Maryland County`s Furlough Policy Revised for Medic Units
LARGO, Md. -- Three days after a medic unit was unavailable down the street from a cardiac arrest call, the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department has again changed its furlough policy.
A revised directive issued today by Chief Lawrence Sedgwick Jr. clearly states, "There will be no Medic Unit that will be placed out of service as a result of furloughs."
On Tuesday, 9NEWS NOW first told you about a cardiac arrest call that occurred in Largo, MD a day earlier. That's when Tennie Waller called 911 because her 74-year-old husband Lawrence was having trouble breathing. Lawrence Waller was recovering from heart bypass surgery performed a week earlier.
A little more than a mile from the Waller home is the Largo fire/EMS station. Inside that station at the time of the call was Medic 846. It normally would have been assigned to a trouble breathing call, but it was unavailable due to the two paramedics assigned to the unit being on eight-hours of furlough leave without pay.
A basic life support ambulance, without paramedics responded from the same station, as did Medic 820 from the Upper Marlboro firehouse seven-miles away. When the ambulance crew arrived, about five minutes after the 911 call, they found Lawrence Waller in cardiac arrest. It was another eight-minutes before Medic 820 arrived.
Tennie Waller confirmed, despite the delay, medics were able to get a pulse from her husband and then lost it three times on the way to the hospital. The emergency department at Prince George's Hospital Center worked on Waller for about an hour before pronouncing him dead.
On Tuesday, Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady said the call was handled appropriately considering the unavailable medic unit.
Chief Sedgwick's latest directive, provided by Brady after an inquiry by 9NEWS NOW, advises, "The Emergency Operations Command has full authority to detail ALS providers (paramedics) from other commands, delay, or temporarily waive planned furloughs in order to ensure that Medic Units stay in service".
From September 28 until yesterday, one or two medic units have been placed out of service each day for eight-hours at a time. In an email accompanying the directive, Lt. Col. Tyrone Wells reiterated, "no medic unit will be out of service at anytime related to furloughs".
Sources familiar with the change indicate Chief Sedgwick has told paramedic supervisors and paramedics assigned to the training academy they will be riding medic units in order to keep the units in service during furlough hours.
We asked Mark Brady if the incident in Largo prompted the change in policy. Brady replied by email, "I stated previously the plan is fluid and has changed numerous times. No, there has been no one incident that was responsible for this change."
A day after her husband's death, Tennie Waller told 9NEWS NOW she thought a faster intervention by paramedics might have made a difference for her husband. Waller was also angry that despite paying "high taxes" the county was cutting important services.
When asked if the change in furlough policy was ordered by Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson or Public Safety Director Vernon Herron, Brady said that Chief Sedgwick has been working closely with the county leaders in Upper Marlboro throughout the furlough planning and implementation.
Republished with permission of WUSA-TV.
