional episodes beyond the initial baker’s dozen.

Then, in large part because the show was still in production and NBC needed additional original programming, the network ordered an additional seven episodes. Viewership continued to fall and NBC cut back their additional order to five installments. The last one aired on April 26th.

Though NBC has a lot of slots to fill on the 2010-11 schedule, Trauma’s ratings were just too low to pay for a second season. It’s been cancelled after 18 episodes.

Though devoted fans may mourn the series’ demise, a consolation might be that they got five more episodes than the ratings realistically warranted.

What do you think? Are you sorry to hear that Trauma won’t be back next season? Any thoughts on how you would have wrapped up the series?

Former ambulance driver pleads guilty to stealing heart monitors

A former ambulance driver who briefly worked at Children's National Medical Center and the Washington Hospital Center in the District pleaded guilty Monday to stealing two expensive heart monitors out of ambulances and trying to sell them to a company in New York.

Kyle Walcott, 31, of Baltimore, was accused of stealing two Lifepak 12 Defibrillator/Monitors from parked ambulances at Children's hospital and at a V Street, Northeast facility belonging to Lifestar Response, the company for which Walcott worked. Walcott worked for Lifestar for just more than two weeks in November 2008.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Walcott stole the monitors in mid-November 2008 and then shipped them to a company in upstate New York from a Baltimore UPS store. The monitors, which are critical pieces of equipment in an ambulance, are worth approximately $15,000 each when new.

The New York company, which had purchased used medical equipment from Walcott in the past, became suspicious upon receiving the nearly new, high-end equipment he had sent. The company then traced the serial numbers back to Lifestar and learned they had been stolen.

Walcott, officials said, admitted his guilt in interviews with investigators. He entered a guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 4 and faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in jail, but sentencing guidelines likely will result in a sentence of no more than six months in jail and a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

-- Josh White

Community News

EMS needs ambulance drivers

By Ann McElroy
May 13, 2010

If you’ve ever thought you’d like to volunteer with San Saba’s [Texas] EMS but resisted because you thought (A) the training would be too hard or take too long, ( B ) volunteering would take too much time or ( C ) someone else could do it better than you, listen up! We need ambulance drivers and driving is one of the best volunteer jobs we have.

As an EMS volunteer, you’ll get the satisfaction of doing something that really makes a difference. You’ll be part of the life-saving team that keeps our community safe. And, you’ll make a little extra money by earning the $20 per shift expense allowance.

As a driver, we’ll work with you to determine which shifts are most convenient. Then, you’ll wear a pager while you’re on call. If EMS receives a call during your shift, you’ll report to the station and drive the ambulance to the scene. Once on the scene, the emergency management technicians may ask you to help in ways for which you are qualified.

Qualifications for becoming a driver are minimal. You must be 21 years of age and have a valid driver’s license. Drivers are required to complete the basic CPR class and do a few practice runs with a veteran ambulance driver. The CPR class isn’t hard or long—it takes only one evening and doesn’t involve any work outside of the class.

In addition, many local employers encourage their workers to be part of EMS and will work with you to minimize the impact on your regular job.

If you’re interested in learning more about this opportunity, please call Charlie Peeler (372-1240), W. D. Carroll (372-5181) or Wymond Kraft (372-6016).

May 13, 2010

Wrongful death suit settled against EMS squad in W.Va.

Family says medics contributed to man's death

By Lawrence Smith
The West Virginia Record

WINFIELD, W.Va. — The Putnam County Commission has settled a wrongful death filed against its EMS squad by the estate of a Winfield man with the bulk of the money going into trust for his minor children.

Following a hearing before Judge O.C. "Hobby" Spaulding on April 8, a settlement was reached in the case of Angela Wagner v. the Putnam County Commission. The Commission agreed to pay the estate of Arthur Ray Baker $85,000 to settle the suit Wagner, Baker's sister and the administratrix of his estate, filed alleging the negligence of two paramedics contributed to his death.

In her suit, Wagner alleged Baker called 911 on May 3, 2006 complaining of breathing problems. The two paramedics who arrived made him walk down two flights of stairs before putting him on a stretcher to take him to Putnam General Hospital, now CAMC Teays Valley.

Baker, 28, who was an asthmatic, died following his arrival at the hospital as a result of acute respiratory failure due to bronchial asthma. In addition to their failure to properly and timely provide treatment to Baker, Wagner alleges the paramedics "acted as if it was a bother or nuisance to them to have to respond to the emergency call."

The terms of the settlement called for Baker's two children, Zachary, 11, and Chelsea, 7, to receive $20,000 each. The money is invested in an annuity with Allstate, and payable to them when they reach 25.

Of the remaining funds, $10,000 went to Baker's mother, Phyllis Thornton, to pay for his funeral expenses, and $35,000 went to the Charleston law firm of Tabor Lindsay and Associates. Specifically, Matthew Lindsay, the estate's attorney, kept $33,267.91 while $1,732.09 went to pay for legal expenses.

According to the state Board of Risk and Insurance Management, the county's insurer, the Charleston law firm of Bailey and Wyant was paid $28,548. 29 to defend the county in the suit. BRIM also paid the law firm of Cyrus and Adkins $1,350 on March 1 for its services in mediating a settlement, and $750 to R. Stephen Jarrell on April 21 for the three hours he performed as guardian ad litem for Zachary and Chelsea.

Also, the Commission paid a $2,500 deductible to BRIM four months after Wagner's suit was filed in July 2008.