Ravenstahl punishes 4 EMS workers
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Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Mike Huss, left, and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl react to a question during a press conference on disciplinary actions on EMS personnel at the mayor's office on Tuesday.
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At 5:50 a.m. on Feb. 6, more than 3 1/2 hours after Curtis Mitchell and his girlfriend began calling 911 to summon help for his abdominal pain, an ambulance idled at Second Avenue and West Elizabeth Street in Hazelwood.
The ambulance was about four blocks from the couple's home, but citing poor driving conditions in a major snowstorm, acting paramedic crew chief Josie Dimon wanted Mr. Mitchell to walk across the Elizabeth Street Bridge to them.
By 6:09 a.m., according to a city investigation and 911 recordings, Ms. Dimon had grown tired of waiting.
"He ain't (expletive) comin' down, and I ain't waitin' all day for him," she told a colleague, crew chief Kim Long, at the dispatch center. "I mean, what the (expletive), this ain't no cab service."
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on Tuesday announced discipline against Ms. Dimon, Ms. Long and two other EMS workers, saying they didn't do enough to help Mr. Mitchell, 50, who died after he and his girlfriend, Sharon Edge, called 911 10 times in 30 hours.
By the time an ambulance arrived Feb. 7, Mr. Mitchell had died for reasons that remain undetermined.
Ms. Dimon, an 11-year veteran, faces a five-day unpaid suspension and possible termination. Facing three-day unpaid suspensions are Ms. Long, who has been with EMS 19 years, and district chiefs Norman Auvil and Ron Curry, who have been with the service 31 years and 34 years, respectively.
Ms. Long was stationed at the dispatch center, where she helps dispatchers process medical calls; Ms. Dimon, Mr. Auvil and Mr. Curry were in the field.
Ms. Dimon and Ms. Long are members of the paramedics union, while Mr. Auvil and Mr. Curry are nonunion. None of the four has a history of discipline problems, city officials said. In August, Mr. Auvil was named "Rescue Technician of the Year" by the Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council.
Ms. Long will receive a separate three-day suspension for another storm-related call in which a North Side mother of 2-year-old twins was told to walk to an ambulance to receive care for one of the children, city Public Safety Director Michael Huss said.
Union President Anthony Weinmann said he would challenge the discipline for Ms. Long and Ms. Dimon. The district chiefs may appeal their suspensions to Mr. Huss.
First Published March 24, 2010 12:00 am
