June 11, 2008
Woman Falls in Midtown, Ambulance from... Staten Island?
Last week, an 88-year-old collapsed in midtown Manhattan. And almost an hour after 911 was called, an ambluance appeared... from Staten Island.
Now the FDNY is investigating why exactly an ambulance so far away was dispatched. Police, who came to help the woman lying at East 55th Street and Lexington Avenue, called 911 at 3:24 p.m., and the ambulance arrived at 4:15 p.m. The Daily News explained what seems to have happened:
Because the woman was conscious when she fell, she was assigned a basic life support ambulance, a vehicle outfitted with less lifesaving equipment than an advanced life support unit.The average response time is 6 minutes 31 seconds. A witness who stayed with the fall victim said, "I was horrified by the whole thing. All I could think of was, what if this was my mother and child?"But shortly before the incident, a dispatcher, realizing all of Manhattan's basic support ambulances were being used, requested that a Staten Island unit travel into Manhattan in case it was needed.
Moments later, another dispatcher assigned that ambulance to travel to midtown because the FDNY computer indicated it was in Manhattan - even though it actually was still on Staten Island, the source said.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum criticized the FDNY for not responding in a timely manner, "There is simply no excuse for having a near-90-year-old lying in the middle of the street for an hour." As for the fall victim, she is expected to recover.
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There is no excuse for something like this to happen. Shame on the FDNY.
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Staten Island is the least convenient location to call an ambulance from. Couldn't they dispatch one from one of the other 3 boros?
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We are very spoiled in this country.
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The FDNY is not the only one to blame -- if the PD could have absolutely done more to get this woman to the hospital sooner. Not necessarily taking her there herself, but they were in charge of the scene and had/have ways to deal with problems like this.
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We are very spoiled in this country.
Tell that to the morons here who think this country is a police state.
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We are very spoiled in this country.
For the largesse the city receives as a result of our hard labor, the least they can do is make sure that they protect life.
So, no, I don't think we're spoiled.
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88 yrs, 97 degrees, 59 minutes, Lex & 55th, Do the math, she's lucky to have survived.
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Thanks edEx. That was very nice of you to say. And also completely illogical. The two have nothing to do with each other. Have a nice day!
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Just how well do hospitals keep track of their ambulances anyway?
I used to see one ambulance routinely parked for hours in a Brooklyn neighborhood. The markings on it indicated that it was from a hospital in Manhattan.
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too be fair. I was on a bus yesterday and it took forever. It was all these double parked cars, construction, and overcrowded streets that block traffic. To blame the bus driver would be unfair as he was doing the best he could and to blame the FDNY would be unfair. This is what you get when you live in a overcrowded and congested city.
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"Moments later, another dispatcher assigned that ambulance to travel to midtown because the FDNY computer indicated it was in Manhattan - even though it actually was still on Staten Island, the source said"
There's nothing to be 'fair' about here BH, so does that mean computer incompetence is to blame? An FDNY computer gave inaccurate info and someone could have died because of it-- if not from the fall, then the damn heat we experienced yesterday.
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If the woman was seriously injured the FDNY would have dispatched an engine company with firefighters experienced in medical care. Obviously the NYPD didn't think it was that serious otherwise they would have requested additional aid. Normally the ambulance give an ETA, so obviously the cross communication was faulty.
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that's ridiculous. how does that happen? an hour? how do people lose track of these things? and i agree with jrod - why staten island?
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Luckily it wasn't Jersey?
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F D N Y =
Fatuous Dunderheads of New York
At least the ambulance did not come from Ohio -- might as well transport here more of these transplants in an ambulance since it seems like it's an emergency to these Mid-Westerns to come to NY and be like Carrie Bradshaw.
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I dunno, #15, you could make an argument for ambulances showing up from Ohio, and hearses going back to Ohio.
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Should've just taken a taxi to the nearest hospital.