Arizona Victim Thought Dead, Not

[CBEMT]

The 20-year-old Yuma man who was involved in a weekend automobile accident has died in a Phoenix hospital.

It has also been revealed that the accident victim, Jacob Schlamann, was presumed dead at the scene and left untreated for about an hour in the wreckage of the pickup he was driving.

"This shouldn't have happened, but it did happen, and we want to know how it happened," said Mike Erfert, spokesman for the Yuma Fire Department. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the Schlamann family and the rest of the people injured in the accident."

Hospital spokeswoman Carmelle Malkovich confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Schlamann died late Tuesday night at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix from the injuries he sustained.

Erfert said an investigation is being conducted and the fire department is reviewing everything that happened during the incident.

http://www.yumasun.com/news/victim-50358-accident-dies.html

[FireMedic65]

That's just a damn shame. Do we need to teach people how to check a pulse again?

[Dustdevil]

Why is it always a fire department?

[FireMedic65]

Why is it always a fire department?

figures you would notice that

[scubanurse]

epic fail.

[Dustdevil]

figures you would notice that

LOL! Well, it's not just random bashing. I honestly wonder if there are any commonalities that can be identified. I mean, obviously a poor assessment is the numero uno commonality. But why? Simply being all firemen (if so) isn't really enough. Does something about the fire service encourage this? Many of us speculate about the educational and motivational inadequacies inherent to fire-based EMS, but what specifically are they?

Going beyond the FD factor, I have to wonder if 24 hour shifts might be a factor. Is a medic who has a station, a big screen TV, and a recliner chair or bed to go back to more likely to do a poor assessment than one who is stuck on the street in his ambulance all day long anyhow? If so, then this isn't so much an FD thing as it is a 24 hour shift thing, and should be addressed.

[RatPack]

Isnt Rural Metro involved in the fire system in Yuma?

Im going to resrve comments.

[FireMedic65]

LOL! Well, it's not just random bashing. I honestly wonder if there are any commonalities that can be identified. I mean, obviously a poor assessment is the numero uno commonality. But why? Simply being all firemen (if so) isn't really enough. Does something about the fire service encourage this? Many of us speculate about the educational and motivational inadequacies inherent to fire-based EMS, but what specifically are they?

Going beyond the FD factor, I have to wonder if 24 hour shifts might be a factor. Is a medic who has a station, a big screen TV, and a recliner chair or bed to go back to more likely to do a poor assessment than one who is stuck on the street in his ambulance all day long anyhow? If so, then this isn't so much an FD thing as it is a 24 hour shift thing, and should be addressed.

Interesting perspective. I have been a firefighter (volunteer) at the same time when I was a basic EMT. It never interfered with my assessment of a patient. I knew my place and never tried to mix the two, it's impossible to efficevly do either of them while trying to do the other. They were separate departments, not combination.

It is my opinion, that these "fire"medics, are paramedics working for fire department, to be firefighters. This is not true in all cases though I am sure. When you want to be a firefighter and have to work on the ambulance as part of your job, for the most part, you just don't take it very seriously. Maybe they are just out of practice, or maybe their getting tunnel vision and focusing on the crash at hand? Personally, I can't think of any reason for such negligence and there is no excuse for it.

As for working 24s, that can be a real killer to the providers. So many times I have been on back to back 12s and had my ass handed to me. I can't recall a time where it interfered with my patient care though. These things affect everyone differently though, so I cannot speak for them. I would much rather, have a paramedic come to my familes aid or even my own, where they were rested and sitting on the couch watching the tv and not staging some where, most likely tired. Where I work now, we don't have sleeping quarters, but there are several couches. I make well use of them and get as much rest as I can. I know it's contradicting myself, but I would much rather wake up in the middle of the night and go to a call over being awake for 20hrs and try to function as if I were better rested.

So, all in all, big FAIL on these guys.

[Cookie]

Now don't shoot me. I am not siding with anyone on this. This was a terrible accident in which there were seven people involved. I am thinking triage. Who gets treated first in a triage situation? Who is last?

[ncmedic309]

Now don't shoot me. I am not siding with anyone on this. This was a terrible accident in which there were seven people involved. I am thinking triage. Who gets treated first in a triage situation? Who is last?

If they had performed an adequate assessment on the patient, even during triage - they would have realized that this patient was an immediate priority and should have likely went before any of the others - providing care wasn't delayed by extrication. But even then, as soon as the patient is free, he's high-priority and off the scene. He definitely wouldn't have been last, not until he's really, truly, no doubt about it - DEAD!