By Dave Statter
dstatter@wusa9.com
STATter 911 — http://www.statter911.com
WUSA9 — http://www.wusa9.com
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — It is not all that unusual to have a baby delivered along a highway in the back of an ambulance. But Friday’s case on the Capitol Beltway is a bit different and is a source of controversy between a hospital and a fire department.
The newborn girl was 14 weeks premature and just 1 pound 7 ounces. The mother, minutes earlier, had been inside the labor and delivery area of Laurel Regional Hospital, taken there by the same Prince George’s County, Maryland ambulance crew that then delivered the baby along I-495. Why the woman left Laurel Regional Hospital is in dispute and reviews are underway.
Spokesperson Delores Butler tells STATter 911 that, “Laurel Regional Hospital did not tell the patient to go elsewhere and did not deny access or treatment at the hospital”. But the parents, who asked not to be identified, tell us that the hospital made it very clear they would be unable to care for a premature baby, something Ms. Butler denies.
All of this occurred only after Laurel Regional Hospital’s emergency room accepted the patient. Prince George’s County Fire/EMS spokesperson Mark Brady says at 5:29 AM, the crew from Ambulance 849 consulted with the hospital by radio and was told to bring the pregnant woman to the facility. Both parents say they clearly heard the ambulance crew warn the hospital that the water had broken and that this was a high risk birth.
The ambulance arrived at the hospital at 5:33 AM and went directly to the labor and delivery area. The family said it was only then that they first heard about the hospital’s inability to handle the delivery. The father says he felt there was no other choice but to go elsewhere.
At 5:59 AM, 26 minutes after arriving at Laurel Regional Hospital, Ambulance 849 radioed they were taking the patient to Holy Cross Hospital. But the baby wasn’t cooperating. On I-495, in sight of the second hospital, the ambulance crew delivered the baby.
The parents say all things considered, mother and child are doing well. The baby is still at Holy Cross. The parents are bewildered by the whole chain of events wondering if Laurel Regional Hospital wasn’t negligent for first telling them to come to the facility and then claiming to be unable to deal with the situation.
When questioned about this, Delores Butler, speaking for Laurel Regional Hospital, points out “The woman was never a registered patient”.
Mark Brady says the fire department is looking closely at this case saying, “Due to the circumstances that occurred during this incident, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department has initiated a Quality Assurance Internal Review”.
Sources tell STATter 911 that Prince George’s County has requested the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to conduct a further investigation.
As for the ambulance crew, Mark Brady says, “Despite the challenging circumstances the ambulance crew faced, they performed their duties professionally and per protocol during the childbirth.”
Since 1972 Dave Statter has covered the news. A good deal of Dave’s reporting has focused on how fire and emergency medical services are delivered in and around Washington and Baltimore. Along the way, Dave was also a volunteer firefighter, an emergency dispatcher and a cardiac rescue technician.