Comments on: Safe At Home

By: matt

matt — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:51:49 +0000

im in a similar situation as that guy i was carted off against my will and imprisoned at the hospital because i practice humanure. has this case gone to trial yet? im looking for a lawyer that will take my case. i dont want to sue the emt’s just the doctors involved. i was released and there is nothing wrong with me. thinking about this makes my blood boil. please email me back

By: The EMT Spot » The March EMS Roundup

The EMT Spot » The March EMS Roundup — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:58:26 +0000

[...] started off the month with a bunch of questions. What does it mean to be safe at home, to walk or not to walk and five hard questions about EMS 2.0. Then I told you all about L.C.E.S. [...]

By: The EMT Spot » The Illussion of Control

The EMT Spot » The Illussion of Control — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:02:52 +0000

[...] Safe At Home [...]

By: Sean Fontaine

Sean Fontaine — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:13:39 +0000

Well said, after having worked w/our friend as a peer and partner, I am also confident in his care and his reasons for transporting versus leaving Mr. Schlenker @ home that evening. Glad to see this make it out to the public forum in this capacity and I’m glad it’s someone who knows him well putting it out there.
There’s the potential for lawsuits w/every patient contact, I was taught to always provide the level of care and interventions I would be proud to defend, our friend was one of the people who taught me that.

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:46:52 +0000

I would have done the exact same thing that your friend did. Our Medical Director put it best:

“Its easier to defend yourself for doing what you felt was in the best interest of the patient, rather than leaving them there, and dealing with a potential patient abandonment issue.”

While I’m becoming less and less of a fan of CYA Medicine, in this day and age with the “sue everyone” mentality this fine citizen is displaying, it becomes a necessity.

Pat him on the back. I’m sure many, if not all, of us in the EMS community would stand behind him.

By: michael

michael — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:20:39 +0000

If there is a person with them I leave them at home. If they are alone, they have to be mighty intoxicated or otherwise impaired from me to drag them out of their own home, unless it was they who initiated the 911 call, then it’s off to the ER, no matter what.

By: Frankie

Frankie — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:40:38 +0000

I have had almost the same situation yet we had to leave the patient at home. The police wouldn’t help us and even tho the guy was obviously intoxicated it is not illegal to be drunk in your own home.

All the convincing in the world didn’t do us any justice and the police were of no help either. We told them we can’t leave him his condition alone yet they saw it differently. We did end up leaving him there alone after an hour and a half. He could answer all the basics by the time we left but I still think we should of transported him.