Confusion reigns as medics sent to multiple calls
Staff writer
County ambulances, and two from outside the county, were sent to multiple locations in all areas of the county Tuesday morning.
At 6:23 a.m., a car in a ditch on US-56/77 near 340th Rd. ended up being handled by Lincolnville, Lost Springs, and Herington firefighters with Tampa and Herington ambulances.
Lincolnville Fire Chief Les Kaiser had to suggest that Lincolnville be paged after dispatchers called for Marion Rescue.
Emergency medical services personnel had to suggest adding Herington, which also wasn’t contacted initially.
Marion Rescue was originally paged because it is a primary rescue unit. Lincolnville is a secondary rescue unit, Kaiser said.
When Lincolnville firefighters arrived, a single victim already was out of the car with an arm injury, so they canceled Marion and Herington rescue units.
The driver was taken to NMC Health in Newton by Tampa ambulance.
Marion County ambulance director Chuck Kenney said hospitals at Newton and McPherson were about the same driving time from that portion of the county.
Hillsboro ambulance, in Marion to obtain supplies from Marion’s ambulance station, was dispatched at 8:33 a.m. for a suicidal and delusional 83-year-old woman at a farmhouse near 80th and Alamo Rds.
The lead paramedic on the Hillsboro ambulance suggested that Harvey County ambulances were at least 25 miles closer. He also asked for a deputy to be assigned.
The only deputy on duty was sent from the accident in the northeast corner of the county to the medical call in the southwest corner.
Hesston ambulance eventually was dispatched, too, and ended up transporting the patient.
“We suggested one of those entities because of how far away we were,” Kenney said.
The patient was being taken to a hospital when Hillsboro ambulance arrived, Kenney said.
At 8:47 a.m., Marion ambulance was sent to an unresponsive but breathing 80-year-old who fell in the 200 block of Hett Hollow in Marion.
Ambulance officials asked dispatchers to have Tampa ambulance stand by in Hillsboro but was told Tampa ambulance was finishing up in Newton.
Ramona Fire Chief Nathan Brunner, an advanced emergency medical technician, went to Hillsboro to stand by while the ambulance director stood by in Marion.
The Marion patient eventually was taken to St. Luke Hospital by Marion ambulance.
Tampa ambulance headed back to Tampa at 8:58 a.m., but at 9:02 a.m. dispatchers paged Hillsboro ambulance to a report of a train axel on fire at US-50 and Sunflower Rd.
Ambulance officials at first suggested sending Peabody ambulance as a first response unit, then decided to send Tampa ambulance because it was en route back from Newton and closer than Hillsboro ambulance. When no fire was discovered, Tampa ambulance was sent back to Tampa.
“They got pretty close to the scene,” Kenney said. “I don’t know if they made it down there.”
All ambulances were back in quarters by around 10 a.m. but Hillsboro ambulance needed to go out of service for half an hour because of a personnel issue.
At 10:14 a.m., Marion and Peabody ambulances were sent to a 79-year-old man who fell off his bed in the 600 block of N. Elm St. in Peabody.
A Peabody ambulance attendant helped lift the patient, and Marion ambulance wasn’t needed. Firefighters were called to help but then were told to stand down.