More than 20 minutes — that's how long it took for an ambulance to reach a near-centenarian who tripped and fell in front of the Post Office in East Hampton Village on Wednesday.
"It was really sad to see a 97-year-old gentleman lying on the cold, concrete ground," JB D'Santos said of the incident.
While D'Santos told the village board the man waited 25 minutes, and that the police department, which also responds to EMS calls, took 10, Village Police Chief Jerry Larsen said the first officer was on scene just 2 minutes after the call at 1:38 p.m. An ambulance arrived 21 minutes after the call, Larsen said, after reviewing the times.
D'Santos said he and a few others tried to comfort the bloodied, confused man until a Springs Fire Department ambulance made it to the post office, which is outside of the area it covers. Under a mutual aid agreement, neighboring ambulance services can respond to another jurisdiction when the home-ambulance needs help.
For this mid-day call, the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association — made up strictly of volunteer emergency medical technicians and drivers — did not have a full crew to treat the patient, who was ultimately transported to Southampton Hospital. D'Santos said a Springs EMT wanted a medevac helicopter to respond, but the weather prohibited its flight.
"I think we need to do something in relation to that," said D'Santos, who is a real estate agent who works in the village and a co-chair of the East Hampton/Sag Harbor Citizens Advisory Committee. "If it had been a heart attack, he would have been gone."
"That's not acceptable," Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. said of the time-lag. He told D'Santos the board would look into the issue, as the village board oversees the funding for the ambulance association, as well as the East Hampton Fire Department.
"We are looking into alternative ways to make it better," said East Hampton Village Ambulance Association Chief Mary Ellen McGuire. She agreed that it was unfortunate it took 20 minutes for an ambulance on Wednesday, but that one ambulance was out of the district.
Earlier that day, at about 10:45 a.m., her department responded to a call where the patient required a CATscan. The CATscan at Southampton Hospital was down, and the ambulance had to take the patient to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. It was three hours before they returned to the ambulance barn, she said.
The lack of volunteer EMS personnel available to answer all of the calls, particularly during the day, is not a new issue.
Larsen, who also heads the village's dispatching services, said it's an ongoing problem. "We've been dealing with it all summer long," he said.
With an ever growing number of calls, particularly on the South Fork, EMS leaders have had to look for ways to ensure calls are answered. One way was the mutual aid agreement, instituted nearly 10 years ago. Depending on the severity of a call, after two or three reactivations, a neighboring organization is called in.
East Hampton Volunteer Ambulance Association is the busiest EMS provider in the Town of East Hampton, answering 1,363 calls in 2012. In December alone, it was dispatched 88 times, 12 of which were for mutual aids to other districts.
Certain agencies, like East Hampton's ambulance, have squads at night. But, covering calls during the day, when many volunteers are working, has become increasingly difficult. It's a universal problem on the South Fork, Rickenbach said.
"We have nothing but gratitude for the effort and energy and time put forth by the volunteers," Rickenbach said, but he added, "We've got to make it better than it is."
EMS personnel in the Town of East Hampton have broached the subject of instituting some sort of paid system. Departments as far east as Southampton have had paid paramedics and EMTs on duty for several years. Asked whether he would support a paid system, Rickenbach said: "That's on the table. It may be something that's closer down the road than longer term," he said.
D'Santos also told the board that he was surprised the two village police officers who responded did not offer the man oxygen. Officers do carry oxygen tanks in their vehicles. Larsen checked with the responding officers on Friday afternon, and they said the man did not require oxygen.
Larsen added that all officers are trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Kudos to our volunteers who have saved lives. I thought people volunteered because they wanted to help. Not to be written about in the media. At least thats why I do it a few hundred times a year. Every system has its flaws. Over time they need to be reviewed and updated.
The question arises, do you just want the patient transported to the nearest emergency care unit, being in this case, Southampton Hospital, or actual emergency care being given by EMT's at the scene, and during transport to the hospital. For the former, you could just hire drivers with no medical training; Circa 1960's. For the latter, a paramedic, P.A., or another clinical professionel could be hired to respond to the scene and make these evaluations on what action/s need to be taken.
That being said, if more research were to be done regarding response times, 20 minutes wouldn't be so shocking. I heard Southampton EMTs respond to Springs a few months ago because they couldn't get a crew from anyone from the eastern departments. I hear re-activation after re-activation after mutual aid after mutual aid all the time on the scanner for as long as 40 minutes sometimes on a weekday. It's scary. This is not a dig at the volunteers, because it's not their fault. Volunteering does not pay the bills, and everyone knows that there are no shortage of bills. This is a problem that has been identified and needs to be solved quickly before someone suffers or dies because of a delay. Again, I commend the volunteers and do not have enough words to express my gratitude for what they do everyday, when most people are enjoying their days, oblivious to what sacrifices are made by these wonderful people.
I assume the EHV Ambulance Corp. has a first responder vehicle. A volunteer who can be on the scene in a couple minutes to administer first aid until the ambulance comes. Why is there no mention of a first responder vehicle in the story? 10, 15 and even 20 minutes waits are not unheard of around the country for an ambulance to arrive and take a patient to the hospital. That does not mean, the man was denied first aid at the scene. As the police chief noted, help was on the scene in a couple of minutes.
If as you say, the ambulance was the first EMS responders on the scene 21 minutes later, this is highly unusual as I always see some go directly to the scene. The village may very well have to go to paid if that is the case. As far as I know, the police in Suffolk County for the past 15 years are all EMT certified when they get out of the academy. I don't know if they keep up that EMT certification in East Hampton. As least the cop on the scene was certified in first aid to offer the gentlemen some medical attention.
dramagically
Just an idea... Since the LIRR's service is far and few in between when they operate out here, and the tracks run directly next to the proposed new sight for where Stony Brook wants to move the facility too, what about utilizing those tracks for a medical transport shuttle? Something like that will help response time, optimize triage, keep the ambulances more in the community to responde when multiple calls hit. And get the patient to a treatment facility faster. Just an idea.... Sure one of you will criticize it. I bet its cheaper then running a chopper. Weather is less of a factor and the tracks are already laid.
Of Course I'm Biased, as I Am Extremely Proud Of My Son Ian ! Who is in The EH Ambulance - He's "All In", He Loves what He Does.Emily Bee Is Correct, Healthcare and a Pension Component, as Per The FD Would a Great Idea.Also Maybe a Fee To Use The Ambulance, On a Sliding Scale to Not Hurt Our Seniors on a Fixed Income.This Could Help With Costs.