cynical_as_hell

would you want to go through all the things that pregnancy causes and give birth to a child that was only concieved due to an act of a violent crime??? you are better off staying out of this one unless you can understand fully what changes women endure and the aftermath of a pregnancy before you decide that even if a woman was raped that she should still have that child.

Good points there spenec.....the arguement of "its my body" well if you're going to spread your legs for some man then you need to be prepared for the consequences. i think that if somebody gets pregnant, chooses to abort that child, then they should be sterilized right after because apearantly they arent capable of making mature decisions. I do however feel that if a woman is raped, or there are medical reasons for an abortion, then that's a different story. We live in a society that seems to think that sex has no consequences and more and more women have the attitude of "Well i can just get an abortion." I side with spenec on this one

make sure to cover your ass on everything single little thing. as far as they are concerned you are just another warm body to fill in the void until someone better comes along. oh and be sure that you have money set aside for when they continuously mess up on your paycheck and then blame you for it.

RUN!!!! RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!!!

I agree with Spenec. How does anyone know that the paramedic wasn't defending himself from the patient? Patients coming out of seizures have the possibility of becoming violent. Personally, I wouldn't put much trust in the words of his partner. People are always looking for reasons to better themselves and knock down others. Does the driver have any problems with her partner? What kind of history does each employee have with company? Are they known trouble makers and get complaints from their patients? There's too much missing information that just hasn't been provided yet. It's too soon for anyone to make judgement.

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A doctor's license was revoked Friday in the case of a teenager who planned to have an abortion but instead gave birth to a baby she says was killed when clinic staffers put it into a plastic bag and threw it in the trash. The doctor, Pierre Jean-Jacques Renelique, was not present when the baby was born, but the Florida Medical Board upheld Department of Health allegations that he falsified medical records, inappropriately delegated tasks to unlicensed personnel and committed malpractice. Joseph Harrison, the attorney representing Renelique at the license revocation hearing in Tampa, said Renelique has not decided whether to appeal. The state attorney's office, meanwhile, said its criminal investigation into the incident is ongoing and no charges have been filed. A fetus born alive cannot be put to death even if its mother intended to have an abortion, police said when the incident occurred in 2006. The baby's mother, Sycloria Williams, sued Renelique, the clinic and its staff in January, seeking damages. She alleges in her suit that "she witnessed the murder of her daughter" and said she "sustained severe emotional distress, shock and psychic trauma which have resulted in discernible bodily injury." "This is not about a pot of gold," said Tom Pennekamp, her attorney. "What this is about is right and wrong and making a statement, making sure it doesn't happen to other young women." According to the suit, Williams, then 18, discovered while being treated for a fall that she was 23 weeks pregnant. She went to a clinic to get an abortion on the morning of July 20, 2006, after receiving medication and instructions the previous day. Renelique was not at the clinic, however, and Williams was told to wait for him. She was given two pills and told they would make her ill. When she complained of feeling ill, clinic staff members gave her a robe and told her to lie down in a patient room, the suit says. Renelique was still not present when Williams "felt a large pain" and delivered a baby girl, according to the suit. "The staff began screaming and pandemonium ensued. Sycloria watched in horror and shock as her baby writhed with her chest rising and falling as she breathed." Don't Miss Read the Department of Health complaint (PDF) A clinic co-owner entered the room and used a pair of shears to cut the baby's umbilical cord, the suit said. She "then scooped up the baby and placed the live baby, placenta and afterbirth in a red plastic biohazard bag, which she sealed, and then threw bag and the baby in a trash can." Staff at the clinic did not call 911 or seek medical assistance for Williams or the baby, the suit said. Renelique arrived at the clinic about an hour later and gave Williams a shot to put her to sleep. "She awoke after the procedure and was sent home still in complete shock," the suit said. Police were notified of the incident by an anonymous caller who told them the baby was born alive and disposed of. "The complainant [Williams] observed the baby moving and gasping for air for approximately five minutes," according to a police affidavit requesting a search warrant for the clinic. Two search warrants found nothing, but officers executing a third warrant "found the decomposing body of a baby in a cardboard box in a closet," the suit said. The baby was linked to Williams through DNA testing, the lawsuit said. An autopsy showed it had filled its lungs with air prior to death. Documents from the state Department of Health said its cause of death was determined to be "extreme prematurity." Fewer than 1 percent of babies are born at less than 28 weeks, according to the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization aimed at reducing premature births, birth defects and infant mortality. Infants born at that stage may survive, but require treatment with oxygen, other medical help and mechanical assistance to help them breathe. They are too immature to suck or swallow and so must be fed intravenously. Babies born before about 32 weeks of gestation face the highest risk of health problems, the March of Dimes said. Williams' lawsuit seeks damages from Renelique, the clinic and its staff. It claims that clinic records were falsified to say only that Williams underwent an abortion. Williams filed the suit individually and "as personal representative of the estate of Shanice Denise Osbourne, deceased," the suit said. The medical board's action Friday came at the request of the Florida Department of Health, which filed an order in February 2007 seeking emergency restrictions on Renelique's license. Department documents list many of the same allegations as Williams' lawsuit. "Dr. Renelique's failure to practice medicine with that level of care, skill and treatment that is recognized as being acceptable, as well as his willingness to falsify medical records, poses a serious and immediate danger to the public," the health department said. Renelique did not respond to the health department or dispute the facts it alleged, department spokeswoman Eulinda Jackson said Friday. Williams has declined to speak publicly about the case, said Pennekamp, her attorney. She suffers from post-traumatic stress because of the experience, he said. This topic got posted in the wrong catagory, I apologize. Feel free to put it in the correct catagory. Thanks

Terrible....absolutely terrible :shock:

It would depend on the protocol and what kind of authority EMS has in the ares as to whether these guys were wrong for leaving or not. In the area I work in, there is nothing stated in our protocol to tell us what to do should we come across this same situation. In the past when our workers have had questions about rather something would be legal or not on our part, we were told to call law enforcement. So right or wrong depends on protocols and what the community sees as appropiate. I do believe that these workers should have contacted law enforcement and requested their assistance in gaining access.

This entire story is very sad and very irritating. My sympathy goes out to the Travolta family for their loss and best wishes to finding the a**holes who are trying to blackmail them. I understand that everybody is hurting for money in todays society, but this is not the way to go about it. I am suprised that the blackmailers were even able to get pictures. I would think that someone within this event would have caught on to the pictures being taken and done something about it, but I also understand that no one really has the entire story. Good luck to the family

The thing about pediatric calls is that they can be your worst call or they can be your best call. The pain you feel from losing that child as a patient is different than the pain you will feel from losing an adult patient. It takes alot of strength to be in this field and deal with the horrible things we sometimes face. The best thing you can do is talk it out with those that were with you on scene, or the hospital staff that was involved. If you don't talk to someone, you may end it up quiting. It all depends on how you deal with things that upset you. But I promise you, this will not be your last bad peds call. And because it was so traumitic and among your first, you most likely will never forget it either. I know I haven't forgotten mine. Best of luck to you. Remember, always look at the positive things you did.

i agree with you dustdevil...i also caught it by accident while over at a my dad's house. i think we spent most of the duration of that show mocking and laughing at these patients due to their weak and bs complaints. it appeared to us that almost every patient had neck pain and was put into c-spine. it truly was a disappointing show. :roll:

It is always anyone's recommendation in EMS that all patients go by ambulance to the hospital. It's a CYOA thing. Regardless rather we feel that they need to or don't need to is irrelevant. At least if the patient goes by ambulance than the chances of you ending up in court decreases. So I don't feel that it would be unethical to ask them to sign a refusal even though you are telling them that it is your recommendation that they go by ambulance. The whole idea behind the refusal is for personel and companies to have documentation against the patient when they later decide to sue you for something. That refusal will be called into evidence and regardless what the patient says, it's going to be thrown in their face "Well then why did you sign this refusal?" I don't know how all of your guys' refusal work or say but with ours it says right on there that you understand the risks of refusing transport and that you are releasing our complany from any liability.

I agree with the whole legality mess this would create. It's too much of a risk. If you want to get checked out, then go to the doctor's. If you have an emergency, or what you believe to be an emergency, then activate 911. But a patient dieing a few h ours after you checked on them, makes you look pretty bad to any attorney. I agree that one of two things will happen on scene: Accept treatment and go to the hospital or deny treatment and sign my paperwork stating so. Outside of that it's all a gamble. NO THANKS!!!

I'm just going to be blunt here: What a stupid idea!!! EMS is for emergency services (regardless rather we think they are truly having an emergency) It is not our job to go check up on patients. That's for home health care or social services. What is going to happen when you are at a frequent flyer's house doing your check up and emergency traffic comes out? Do you just say, " Well we have to go now because someone else is in need of our services?" I'm serious, what would you do? I say don't go to someone's house unless they have activated the 911 system.

In the area I work in, we don't have to worry so much about the abusers. The biggest reason is because they are all too stupid to understand anything anyway, so why even try. And the other reason is because our medical director has a very low tolerance for frequent flyers that never have a true medical problem. He tells them up front that if they come into his ER again, and there is nothing found wrong with them, then he will have them arrested for trespassing. That usually seems to work too. Those who don't take him seriously when he tells them that, find out when they get there and the police show up. Now don't get me wrong, if they come in and they truly have something wrong, then he treats and releases them, no big deal. But if he does his evaluation and nothing is wrong, then he calls the police.

Upper management put it to a vote stating that "majority rules" so we were told that we had a say in it. I beg to differ though. I think that regardless of what people voted, they were going to change to 48s because it will once again cut down on all the overtime they pay. In AZ its a right to work state, so if we were to all resign then they would just replace us and show us to the door. It sucks being owned by cooperate now because they will just replace you as soon as you leave. Now the challenge that myself and my coworkers are facing is the reality that to the company, we are just another warm body to run the calls and bring in the money. My thought has always been that AMR is the WalMart of EMS.

This could be a great tool for the ER, but it really doesn't mean much to EMS. 15 minutes is too long to wait around and see if there is a problem. Most agencies can have their patients to the ER by then. But, if this saliva test really does work, than it will make bank because alot of people do have silent heartattacks.

My company doesn't care if you are tired or not. Currently we are doing 24hr shifts, getting ready to go to 48's beginning of the year. A typical day for us is 30-35 calls with only 3 crews. We stay pretty busy. And then all the late night transfers come in and everyone is too tired to take them because we haven't had any rest. When we say something to our supervisors, they come back with " So are you telling me that you are not going to take this transfer?" So we always end up taking it because if we don't then we will get fired for what they say is refusing to do our job. Most of our transfers are to Las Vegas, so it isn't so bad. But the ones that are the hardest are the midnight transfers to Phoenix. Our company doesn't care that we are tired. All they want are the dollars, regardless of risks.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone. Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages." "When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling `I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping." Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store. It said it tried to prepare for the crowd by adding staffers and outside security workers, putting up barricades and consulting police. This is taken from a different article, but same topic. What I find most discouraging is that "When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling `I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping." Since when did shopping become more important than a life??? :?

I think I'm missing something....what exactly did the drunk driver do that cause an ambulance to hit him?

Yep, it makes no sense to me. And from the looks of it, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. He's on the hospital board now. We do carry the charcoal on oour rigs, but what I don't understand is....Even though the state says an emt is allowed to give it, why do our medics have to patch and get permission? Yes, you are understanding correctly. Our paramedics have to patch for a medication that can be given at and emt level. This particular medical director was already kicked out of one hospital, although I don't know the reasons why. He also tries to run the prehospital setting like a military. He came from the military so he's always trying to run things the way it was ran there. I wish we could have the old medical director back. He was pro ems and didn't have many restrictions on us.

dwayneEMTP "Why was she taking the medication? Did she have a history of it, or did she get caught off guard by their effects? Did she have available help for the child, or was she in a damaged condition trying to care for them both?" she was taking the medication for pain relief. she had just been to a dentist the previous day. As far as I know, she didn't have a history of using pain meds. She seemed to be a very normal, everyday, mother just trying to get some relief from whatever work the dentist did. She did have help for the child, although it is unclear as to why she didn't use the help.

michael, no that is not cynical in anyway... that call did make me cold and closed off though. maybe that could be why i continue to not attach myself to patients??

i don't feel that jailing the mother would accomplish anything other than using up resources in the criminal system. This mother will pay the ultimate price for the rest of her life. To have to live with the fact that you are the reason why your child isn't alive....that's a horrible thing to have to live with