He's not dead yet...

[bjackrian]

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For those of you who have seen Not-Dead-Fred in Monty Python and/or Spamalot, I present to you the case of two EMTs from Pahrump (yes, Pahrump), Nevada, and their lesson that people who are breathing and have a pulse are "not yet dead":
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061205/NEWS18/61205010&oaso=news.rgj.com/breakingnews

 

[DocVirk]

That's the second time I've heard of Pahrump in two weeks. It was just on the show "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"...albeit not for the same reasons.

I also love about that story that they tack on a charge of neglecting an elderly person. It's like tacking on a sodomy charge to a rapist. Good stuff.

In reality, I kind of don't blame them too much. Shouldn't a self-inflicted GSW to the head be considered a DNR anyway? Do you think they really want to live now, with half their face blown off? Yeah, cry for help and all...but high velocity transcortical lead is not the best way to cry for help.

 

[bjackrian]

Heh--I'm from Reno, and when we drove to Vegas, I remember Pahrump for being a good place to stop for lunch. Also, they used to have some random animals around town (I vaguely recall some bison).

And yes, perhaps it should be a DNR. Although my hunch is that even if they'd treated, this was probably more of a CNR, if you get my drift.

 

[deleted109597]

I have a feeling that those two won't be EMTs anymore, but they won't do any jail time.
Hope they aren't planning on medical school, because that is a pretty big black eye now too.

 

[Febrifuge]

Yes, but couldn't it make the best "I was a dumb kid, but how I've improved" admissions essay EVER?

 

[docB]

You guys would have to understand Pahrump, the EMS system and the hospital out there to really get the silliness of this situation. I will tell you that Desert View in Pahrump is not a trauma center, has no neurosurgeon available and doesn't have an ICU. My understanding is that this situation evolved as a pissing match between EMS and the deputies over who makes the call on when to transport such a patient. I don't know what the Nye county protocols are specifically but I have worked in places where spilt brain matter meets protocol to pronounce at the scene.

 

[bjackrian]

Yes, but couldn't it make the best "I was a dumb kid, but how I've improved" admissions essay EVER?

👍

 

[docB]

So an update on the Pahrump medics charged with manslaughter. The guy called EMS for something or other then shot himself when the medics pulled up to his house. They had to wait on the sheriff to clear the scene. This is where it gets murky. When the scene was clear the guy still had some agonal breathing. The cops wanted they guy transported. EMS didn't want to transport. Eventually they did and the guy was declared quickly after reaching the hospital.

Because all those guys are off the squad now there's open shifts out there. The hospital is having real trouble getting its transfers moved into Vegas.

 

[canjosh]

The DA should be ashamed...the guy KILLED HIMSELF. It should be an internal matter with the crew's employer/certifying agency/medical director. Not criminal--sounds like the cops and EMS have real ego issues out there.
As DocB eluded to, in some systems exposure of brain matter to ambient light is grounds for scene pronouncement. The system I used to work in had such a protocol--and it was used often--more than once by myself.

 

[bjackrian]

Because all those guys are off the squad now there's open shifts out there. The hospital is having real trouble getting its transfers moved into Vegas.

Sounds like it ended up as the worst of all worlds. Hopefully y'all will be able to find some people to fill in the gaps and get service back up to a normal level.

 

[tonem]

As DocB eluded to, in some systems exposure of brain matter to ambient light is grounds for scene pronouncement. The system I used to work in had such a protocol--and it was used often--more than once by myself.

Its been a long time but I'm pretty sure its pulseless and apneic and brain matter exposed...sounds like he was only mostly dead.