A Secret Victory Under the Radar--March 2009
In 2005, the EMS Director in Peoria was telling the public that everything was fine with EMS, but was changing policy behind the scenes after a man died in a Peoria restaurant. Jump ahead to 2008, and see the article below by Elaine Hopkins.
AUGUST 01, 2008
A secret victory under the radar
PEORIA – Without fanfare or media notice, the Peoria City Council recently allowed Peoria fire fighters to step up their emergency response to accidents.
This will certainly save lives, as fire fighters often reach the scene of an accident or injury before paramedics from the ambulance service, AMT, Advanced Medical Transport, the not-for-profit funded by Peoria's hospitals.
But until now, the fire fighters were not allowed to tread on the ambulance service’s turf. They were told to stand and wait.
The move is a victory for Peoria physician/activist Dr. John Carroll, who worked for years in the emergency department at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
Here’s a letter he sent to the Peoria Journal Star shortly before the council approved the change. The newspaper never published it:
“A recent Journal Star article reported an accident in Peoria
According to the article accident victims sat on the sidewalk waiting for additional Advanced Medical Transport (AMT) ambulances to arrive. The reason these people had to wait, is that the PFD is not allowed to transport emergency patients. The PFD had their own rescue vehicle several years ago but were not allowed to use it for transport…so they sold it.
What was not reported in the article was that AMT asked CityLink to help out. CityLink graciously sent a van and transported injured victims to the hospital.
Isn't this amazing when CityLink needs to transport patients who may have broken necks while the PFD cannot? And unless the policy has recently changed, if any of the bus accident victims were seriously injured at the crash scene, the PFD paramedics could not have provided paramedic support for the victims if AMT was not present.
As reported by the Journal Star a couple of years ago, when no other transport agency was quickly available, the Dunlap Fire Chief transported one of his own Dunlap firefighters who had lost consciousness at the scene of an emergency. To protect his firefighter, he had used common sense but crossed the powers that be who control our local Emergency Medical Services. Because of his action the Dunlap Fire Chief came very close to losing his job.
Something seems wrong here.
The paramedic and ambulance transport monopoly in Peoria,
John A. Carroll, M.D.”
Carroll, whose integrity is beyond question, presents a chilling picture of what could happen to anyone on the streets of Peoria.
Good thing the City Council has agreed to improve the system by allowing fire fighters to intervene immediately. It happened under the radar, and allowed the council to bypass an open, public vote on the measure.
According to the PJS, which reported on the proposal but not that it had passed, the new fire fighters union contract contains the following provisions:
- The establishment of Advanced Life Support (ALS) engine companies at two stations in the north end of the city.
- A 2 percent paramedic pay incentive given whenever a union member becomes ALS licensed by the state.
“The incentive pay is limited to 16 paramedics on staff. Fire Chief Kent Tomblin said there are about 10 union members who are certified.
King (a spokeswoman) said having two ALS engine companies allows firefighters who respond to emergency calls to be better equipped to handle a "higher level of medical support to a distressed individual" before Advance Medical Transport (AMT) arrives.
Right now, firefighters trained as paramedics provide basic life support services, King said. She said there are no engine companies directly assigned for this type of emergency service.”
This is not a perfect solution to the ‘emergency gap’ in Peoria, but it's a step forward.
Odd that except for this brief article, the news media has ignored this. Why?
Peoria's media has fallen into the bad habit of never questioning the powerful in Peoria, including the hospitals, which are major employers and advertisers.
Carroll has been a thorn in the side of St. Francis officials, advocating for better emergency room management and EMS procedures, advocating for treatment for dying children from Haiti, and in general asking the hospital to spend its ‘disposable income’ – on something other than high salaries to officials.
He’s caught some of these St. Francis officials in conflicts of interest involving AMT, and publicized the information. That undercuts the St. Francis propaganda of always doing the ethical thing (unless, of course, women’s reproductive health is involved).
Carroll’s complaints to hospital ethicists, the Peoria Medical Society, the Christian Medical Society, the Peoria Catholic Diocese and other organizations have all been ignored or brushed off, Carroll said.
Instead, hospital and emergency system officials said they feared “duplication of services.”
Carroll has been maligned in the news media by some of these officials who spun and twisted what he said as if he were a politician instead of a physician advocating for better patient care by honest providers free from conflicts of interest.
But in the end, his tireless advocacy apparently has paid off. Don’t look for an award ceremony.
So it goes in River City. Some
-- Elaine Hopkins
Posted at 10:45 AM in Peoria politics, issues | Permalink
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