Hey Gang, What's Up With The Medic and the Baby?

[Detroitnerd]

That's exactly what DIDN'T happen here.

1. The medic never said anything about requesting police assistance.

That's not right. She absolutely did, and it's a matter of record. The computer-aided dispatch record says Thomas “will not make the scene w/o SCT.” Thomas wanted a police car there before she responded. She was also very concerned about having a transporting unit, that is to say, and ambulance, on the scene. She's recorded as saying,"You got ETA on transporting unit?” She says, rather reasonably, I think: “It’s a baby not breathing, no scout available. I’m not about to be on no scene 10 minutes doing CPR. You know how these families get.”

Here's somebody who's obviously concerned about police being on scene, an exit strategy in the form of an ambulance, and not being stranded in a hostile situation. I'm not saying what she did was right, or that firing her was wrong, just that these are very real problems in Detroit that affect the ability of these units to function as they should. And this problem is guaranteed to crop up again.

2. An SUV [[or any other type of vehicle for that matter) would have no problem transporting a BABY.

I believe there are liability issues associated with taking an infant who is not breathing in the back seat of an SUV that is not designed to transport patients.

3. The mother was ALONE. There weren't "a dozen grown kids" on the scene.

That's a nightmare scenario, not an example of what happened here. But I could have clarified that better. Anyway, when you read the dispatch transcript, you can tell that nightmare scenario is a very real concern to her.

4. The result of her inaction, a deceased baby, isn't "better than what might have happened"...

You know what? I totally understand why you're angry about that death. There are few things more emotional or worth mourning in life than the deaths of children, especially a premature baby you hope will live.

But you simply can't blame all of this awful event on one person. I'm not saying this medic was justified, I'm just saying I think this tragic event is indicative of deeper organizational problems at Detroit's EMS. If Detroit is the kind of place where the medics won't go on scene without SCT, and want to get the hell out of a volatile situation, why in the hell would you put medics in cars that cannot transport?

Some of my friends more familiar with the situation tell me that the "Rapid Response Units" are just there to cut down on response time figures, that they're absolutely no good for trauma, where a person needs a surgeon, not a drug box. And Detroit's dispatch unit may lack the skills to implement them to best effect.

SUVs with medics and drug boxes work well in other places, where they're add-ons to a already properly staffed and resourced EMS department. But in Detroit they seem to be Detroit's way of cheaping out on a serious problem.

No doubt; what this woman did was a fireable offense. I'm just saying it's indicative of deeper problems with Detroit's EMS, and that this media lynching may be there to obscure them. Maybe we should focus on a system of fully staffed, functioning ambulances, as other cities do, instead of using "innovative" frills to get better numbers.