[quote name='Lime Guy' post='173690' date='Dec 24 2007, 23:53 ']Its that law suit for the NY Times reporter who was kiled by some punk and then a hospital misdignosed but DCFEMS was left holding the bag and the focus on EMS from firefighting was part of that lawsuit.[/quote]
The case is slightly more complicated then that. The following is from the Washington Post so take in mind where it comes from.
Dancing Around the Facts of the Rosenbaum Case
By Colbert I. King
Saturday, March 4, 2006; Page A17
Just as Hurricane Katrina ended up taking a back seat to the furor over the government's muddled response, focus has shifted from the Jan. 6 robbery and fatal beating of former New York Times reporter David E. Rosenbaum to the city's handling of that tragic event in Northwest Washington.
What's not at issue, at least at this point, is the U.S. attorney's prosecution of the two men charged with felony murder. But questions linger about what the city did or failed to do after Rosenbaum was found that Friday evening in the 3800 block of Gramercy Street NW. Disturbing contradictions exist in the official accounts provided by the D.C. police, the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) and the office of the chief medical examiner.
The chief of D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Adrian H. Thompson, says his department did everything by the book. He's backed by his boss, Edward D. Reiskin, deputy mayor for public safety and justice. Reiskin wrote in a Jan. 19 letter to key city officials that "providers" from D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services "report that the patient [Rosenbaum] had no externally visible gross signs of significant trauma. . . . The providers involved indicated that they thoroughly assessed the patient at least four different times and at no time did they discover any evidence of trauma. Their assessment involved the inspection and palpitation of his head, neck, back, torso and extremities."
But hold on there.
Reiskin's letter also contained a D.C. police department account of events on that fateful evening. The police response, supplied by Cmdr. Michael Anzallo, superintendent of the detective division, states: "On Friday, January 6, 2006, at 9:30 p.m., a call was placed to the Emergency Call Center for a man down in front of 3800 Gramercy Street N.W. Patrol Car 2021 was dispatched. . . . As the officers arrived on the scene, at 9:35 p.m. they found Mr. David Rosenbaum, in a semi-conscious state, bleeding from his head, as a result of trauma to the head. Consequently, Mr. Rosenbaum had no identification, nor was he able to identify himself; as a result he was listed as a John Doe (for reporting purposes). Upon the Emergency Medical Technicians attempting to revive Mr. Rosenbaum, he immediately vomited on the front of his shirt. The EMTs advised the officers that it appeared that he may have suffered from some type of 'seizure.' Based on this information, the officers believed that Mr. Rosenbaum had not been a victim of crime. They also observed that Mr. Rosenbaum's pockets were not turned out. Ambulance 18 transported Mr. Rosenbaum to Howard University Hospital.
"Officers on the scene did not take an injured person to hospital report, but instead advised the dispatcher that the FEMS responders would handle the incident."
Now to the medical examiner's report.
Reiskin's letter said that an examination of Rosenbaum by the medical examiner revealed extensive head trauma "with hemorrhage and other injuries in critical regions of the brain incompatible with life." The examination also found, Reiskin reported, "injuries to the chest and the extremities. . . . The injuries readily visible to the naked eye at initial inspection would have been small bruises to the face and small lacerations to the lips."
So there it is: The police and the medical examiner found evidence of injuries to Rosenbaum. "Four assessments" by FEMS staff, however, reportedly discovered no evidence of trauma. Consequently, FEMS workers treated Rosenbaum's case as a low-priority emergency run, not eligible for upgrade to advanced life support.
How, readers of last week's column may ask, could Fire and Emergency Medical Services have ignored Rosenbaum's Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 6, which was completed by the ambulance emergency medical technician? (A GCS is the means of quantifying the consciousness level of patients with head injuries. It's tallied between 3 and 15, with 3 being the worst and 15 the best.) Rosenbaum's GCS of 6 warranted a Priority 1 designation and a Code 1 transport, not the Code 3 that was assigned. The word is that the fire chief's staff will claim that Rosenbaum's GCS was completed on a Form 151 upon arrival at Howard University Hospital and not by the first responders on the scene. That Form 151, it should be noted, also reported "obvious trauma chest" and stated that Rosenberg had "vomited numerous times" while being transported to the hospital.
So, to put it delicately: Which official report is inaccurate or misleading? What's more, how vigorously has Fire and Emergency Medical Services pursued the facts? Here's why I ask: Another document in my possession shows that on Jan. 10, fire battalion chief Jerome Stack requested specific information from Ambulance 18 EMTs. He wanted to know why Rosenbaum was transported to Howard University Hospital instead of the closest hospital. Why, with a GCS of 6, was Rosenbaum considered a Code 3 transport instead of a Code 1? Why was he not given a pupils check, and why was a blood glucose test not performed?
One of the EMTs (identified as EMT "W") wrote in reply that there wasn't any particular reason for "transporting to Howard rather than Sibley." The two EMTs, however, did not respond to the other questions. Queried by a city official about the EMTs' lack of responsiveness, Thompson wrote in a Jan. 24 e-mail: "EMT ['W'] was advised to address the questions asked by Chief Stack in a subsequent report to the original, and she remained evasive and vague in her responses. . . . F/F [Firefighter] responded with more information. EMT 'W' did not provide any additional information in regards to Chief Stack's inquiries," Thompson wrote.
And that's it? Apparently so, unless D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby, who is probing this case at the mayor's request and at the urging of D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, who oversees the police and FEMS departments and the medical examiner, can get more information out of the bureaucracy. There are good reasons to feel confident that if any office can get this job done, it's Willoughby's. Which gets me to why you're reading a second installment on Rosenbaum.
In the immediate aftermath of his death, the public was treated to an official dance -- with steps I've learned by heart after 16 years of covering the city government -- called the D.C. Boogie. It's one in which city officials, confronted with an unholy mess, try to dazzle you with their footwork, resorting to moves aimed at convincing onlookers that they are really doing something when in fact they are playing for time, waiting for the next big story to come along that will take them off the front page. That's how they fake you out.
I'm too old to take the fake. Besides, this story is not about a journalist with a major newspaper. It's one more tragic tale that is told across the city, especially in neighborhoods that are home to those without weight in Washington's power centers. That John Doe on Gramercy Street is a way to tell the story -- even if some folks downtown and others caught up in their small worlds don't want to hear it.
kingc@washpost.com
The case is slightly more complicated then that. The following is from the Washington Post so take in mind where it comes from.
Dancing Around the Facts of the Rosenbaum Case
By Colbert I. King
Saturday, March 4, 2006; Page A17
Just as Hurricane Katrina ended up taking a back seat to the furor over the government's muddled response, focus has shifted from the Jan. 6 robbery and fatal beating of former New York Times reporter David E. Rosenbaum to the city's handling of that tragic event in Northwest Washington.
What's not at issue, at least at this point, is the U.S. attorney's prosecution of the two men charged with felony murder. But questions linger about what the city did or failed to do after Rosenbaum was found that Friday evening in the 3800 block of Gramercy Street NW. Disturbing contradictions exist in the official accounts provided by the D.C. police, the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) and the office of the chief medical examiner.
The chief of D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Adrian H. Thompson, says his department did everything by the book. He's backed by his boss, Edward D. Reiskin, deputy mayor for public safety and justice. Reiskin wrote in a Jan. 19 letter to key city officials that "providers" from D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services "report that the patient [Rosenbaum] had no externally visible gross signs of significant trauma. . . . The providers involved indicated that they thoroughly assessed the patient at least four different times and at no time did they discover any evidence of trauma. Their assessment involved the inspection and palpitation of his head, neck, back, torso and extremities."
But hold on there.
Reiskin's letter also contained a D.C. police department account of events on that fateful evening. The police response, supplied by Cmdr. Michael Anzallo, superintendent of the detective division, states: "On Friday, January 6, 2006, at 9:30 p.m., a call was placed to the Emergency Call Center for a man down in front of 3800 Gramercy Street N.W. Patrol Car 2021 was dispatched. . . . As the officers arrived on the scene, at 9:35 p.m. they found Mr. David Rosenbaum, in a semi-conscious state, bleeding from his head, as a result of trauma to the head. Consequently, Mr. Rosenbaum had no identification, nor was he able to identify himself; as a result he was listed as a John Doe (for reporting purposes). Upon the Emergency Medical Technicians attempting to revive Mr. Rosenbaum, he immediately vomited on the front of his shirt. The EMTs advised the officers that it appeared that he may have suffered from some type of 'seizure.' Based on this information, the officers believed that Mr. Rosenbaum had not been a victim of crime. They also observed that Mr. Rosenbaum's pockets were not turned out. Ambulance 18 transported Mr. Rosenbaum to Howard University Hospital.
"Officers on the scene did not take an injured person to hospital report, but instead advised the dispatcher that the FEMS responders would handle the incident."
Now to the medical examiner's report.
Reiskin's letter said that an examination of Rosenbaum by the medical examiner revealed extensive head trauma "with hemorrhage and other injuries in critical regions of the brain incompatible with life." The examination also found, Reiskin reported, "injuries to the chest and the extremities. . . . The injuries readily visible to the naked eye at initial inspection would have been small bruises to the face and small lacerations to the lips."
So there it is: The police and the medical examiner found evidence of injuries to Rosenbaum. "Four assessments" by FEMS staff, however, reportedly discovered no evidence of trauma. Consequently, FEMS workers treated Rosenbaum's case as a low-priority emergency run, not eligible for upgrade to advanced life support.
How, readers of last week's column may ask, could Fire and Emergency Medical Services have ignored Rosenbaum's Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 6, which was completed by the ambulance emergency medical technician? (A GCS is the means of quantifying the consciousness level of patients with head injuries. It's tallied between 3 and 15, with 3 being the worst and 15 the best.) Rosenbaum's GCS of 6 warranted a Priority 1 designation and a Code 1 transport, not the Code 3 that was assigned. The word is that the fire chief's staff will claim that Rosenbaum's GCS was completed on a Form 151 upon arrival at Howard University Hospital and not by the first responders on the scene. That Form 151, it should be noted, also reported "obvious trauma chest" and stated that Rosenberg had "vomited numerous times" while being transported to the hospital.
So, to put it delicately: Which official report is inaccurate or misleading? What's more, how vigorously has Fire and Emergency Medical Services pursued the facts? Here's why I ask: Another document in my possession shows that on Jan. 10, fire battalion chief Jerome Stack requested specific information from Ambulance 18 EMTs. He wanted to know why Rosenbaum was transported to Howard University Hospital instead of the closest hospital. Why, with a GCS of 6, was Rosenbaum considered a Code 3 transport instead of a Code 1? Why was he not given a pupils check, and why was a blood glucose test not performed?
One of the EMTs (identified as EMT "W") wrote in reply that there wasn't any particular reason for "transporting to Howard rather than Sibley." The two EMTs, however, did not respond to the other questions. Queried by a city official about the EMTs' lack of responsiveness, Thompson wrote in a Jan. 24 e-mail: "EMT ['W'] was advised to address the questions asked by Chief Stack in a subsequent report to the original, and she remained evasive and vague in her responses. . . . F/F [Firefighter] responded with more information. EMT 'W' did not provide any additional information in regards to Chief Stack's inquiries," Thompson wrote.
And that's it? Apparently so, unless D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby, who is probing this case at the mayor's request and at the urging of D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, who oversees the police and FEMS departments and the medical examiner, can get more information out of the bureaucracy. There are good reasons to feel confident that if any office can get this job done, it's Willoughby's. Which gets me to why you're reading a second installment on Rosenbaum.
In the immediate aftermath of his death, the public was treated to an official dance -- with steps I've learned by heart after 16 years of covering the city government -- called the D.C. Boogie. It's one in which city officials, confronted with an unholy mess, try to dazzle you with their footwork, resorting to moves aimed at convincing onlookers that they are really doing something when in fact they are playing for time, waiting for the next big story to come along that will take them off the front page. That's how they fake you out.
I'm too old to take the fake. Besides, this story is not about a journalist with a major newspaper. It's one more tragic tale that is told across the city, especially in neighborhoods that are home to those without weight in Washington's power centers. That John Doe on Gramercy Street is a way to tell the story -- even if some folks downtown and others caught up in their small worlds don't want to hear it.
kingc@washpost.com
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