XPost: talk.politics.guns, or.politics   
   From: hakpho@wong.town   
      
   PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man died while waiting over a half-hour for an   
   ambulance after being struck by a hit-and-run driver last month, according   
   to emergency dispatch logs, an incident that Portland firefighters say   
   highlights their frustration at a lack of available ambulances to respond   
   to emergency calls.   
      
   The Bureau of Emergency Communications 911 dispatch log was obtained by   
   KGW-TV through a public records request. It revealed that American Medical   
   Response, the private provider contracted by Multnomah County, was   
   operating at level zero — a code meaning there are no ambulances available   
   to respond to an emergency call.   
      
   “More and more, day after day, we’re seeing this level zero pop up, and as   
   firefighters we’re getting frustrated,” Isaac McLennan, president of the   
   Portland Fire Fighters’ Association, told KGW-TV. “This is a highly   
   dangerous situation and it should be unacceptable not only just for   
   firefighters, it should be unacceptable for everybody who lives in this   
   community.”   
      
   Shortly after midnight on April 28, both firefighters and an ambulance   
   crew were dispatched to the accident scene in northeast Portland. Police   
   said it appeared the man, who has not been publicly identified, was   
   attempting to cross the street in a wheelchair when he was hit.   
      
   The man was still alive when firefighters arrived, but 911 dispatchers   
   repeatedly told them that American Medical Response was operating at level   
   zero, according to dispatch logs. The firefighters worked to stabilize the   
   man in the road while waiting for an ambulance.   
      
   The logs show the initial dispatch went out at 12:10 a.m. Firefighters   
   arrived at 12:14, and an ambulance got there at 12:42. The ambulance left   
   the scene five minutes later, as a hospital transport was no longer   
   necessary because the man had died.   
      
   McLennan told KGW-TV there was no practical way firefighters could have   
   taken the man to the hospital themselves as it was clear he needed an   
   ambulance.   
      
   Global Medical Response, the parent company of American Medical Response,   
   said in a statement to KGW-TV that the incident is still under review by   
   the company as well as by county emergency officials.   
      
   “The safety of our patients is always our top priority. American Medical   
   Response is committed to responding to all calls in a timely manner,” it   
   said.   
      
   Official in Multnomah County, which is home to Portland, have said   
   ambulances should arrive to 90% of emergency calls within eight minutes.   
   However KGW-TV reported that during a five-month period ending in   
   February, that mark was missed about a third of the time.   
      
   https://news.yahoo.com/oregon-man-died-waiting-ambulance-195540360.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)