Lanier's SUV ride 'illegal'

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March 8, 2001, 12:21AM

Lanier's SUV ride 'illegal'

Official of Health Dept. puts Brown in spotlight

By RACHEL GRAVES

Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

Houston Mayor Lee Brown appears to have broken the law in ordering

paramedics to take former Mayor Bob Lanier to the hospital in a sport utility

vehicle, a Texas Health Department official said Wednesday.

Wayne , emergency medical services director for the Health

Department's region that includes Houston, said the department is investigating

Brown's decision Tuesday.

" Under state law, transporting someone in anything other than a

licensed vehicle is illegal, " said.

Brown stood by his decision, saying it was the right thing to do for

Lanier's health.

Lanier, not wanting to wait for an ambulance, asked to be taken to

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in a Suburban driven by paramedics, Brown said.

The squad vehicles were adopted by the city in December to try to get medical

attention to victims quicker. They are not licensed to transport patients, but a

city official said there is no city policy preventing them from being used that

way.

" When we get through with this, they'll have a policy, " said,

adding that " everyone from top to bottom " needs to understand the rules.

The incident has also renewed a public safety debate over whether

the city has enough ambulances. Brown announced Wednesday that the city will

increase its ambulance fleet by 10 vehicles in April.

Brown took responsibility for the decision to take Lanier in the

Suburban, saying he would have done the same for anyone else in that situation.

The paramedics " followed an order given to them by the mayor of the

city, " he said. " They have nothing to worry about. "

Lanier and Brown were at separate luncheons Tuesday at the Houston

Club downtown when Lanier's heart defibrillator went off, apparently triggered

by an irregular heartbeat. Lanier's wife, Elyse, called 911, and the first

emergency vehicle to respond was a fire engine.

Lanier first asked to be taken to the hospital in the firetruck and

was told no, Brown said.

Two minutes later, a Suburban driven by paramedics arrived at the

scene.

" Mr. Lanier stepped into the vehicle and said he wanted to go to the

hospital, " Brown said. " I told them to take him. "

Lanier said he had planned to be taken by private vehicle but that

emergency personnel told him to get into the squad unit.

Fire officials say an ambulance was about 90 seconds away when the

paramedics left for the hospital with Lanier.

" Those medics were in a pretty tough position, " said, adding

that the Health Department will do what it can to keep other paramedics from

being similarly pressured.

Lanier said the firefighters did a good job.

" They took me here, and I'm well, " he said at a news conference at

the hospital Wednesday. " I didn't need treatment. I just needed transportation. "

Dr. Persse, the city's emergency medical services director,

said the city's standard procedure is not to transport patients in the SUVs. But

he said the city has deliberately not put that procedure in writing because

there could be life-or-death situations where it makes more sense for the

paramedics to take a patient instead of waiting for an ambulance.

" The point is to get care to the patient as quickly as possible, "

Persse said.

said it would be better for the city to adopt a policy and

then to make exceptions in the one-in-a-million situation.

" There should always be room for exceptions, but those exceptions in

a case like this should be medically determined and not for any other reason, "

he said. stopped short of saying medical care was not the consideration

in transporting Lanier before the ambulance arrived. He said he does not yet

have enough information to draw conclusions.

The incident also raises questions about the city's number of

ambulances. Firetrucks and paramedic squads respond to emergency calls because

they are usually able to get there faster than ambulances. The ambulances are

busier and often respond to calls outside their immediate area.

Currently, 62 of the city's 84 fire stations have ambulances. The

city will buy 16 new ambulances next month, six of which will replace old

vehicles.

The 10 additional ambulances will be placed in areas in Houston that

get a higher volume of emergency calls. Several will go inside Loop 610.

One critic said that if the city had more ambulances, the Lanier

incident never would have happened.

" I'd have an ambulance at every fire station in the city of Houston,

so that every citizen knows there is an ambulance near them in the event of an

emergency, " said Councilman Orlando , who is thought to be considering a

bid for mayor.

Lanier said he had no problem with the emergency response time.

" The question, I guess, really would be whether the city has or

wants to buy enough equipment to shorten that average time. I don't know if I

know the answer to that, " he said.

Brown dismissed 's complaints as politically motivated.

" This is an election year, " he said. " Even when we're looking out

for the safety of our former mayor, there are those who would play politics with

that. "

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Chronicle reporter Jerry Urban contributed to this story.

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