Fwd: FYI

[Guest guest]

Look at this email exchange between Mike Levy, publisher of Texas Monthly and

Rich Oppel, editor of the Austin American-Statesman.

-Wes Ogilvie, MPA, JD, EMT-B

Austin, Texas

FYI

FYI

----- Forwarded by R. Levy/TXMO on 03/06/2006 09:16 AM -----

R. Levy/TXMO

03/05/2006 03:54 PM ToR. Oppel

ccmroser@..., dhiott@..., fzipp@...,

agarcia@..., btodd@..., echristian@...

SubjectFYI, the personnel on all 30 Austin/ County EMS ground units, the

STARFlight helicopters, and the shift supervisors are trained to the Advance

Life Support (Paramedic) level, and ....

Rich:

I am sorry about the loss of your friend as described in today's column (below).

In Austin all calls are treated as " emergencies " because it's better to be safe

than sorry. Example: A simple belly ache may just be indigestion, but it also

may be an aortic aneurysm that can pop causing the patient to quickly bleed out

unless immediately taken to an appropriate care facility that has the capability

for immediate surgical intervention, as was the case with Hester Magnuson (the

wife of novelist Jim Magnuson who runs the Michener writers program at UT).

Austin EMS got to her fast, started a line, and got her to a hospital fast, and

she's alive today to tell about it.

FYI, the personnel on all 30 Austin/ County EMS ground units, the

STARFlight helicopters, and the shift supervisors, are trained to the Advance

Life Support (Paramedic) level, and are supported by over 2000 first responders

trained to the EMT level.

Unlike Washington's fire department based program, Austin's is a third, separate

public safety agency to attract personnel whose orientation is in the health

care arena. The people of Austin enjoy one of the very best EMS programs in the

country, one that other communities would like to emulate, in large part because

it is a separate department and not part of a fire department based program as

in other cities such as Houston, Dallas and San where the quality of EMS

service is mediocre at best and in some cases if you have a heart attack it's a

coin toss whether you should call 911 or Yellow Cab. Firefighters do not want to

be paramedics. In cities where they are forced to be paramedics, the stats show

that their substance abuse and divorce rates go up.

Also fyi, too often Grandpa has chest pains, and rather than call 911 Grandma

puts Grandpa in the car to drive him to the hospital. Too often Grandpa goes

into full arrest in the car, which ain't good for either Grandpa or Grandma.

And getting to a hospital sooner rather than later to push the new thrombolotics

into a heart or stroke patient can give the patient a much greater likelihood

for a more positive outcome.

Hope all is well with carol and you.

Mike

COMMENTARY: RICH OPPEL

Oppel: Two emergencies, two responses ? and only one man made it

Rich Oppel, EDITOR, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Sunday, March 05, 2006

I picked up the phone the other day and it was Bruce Todd, rejoining the world

and spreading praise for Central Texas' emergency and hospital workers.

Todd was Austin's mayor from 1991 to 1997.

On a blustery Sunday after Thanksgiving, Todd tumbled headlong over his

handlebars while biking on U.S. 183 south of Lockhart. Were it not for Lockhart

Emergency Medical Services and heroic efforts by hospital staffers, Todd may

have died.

" I am one lucky guy, " said Todd, 56, who is now a consultant.

Another friend of mine, Rosenbaum, 63, who lived in the supposedly

sophisticated city of Washington, D.C., was not so fortunate. I'll say more

about Rosenbaum, but first hear from Todd:

" Three months ago, I became a user of the Central Texas hospital systems in a

way I never thought would happen, as a near-fatal accident victim. I was in

Brackenridge Hospital for about a month and then at the St. 's

Rehabilitation Center for another month.

" I came away from that experience with a perspective that was rewarding to me

and one that, as a community, we should take great pride in ? that we have great

hospital facilities in this community. I don't think I knew how truly lucky we

are to live in Austin, Texas, where health care is excellent and available to

all.

" There is no profession outside that of hospital service that I would consider

more critical to manage well ? and in Austin, we seem to be doing that. "

On that Nov. 27, passers-by found Todd at 2:50 p.m. sprawled across 183's

northbound lanes. They called 911. Todd's wife, Christian, recalls,

" Lockhart EMS moved incredibly fast. "

Indeed, records show the call came in at 2:51 p.m., the ambulance was dispatched

at 2:52 and was on the scene at 2:55. It departed at 3:09 p.m.

Firefighter Josh Wallace covered the 35 miles to Brackenridge in 30 minutes,

while paramedics Carol and Val De Los Santos worked on Todd in the back.

At Brackenridge, Todd was treated immediately for brain bruises, broken ribs,

cracked facial bones and road scrapes.

" We have an outstanding group of doctors, nurses, therapists and administrative

personnel. They are highly trained, very caring and extremely dedicated, " said

Todd. " This greatly enhances our quality of life in Austin. "

Now about Rosenbaum. He and I began working for newspapers in the mid-1960s in

Florida. I saw him last year, just before he retired from 37 years working in

The New York Times' Washington bureau.

At 9 p.m. on Jan. 6, Rosenbaum left his house to go for a walk. Washington Post

columnist Donna Britt quoted a neighbor as saying that he lived in " the ideal

Mayberry RFD neighborhood " of colonials on tree-lined streets in northwest

Washington.

Rosenbaum wore headphones that night. A block from his home on Gramercy Street,

he was assaulted by a mugger, who took his wallet, struck him on the head and

left him writhing in pain on the sidewalk. At 9:30, neighbors found him and

called 911.

The dispatcher gave the case low priority because the caller said the man was

conscious, police said. An acute life support ambulance was a few blocks away,

but the case's low status meant that a basic life support ambulance ? with

lesser-trained emergency medical technicians (EMTs) ? was called from five miles

away.

It took the ambulance 22 minutes to arrive.

The EMTs concluded Rosenbaum was drunk, unable to speak, vomiting and in

" obvious trama (sic) " but they detected no head wound. He was taken aboard the

ambulance.

It took 23 minutes for the ambulance to get Rosenbaum to University

Hospital 4.5 miles away. Two other hospitals were closer.

Then he lay on a gurney in the hospital for at least an hour until a nurse

noticed the vomiting. Only then did authorities realize that Rosenbaum had

suffered a massive head injury.

Two days later, he died.

In neither Rosenbaum' nor Todd's case did emergency and hospital workers know

whom they were treating. Without identification, Rosenbaum was labeled Doe.

In her husband's case, Christian said, " It was fascinating to me how little he

was recognized and how little the impact of who he was seemed to have on his

care. "

Well into Todd's treatment at Brackenridge, an Austin police officer recognized

him.

I'm not qualified to judge the Washington EMTs and hospital workers. Perhaps

anyone would have missed the head injury, assumed he was intoxicated ? and

perhaps the medical staff was confronting more serious cases at Hospital.

What happened to Todd and Rosenbaum could happen to any of us, virtually

anywhere. But Todd's case is a reminder of one more reason why we are fortunate

to live in Central Texas. We have first-rate EMS and hospital services.

Welcome back, mayor.