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Patient stuck in disabled ambulance plans legal action

After several hours, the woman asked that a city paramedic crew come and take her from the back of the Rocky Mountain ambulance

By Bruce Krasnow
The New Mexican

SANTA FE, N.M. — Robin Durnell had spent five days at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center recovering from surgery and it was time to go home.

Because she needed supplemental oxygen and was unable to walk, she arranged with Rocky Mountain EMS, a private ambulance company based in Santa Fe, for what should have been a routine trip home.

It was Dec. 10, 2012. The wind and snow had already caused one of the Rocky Mountain rigs to get stuck earlier that day. Schools had been on a two-hour delay, and wind and ice slowed snow removal all over Santa Fe. Overnight temperatures were dropping to a record low of minus 3 degrees.

Full story: Patient stuck in disabled ambulance plans legal action after bill arrives