By Jennifer Maloney
Newsday (New York)
Copyright 2007 Newsday, Inc.
The Long Island Rail Road’s two busiest stations — Penn and Jamaica — have no emergency medical technicians on duty, and the LIRR Commuters Council wants to determine the policy’s impact on riders’ health and safety.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials confirmed yesterday that while other high-traffic locations — including Grand Central Terminal and six other New York City subway stations — have EMTs on hand, Penn and Jamaica do not.
“In case of emergency, MTA police or [New York City] police call 911 and EMS responds,” said MTA spokeswoman Mercedes Padilla.
LIRR employees are trained in CPR, she said. Penn and Jamaica stations have defibrillators but no other medical supplies.
At a Commuters Council meeting yesterday at MTA headquarters in Manhattan, members said they plan to investigate the need for trained medical personnel and may recommend the addition of medical staff at Penn and Jamaica.
Police on duty there may have medical training, but without equipment such as oxygen tanks, “they can’t handle asthma, diabetes, trauma,” said the group’s transportation planner, Ellyn Shannon.
About 20 Metro-North employees who work in Grand Central volunteer as firefighters and EMTs in the station and are on call 24 hours a day, said Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders. They respond to medical emergencies in an electric “ambulance” car that is fully equipped with medical equipment, she said.
New York City Transit said it has EMTs at some of its busiest stations: Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn; Queens Plaza and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens; and 125th Street/Lexington Avenue, Bowling Green and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street in Manhattan.