Response times slow for ambulance company in Castro suicide

Oct. 22--The private ambulance company cited for a slow response to Ariel Castro's suicide had three similar problems last month, following Castro's suicide, state prison officials said in a complaint.

In one case, MedCare said it could not get a crew to the prison for up to 35 minutes. In the others, a MedCare dispatcher said it had no crew available. In all three cases, officials at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient had to call 911 to take inmates to the hospital, even though the state has a contract with MedCare Ambulance.

"MedCare is not meeting the contract requirements," Karen Duffel, business administrator at the prison, said in a document obtained by The Dispatch that is part of a complaint filed with the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.

The state contract with MedCare, which took effect July 1, requires the ambulance company to respond within 15 minutes of being called or to seek help from another agency. In the cases cited, Liberty Township in Pickaway County responded.

Philip Koster, MedCare vice president of operations, told The Dispatch that the company "did have an extended response time" in the Castro case on Sept. 3 and has "made corrective actions on our part and rectified that situation."

"You want to be there on time 100 percent of the time, but that's just not possible," he said.

The contract stipulates that MedCare must pay the difference if the rate is higher for another ambulance crew, public or private, if MedCare is unable to respond to a prison call. In other words, the state pays no more than the contracted rate with MedCare.

When Castro -- the Cleveland man who kidnapped and held three women hostage for a decade in his home -- hanged himself in his cell, a MedCare crew took 35 minutes to arrive at the prison south of Columbus.

On the way to Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, the ambulance made a stop along I-71 to get another crew member. Koster said the stop lasted 30 seconds; the state report does not specify, but said it was within the 28 minutes it took to get to the hospital. Castro was declared dead at 10:52 p.m., 1 hour 37 minutes after he was found.

Koster said there are "some discrepancies in times we're reporting and they're reporting."

ajohnson@dispatch.com

@ohioaj

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