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Mother’s complaint against Whitley EMS to get hearing next week
Posted On 04 Dec 2013
The Kentucky Board of Emergency Services will hold a hearing next Wednesday on the complaint filed against Whitley County EMS concerning the treatment of a patient suffering from a severe allergic reaction.
Karen Reid filed the complaint with the board in October after she claims her meetings with Whitley County EMS, Whitley County 911 and the Whitley County Fiscal Court failed achieve results on her complaints that the ambulance crew transporting her daughter, Katie, from the University of the Cumberlands to Jellico Community Hospital did not follow protocol set down by the board.
Karen Reid, who is from Chattanooga, Tenn., stated that when Katie elected to attend U.C., she met with Whitley County EMS Director Kelly Harrison and several of her staff concerning her daughter’s allergies and her unique situation should she have a reaction.
On March 5, Katie had that reaction while on campus.
Karen noted it was severe enough that Katie’s EpiPen could not alleviate her symptoms and an ambulance was called.
"It took the ambulance 18 minutes to arrive to the school," Karen Reid stated, adding that the ambulance crew had to ask dispatchers on four occasions where on campus Katie was and how to get there.
Karen Reid went on to state that the 20-minute limit on the first EpiPen was running out, but when Katie asked the crew to administer the second dose, they informed her she did not need it.
Under the protocols set down by the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services, when the first EpiPen did not resolve the signs and symptoms, the crew is advised to contact medical control for orders to administer a second.
Karen Reid added that Katie had her bag of medicines and breathing treatments with her that she carries in the event of a reaction, but claims the crew refused.
"The worse part for us is that Katie was not listened to by either EMT," Karen Reid stated in the complaint. "She could have died."
Reid came before the Whitley Fiscal Court on Aug. 20 after she said Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. and Harrison failed to address her concerns about the March 5 incident, returned to the fiscal court on Oct. 15 to inform the magistrates about her complaint and to address the way the matter has been dealt with to that point.
She noted neither White nor Harrison appear to be taking the situation seriously enough.
She presented copies of a written response from White concerning her comments at the August meeting in which she suggested Katie had received nothing from the ambulance service but a $700 taxi ride. In the letter, White stated that he had reviewed the treatment Katie received and after consulting with Harrison, County Attorney Bob Hammons and the county medical director, he believes proper protocols were followed.
Board of emergency services officials stated that the board will hear from both sides and may issue a ruling that day but, most likely, will issue a written ruling at a later date. If the board finds against Whitley County EMS, the board may institute corrective action, up to and including fines, places on probationary status or restricted status, suspended or have its license revoked.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the board office in Lexington.
The meeting is open to the public.
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There is absolutely no way that anyone that isn’t an EMT or paramedic (there is a huge difference) would know exactly what happened during that run! It is documented to a T as required by law! All times are recorded. Finding one person on a college campus is like finding a needle in a haystack. Do you seriously think that because they work on an ambulance they have an internal gps that makes gives turn by turn directions tithe person needing help? Get real here! You have 2 people who are concerned for the person needing help and are reliant upon the directions they received. Where was the caller? How Long did it take them to call 911? Did they give good directions? Did the victim try to medicate and wait and then call 911 when they realized it wasn’t working? Paramedics don’t typically use the medications that a victim brings with them. Teu carry other meds on their ambulances. No where on the story does it say that oxygen was withheld nor does it say that any meds were with held just that they wouldn’t use the ones the victim had with her. Why did it take from march to aug-oct for the court to hear about it? She is a college student and I’m glad she is ok. It sounds to me that there is a lot of education that is needed and the ambulance crew isn’t the only people who need it.
The woman told the fiscal court she only wanted the county to be better educated about food allergies. She actually said she wasn’t going to sue them because she had watched fiscal court videos online and read the news and it sounded to her like this county has plenty of lawsuits on its hands!
It seems VERY funny to me that the person above jumps to the conclusion that this family is out for money. This is ridiculous. This person obviously doesn’t know anyone with severe food allergies. The bottom line is that in a matter of minutes – seconds even, a person with a severe reaction to something ingested can go from breathing and talking normally to passing out, not breathing and dying. Seriously in a matter of minutes. In such serious cases, where a parent has met with all the EMS workers, supervisors and directors to let them know of the daughters allergies, how serious they are and what should be done for her in the case that she does accidentally have a reaction, you would think that those people who are supposed to be the professionals would know how to handle such a situation. There was a case this year of a child in California who died in her parents arms because she had tasted (and spit out) peanut butter in a snack she had. Her parents aggressively treated her and she still died. So to have a child telling the ambulance person that she can’t breath, her chest is tightening, and to have that EMS worker not even give oxygen, breathing treatment or another epi-shot is a horrifying experience. These workers should at the very least be required to go to some sort of training for exactly these situations and at the most, lose their positions. Protocol was not followed. This girl could have had a much worse outcome. Someone should be held accountable. What will happen next time? What if this was YOUR child? These people are trained and paid to save lives. They did nothing but as was stated in the story, give a $700.00 taxi ride to the hospital! Let’s make this a learning experience for everyone and change things so the next child with an allergy doesn’t die on the way to the hospital! Thank goodness Katie is safe. But what next? If we do nothing, then nothing changes! I know there are more kids in this county that have allergies. Whose child will be the next one in the “taxi ride” to the hospital?
You can find the story about the girl in California at kcra.com, cnn.com, cbs.com or Google the topic California girl dies because of peanut allergy. This site wouldn’t allow me to post the link to the story. THIS IS A REAL ISSUE!!!
This is a very serious situation, not only for Katie, but for any person in this area who would be treated by these EMS workers. Please pay attention to this story and make the necessary changes so this never happens again!!!
Was Jellico Hospital ask about this girls condition when getting to ER ? Did they give her another
EpiPen ?
From students at the college it seems this has happened before with her at other schools so law suits and collect money !!!!!!