By Bill Carey
EMS1
MARION, Iowa — An Iowa paramedic was fired after she refused to promptly respond to an ambulance call from the city of Marion, telling the dispatcher, “I don’t give a f— about Marion.”
On July 7, 2023, Area Ambulance Authority Paramedic Stefany Glassmeyer received a call from a dispatcher for a 911 call for an ambulance, and that a body bag needed to be dropped off at a hospital. The dispatcher reportedly told Glassmeyer to drop off the bag first and then respond to the 911 call, The Gazette reported.
Glassmeyer, who reportedly had unspecified issues with the Marion Fire Department, allegedly told the dispatcher, “I don’t give a f— about Marion,” to which the dispatcher responded, “I don’t either. I told them it was going to be about 25 minutes.”
The City of Marion, which contracts with Area Ambulance Authority for EMS, expressed frustration with the response time surrounding the incident. The company discovered the recording of the phone call between Glassmeyer and the dispatcher and immediately suspended and then later fired Glassmeyer.
State records indicated Glassmeyer had previously received a warning and a suspension in May. Glassmeyer had been assigned an ambulance run that would have extended beyond her scheduled shift end. She reportedly expressed her objections to this assignment in an aggressive manner, lodging complaints with both the dispatcher and her supervisor. This led to concerns about her professionalism, leading to the warning.
In her application for unemployment benefits, Glassmeyer asserted her termination was in retaliation for her complaining about sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. She acknowledged her actions were inappropriate but said termination should only occur for such actions if they were repeated offenses occurring on a regular basis.