So, what's the address?
The most curious call of the weekend came out as a ‘warm response’ which is for whatever reason what we call a ‘hot’ response for our interfacility trucks. What does it mean anyway? You either use both lights and sirens (hot) or use neither lights or sirens (cold), with no in-between.
Anyway, the call was dispatched through our operations center, and they’re not exactly adept at dispatching emergency calls.
“Warm response to 683 main street, that’s 683 main street just west of the city line, they say it’s about four houses away from the city line but it’s 683 main street. the house has white siding on top and brick on the bottom, they’re going to leave the garage light on for you, it’s just outside the city boundary, but its 683 main street, warm response, uh, for diabetic problems.” I can’t make this crap up! He was dispatching this call for minutes, while we have to stand there incredulously waiting for him to shut up long enough to say “we get it already, show us en route!” We’ve gotten quite adept at reading maps. I’m surprised he didn’t go on to add “they have a green lawn with bushes and trees out front. There’s a car in the driveway, and a mailbox at the end. It’ll have the house number on it which is 683 main street, and it’s not in the city, but right outside of it, it’s a paved driveway, no gravel, asphalt…”
So, we got there quite easily and found a patient with hyperglycemia. The house was awesome, though, completely lined with books. I walked in and got that lovely smell of old paper, knowledge and education. I could have stayed all day picking the brain of the patient about her life while browsing through their massive book collection.
But alas, what made the call curious was that they had called 911, the fire department came, and subsequently, more or less, refused to transport the patient. I found this highly irregular, given the reputation of the fire department, and given that the lady had taken her insulin, eaten nothing, and still had a blood sugar of >400, which is not exactly a situation you can take lightly. So we got her to the hospital (perfectly willingly), and I advised her daughter how to make an inquiry/complaint at the fire department. She wasn’t exactly outraged about it, but I told her my concerns. I felt a bit like I was betraying an ally, but refusing patients?! That’s not something I can really tolerate.
Anyway, the call was dispatched through our operations center, and they’re not exactly adept at dispatching emergency calls.
“Warm response to 683 main street, that’s 683 main street just west of the city line, they say it’s about four houses away from the city line but it’s 683 main street. the house has white siding on top and brick on the bottom, they’re going to leave the garage light on for you, it’s just outside the city boundary, but its 683 main street, warm response, uh, for diabetic problems.” I can’t make this crap up! He was dispatching this call for minutes, while we have to stand there incredulously waiting for him to shut up long enough to say “we get it already, show us en route!” We’ve gotten quite adept at reading maps. I’m surprised he didn’t go on to add “they have a green lawn with bushes and trees out front. There’s a car in the driveway, and a mailbox at the end. It’ll have the house number on it which is 683 main street, and it’s not in the city, but right outside of it, it’s a paved driveway, no gravel, asphalt…”
So, we got there quite easily and found a patient with hyperglycemia. The house was awesome, though, completely lined with books. I walked in and got that lovely smell of old paper, knowledge and education. I could have stayed all day picking the brain of the patient about her life while browsing through their massive book collection.
But alas, what made the call curious was that they had called 911, the fire department came, and subsequently, more or less, refused to transport the patient. I found this highly irregular, given the reputation of the fire department, and given that the lady had taken her insulin, eaten nothing, and still had a blood sugar of >400, which is not exactly a situation you can take lightly. So we got her to the hospital (perfectly willingly), and I advised her daughter how to make an inquiry/complaint at the fire department. She wasn’t exactly outraged about it, but I told her my concerns. I felt a bit like I was betraying an ally, but refusing patients?! That’s not something I can really tolerate.
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