By Sarah Buduson
ABC24-TV
Copyright 2008 Clear Channel Broadcasting
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee officials revealed new details Thursday, January 17, 2008, about why they shut down a Memphis ambulance service. Eyewitness News Everywhere was the first and only station to tell you about the troubles at AmeriCare Ambulance Services last month. The company’s license was revoked after a Tennessee Board of Emergency Medical Services hearing in Nashville in December. During that same hearing, AmeriCare’s owner, Otis Jones, Jr., lost his EMT license.
State officials say the company was breaking rules that could have put patients’ lives at risk. According to the state, AmeriCare was putting its patients in the passenger seats of its ambulances. State rules say patients must be buckled onto stretchers in the back of ambulances at all times, even during non-emergency rides.
The Tennessee Board of Emergency Medical Services also says patients were given rides without any licensed EMTs being on board. According to state rules, At least one licensed EMT must be on an ambulance at all times.
Full Story: Ambulances found without permits, inspections, officials say