Sentinel & Enterprise
LANCASTER, Mass. — Some troubling aspects arose from ambulance response at Lancaster’s Youth Soccer Complex on May 29.
A teenage boy suffered a seizure while playing. Eight minutes after the emergency call was received, a MedStar ambulance arrived and transported him to the hospital where, at last report, he remains in a coma. We may never know if an earlier response by the volunteer Lancaster Ambulance Department would have made a difference in the boy’s condition. It would be unfair to speculate about that. We can pray for his speedy, complete recovery.
But confusion remains. Which ambulance department had the duty to respond? Was MedStar designated the first responder, rather than Lancaster Ambulance Department? It seems so, according to a copy of an e-mail obtained by the Sentinel & Enterprise.
Dated May 3, more than three weeks before the soccer complex incident, the e-mail from Everett Moody, captain of the volunteer Lancaster Ambulance Department, specifically referring to response at the soccer complex, states: “If MedStar is not available, then (the Lancaster Ambulance Department) goes.” The e-mail clearly passed the duties of first responder at the soccer complex to MedStar.
But, despite his e-mail, Moody said Lancaster Ambulance didn’t respond on May 29 because it “wasn’t dispatched.” Dispatchers countered that they were following the instruction in Moody’s May 3 e-mail: Dispatch MedStar first.
There’s a disconnect here. Moody should state his reason for specifically designating MedStar as first responder to the soccer complex, as well as his reason for stating later that, if called, Lancaster Ambulance would have responded.
MedStar Vice-President Nick Melehov said no matter the circumstances, “if we are called, we respond.” As a paid operation staffed 24/7, it is better equipped and often able to respond faster than a volunteer squad. Lancaster doesn’t have the advanced life support capabilities of MedStar.
Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco said the town’s emergency response protocol is being reviewed in detail.
Health and safety are paramount. Any uncertainty or confusion that works against them must be cleared up.
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