Two Rhode Island firefighters have had their EMT cardiac licenses suspended stemming from a call earlier this year in which they refused to take a patient to the hospital during a call and she later died.
The Rhode Island Department of Health suspended the EMT-C licenses of Warwick firefighters Brandon Colombo and Michael Monteiro until further notice in an order signed March 4, WPRI-TV reports. In her report, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the state's health director, said the firefighters' behavior endangered public safety and required immediate action.
According to the report, Colombo and Monteiro had responded to a 44-year-old woman's home Feb. 10 after she had apparently suffered a seizure and had encountered breathing problems just before falling into a "sleep-like state." The firefighters checked her pulse and observed that she was quiet and partially asleep.
Without consulting with another health care provider, the firefighters determined that they didn't need to take the woman to the hospital, despite other people in the house urging them to do so, the report stated. Because the woman wasn't in "acute distress," the firefighters said there wasn't a reason to transport her and that she should follow up with her primary care doctor if she continued to have issues.
A friend took the woman to a hospital ER about 45 minutes later, and doctors found she had an elevated heart rate and experiencing tachycardia. She later died despite life-saving measures taken, the report stated.
A state investigation of the incident discovered three violations of Rhode Island EMS protocols during the call. Four violations of EMS rules also were cited.
Under the requirements of the union contract, all Warwick firefighters must hold an EMT-C license to work at the department, Michael Carreiro, the union's president, told WPRI. Although the firefighters were still with the department, it wasn't clear what their roles were currently.
“I know they are not on the rescue and they are not performing EMT duties,” Carreiro said.
It's rare for the state to suspend an EMT-C license in such a manner, according to WPRI. Only one other Rhode Island firefighter has had an EMT-C license suspended in the past five years.
The firefighters have 10 days after the suspensions were issued to request an administrative hearing, and a preliminary hearing is set for next week.
