PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) � A man died while waiting over a half-hour for an
ambulance after being struck by a hit-and-run driver last month, according
to emergency dispatch logs, an incident that Portland firefighters say
highlights their frustration at a lack of available ambulances to respond
to emergency calls.

The Bureau of Emergency Communications 911 dispatch log was obtained by
KGW-TV through a public records request. It revealed that American Medical
Response, the private provider contracted by Multnomah County, was
operating at level zero � a code meaning there are no ambulances available
to respond to an emergency call.

�More and more, day after day, we�re seeing this level zero pop up, and as
firefighters we�re getting frustrated,� Isaac McLennan, president of the
Portland Fire Fighters� Association, told KGW-TV. �This is a highly
dangerous situation and it should be unacceptable not only just for
firefighters, it should be unacceptable for everybody who lives in this
community.�

Shortly after midnight on April 28, both firefighters and an ambulance
crew were dispatched to the accident scene in northeast Portland. Police
said it appeared the man, who has not been publicly identified, was
attempting to cross the street in a wheelchair when he was hit.

The man was still alive when firefighters arrived, but 911 dispatchers
repeatedly told them that American Medical Response was operating at level
zero, according to dispatch logs. The firefighters worked to stabilize the
man in the road while waiting for an ambulance.

The logs show the initial dispatch went out at 12:10 a.m. Firefighters
arrived at 12:14, and an ambulance got there at 12:42. The ambulance left
the scene five minutes later, as a hospital transport was no longer
necessary because the man had died.

McLennan told KGW-TV there was no practical way firefighters could have
taken the man to the hospital themselves as it was clear he needed an
ambulance.

Global Medical Response, the parent company of American Medical Response,
said in a statement to KGW-TV that the incident is still under review by
the company as well as by county emergency officials.

�The safety of our patients is always our top priority. American Medical
Response is committed to responding to all calls in a timely manner,� it
said.

Official in Multnomah County, which is home to Portland, have said
ambulances should arrive to 90% of emergency calls within eight minutes.
However KGW-TV reported that during a five-month period ending in
February, that mark was missed about a third of the time.

https://news.yahoo.com/oregon-man-died-waiting-ambulance-195540360.html

On 2023-05-31, Hak Pho <hakpho@wong.town> wrote:
> PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man died while waiting over a half-hour for an
> ambulance after being struck by a hit-and-run driver last month, according
> to emergency dispatch logs, an incident that Portland firefighters say
> highlights their frustration at a lack of available ambulances to respond
> to emergency calls.
>
> The Bureau of Emergency Communications 911 dispatch log was obtained by
> KGW-TV through a public records request. It revealed that American Medical
> Response, the private provider contracted by Multnomah County, was
> operating at level zero — a code meaning there are no ambulances available
> to respond to an emergency call.
>
> “More and more, day after day, we’re seeing this level zero pop up, and as
> firefighters we’re getting frustrated,” Isaac McLennan, president of the
> Portland Fire Fighters’ Association, told KGW-TV. “This is a highly
> dangerous situation and it should be unacceptable not only just for
> firefighters, it should be unacceptable for everybody who lives in this
> community.”
>
> Shortly after midnight on April 28, both firefighters and an ambulance
> crew were dispatched to the accident scene in northeast Portland. Police
> said it appeared the man, who has not been publicly identified, was
> attempting to cross the street in a wheelchair when he was hit.
>
> The man was still alive when firefighters arrived, but 911 dispatchers
> repeatedly told them that American Medical Response was operating at level
> zero, according to dispatch logs. The firefighters worked to stabilize the
> man in the road while waiting for an ambulance.
>
> The logs show the initial dispatch went out at 12:10 a.m. Firefighters
> arrived at 12:14, and an ambulance got there at 12:42. The ambulance left
> the scene five minutes later, as a hospital transport was no longer
> necessary because the man had died.
>
> McLennan told KGW-TV there was no practical way firefighters could have
> taken the man to the hospital themselves as it was clear he needed an
> ambulance.
>
> Global Medical Response, the parent company of American Medical Response,
> said in a statement to KGW-TV that the incident is still under review by
> the company as well as by county emergency officials.
>
> “The safety of our patients is always our top priority. American Medical
> Response is committed to responding to all calls in a timely manner,” it
> said.
>
> Official in Multnomah County, which is home to Portland, have said
> ambulances should arrive to 90% of emergency calls within eight minutes.
> However KGW-TV reported that during a five-month period ending in
> February, that mark was missed about a third of the time.
>
> https://news.yahoo.com/oregon-man-died-waiting-ambulance-195540360.html

Maybe they should have dispatched a social worker instead.
Yea.
What could possibly go wrong?

--
pothead
Tommy Chong For President 2024.
Crazy Joe Biden Is A Demented Imbecile.
Impeach Joe Biden 2022.