By Skip Kirkwood, Chief, Emergency Medical Services Division, Wake County EMS
Regrettably, the image and reputation of FDNY-EMS, as well as public confidence in the people who are supposed to protect and serve New Yorkers, has been damaged. How badly damaged is hard to tell. I saw today another story about an off-duty FDNY EMT or paramedic who did CPR on a hospital police officer and successfully resuscitated him. Unfortunately the commercial media will probably emphasize the controversial over the successful.
Clearly, there is not much that a couple of EMTs assigned to Dispatch, on a break with no medical equipment on hand, could have done to help the woman — and since her problem was bad enough to lead to her death, she may have been beyond any help whatsoever.
However, should an EMS provider ever find themselves in such a situation, you can still do what you can to help within the governing law, rules, and regulations. Even if that is limited, ACT like you care, and treat the sick or injured person like you would want a close family member to be treated in similar circumstances. A family’s response is 95 percent perception, and you can control the perception.
As a senior EMS officer, I would certainly tell the community that we expect when members of our service are asked for help, they respond in an appropriate professional manner, and remain on scene until on-duty units arrive. I would also make sure that the rest of the organization supports that; for example, if the last guy who stopped to help a citizen got written up or otherwise disciplined for returning late, that would send a mixed message and would be bad management.