Detroit paramedic punished for giving blanket to victim of house fire.

[Emergency Laughter]

What? No standing orders for administration of blankets? Count your blessings you don't live in Detroit. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/11/jeff-gaglio-detroit-paramedic-blanket_n_1957741.html

[rock_shoes]

Way to go Detroit EMS management! How dare a PARAMEDIC give a freezing man a BLANKET. I know Detroit runs a deficit budget but disciplining a medic for appropriate use of resources? Grow up.

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

[paramedicmike]

I wonder what the rest of the story is.

[eb1040]

At this point I don't believe any punishment has been issued nor has there been a mention of him appearing to be issued the punishment. It was also mentioned by the Paramedic that he called in sick on the day of the reporter's interview so he was not suspended yet.

This was referred to on another site as a Geraldo Rivera move by the way the reporter in the video was acting which I am inclined to agree. Although I don't think even Geraldo would have crawled into bed with this Paramedic who was still wearing his pajamas. This is not exactly a professional appearance to make a serious point.

There could be several reasons for the blanket accountability. Too often these blankets are donated but usually get used by employees for other purposes and only make it to the homeless after they are tossed in the trash when they are dirty. Taking advantage of a good thing for personal use has lead to close monitoring many things perceived to be "free". Being asked to be accountable for the use of something donated is not all that uncommon. I would like to hear the rest of the story when the media has calmed down and this Paramedic is actually presented at a disciplinary meeting. I think that is also only fair to those who have donated these "free" blankets by using their funds.

[DwayneEMTP]

Yeah, there will be more to this story....Hopefully...

If not, then there should be an investigation into the policies of this service in this regard. My guess is that this is going to turn out to be a douche bag medic that's useing this story to cover up something else...

What service is brave/stupid enough to come out publically and say, "Yeah, he was freezing outside of his burning house, but that's not really our problem. Company protocol is to have the patient warm themselves next to the fire of their burning belongings, or set them in front of the ambulance exhaust instead of wasting valuable insulatorified resources.."

I know some really dumb people, myself amongst them, but do you really know anyone that is that dumb? I don't think that I do...

[croaker260]

Yeah, there will be more to this story....Hopefully...

If not, then there should be an investigation into the policies of this service in this regard. My guess is that this is going to turn out to be a douche bag medic that's useing this story to cover up something else...

What service is brave/stupid enough to come out publically and say, "Yeah, he was freezing outside of his burning house, but that's not really our problem. Company protocol is to have the patient warm themselves next to the fire of their burning belongings, or set them in front of the ambulance exhaust instead of wasting valuable insulatorified resources.."

I know some really dumb people, myself amongst them, but do you really know anyone that is that dumb? I don't think that I do...

Dwayne,

I agree that the reportes style is abrasive and a bit sensationalist, but lets look past that to the system itself. In addition to Detroit as a city being on the verge of collapse…The FD ran EMS has had so many problems in the past 5 years (and likely well beyond that) that this story actually isnt that out of place.

Broken down Ambulances, responses to priority calls (in an inner city) in excess of 20 minutes, SEVERE understaffing, 10 % pay cut across the board with impending layoffs, money missing from their budget, and a string of ineffective leaders mean that Detroit EMS may be (IMHO) one of the most engangered urban EMS in the nation.

So , set against the backdrop of the system, this story is not that far out of bounds. In fact, it may be PAR for the course.

Croaker

Here is a good overview of the problem

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120816/METRO01/208160383

Some other stories of interest:

http://burnedoutmedic.com/2010/09/detroit-ems/

http://www.jems.com/article/news/detroit-ems-employees-speak-ou

http://firegeezer.com/2011/12/21/detroit-ems-one-year-later/

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-07-19/detroit-boy-death/56328496/1

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/19467190/paramedic-and-vocal-critic-wisam-zeineh-quitting-detroit-ems

[eb1040]

Croaker

Here is a good overview of the problem

http://www.detroitne...TRO01/208160383

Some other stories of interest:

http://burnedoutmedi...09/detroit-ems/

http://www.jems.com/...loyees-speak-ou

http://firegeezer.co...one-year-later/

http://usatoday30.us...eath/56328496/1

http://www.myfoxdetr...ing-detroit-ems

Some of those articles link up to the same reporter who is curled up in bed with the Paramedic.

It seems Charlie LeDuff has taken special interest in this.

This is another video of him and a home breakin victim which LeDuff calls "home invasion" even though the woman was not at home.

http://www.myfoxdetr...-detroit-police

While Mr. LeDuff is an award winning reporter, he has had his own share of controversy involving inaccuracies in reporting on other issues in Detroit.

I also have not seen a statement from the EMS union since they usually give a statement of some type like the malfunctioning ambulance last week. I would think if discipline is involved they should be at his side before the reporter.

The articles and blogs appearing now are unfortunately about race which just adds fuel of a different type to the flames.

Edited October 15, 2012 by eb1040

[eb1040]

New release by the reporter who is now trying to defend his story.

http://www.localwireless.com/wap/news/text.jsp?sid=320&nid=3039868304&cid=19929&scid=-1&ith=3&title=Local&headtitle=Local&font=m

When a Detroit EMS crew reported one blanket missing from an ambulance during a routine equipment check, Mr. Gaglio was identified as giving the blanket to a fire victim. EMS officials encourage staff paramedics to provide blankets, medical aid and comfort to emergency victims as needed. However, Mr. Gaglio expressed resentment over being asked to write a report on his action, although that is standard procedure. The only reprimand Mr. Gaglio has received involves his failure to inform his supervisor after the fact.

I think it is only fair and respectful to account for where donated property goes to just like any other type of equipment or supplies. The fact that it is considered "free" sets it up for abuse. It is also only fair to the next crew to leave a truck well stocked in case they also need to issue blankets.

I believe this whole interview was staged and not necessarily for the Paramedic's benefit.

[DwayneEMTP]

I agree completely 1040, except it feels like it was for the paramedic's benefit as well, as the reporter had to have gotten the story from somewhere? Of course, surely this story got him jammed up as well if he's known to have initiated it...

Good point..I'd just assumed that it was him stirring the pot, but maybe not...

[triemal04]

While Mr. LeDuff is an award winning reporter, he has had his own share of controversy involving inaccuracies in reporting on other issues in Detroit.

As well as some pretty blatant plagarism I believe.

I'm not from the area but I'll admit to watching clips of his because...well...goddamn it's entertaining! As to how factual all are...my sense is that he's basically a shockjock type of newscaster, so form your own opinions.