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                                    LICH Tape Debate Cont.Hospital Tapes StillBeing Discussed InHeart Attack CaseBorough President Sebastian Leone has proclaimed Sunday,June 16 Crown Heights Festival Day in honor of the FourthAnnual Cultural Festival, which will take place between 1 and 5p.m. on Eastern Parkway between Grand Army Plaza andWashington Avenue.Shown with the official proclamation (from left to right] are:Dick Duhan, District Manager, Crown Heights Office ofNeighborhood Management; Lionel Daniels; Fr. EdmondO%u2019Brien; Borough President Leone; Mrs. Julia Beadenkopf; andCalvin Johnson, all of the Crown Heights Board of CommunityAffairs.Boathouse to OpenDespite ProblemsBY JOHN BLACKMOREThe investigation of the actions by Long Island College Hospital personnel in their response to the call to aid Brooklyn Heights resident Sidney Simkovsky on April 20 continued on several fronts this week. Simkovsky collapsed and died at the Columbia Street Playground.Witnesses from the community have charged that hospital emergency room personnel delayed the dispatch of an ambulance to the scene with lengthy discussion and a refusal to dispatch medical care to the scene without first clearing the request to dispatch medical care to the scene without first clearing the request through the city%u2019s Health and Hospitals Corporation. The Corporation has reported that such a procedure is not indicated for emergency calls, such as coronaries.Another possible delay may have occured in the Simkovsky case. As reported last week, the ambulance took at least five minutes-and perhaps more than seven minutesto arrive at the scene of Simkovsky%u2019s collapse. The distance whmh must be travelled from the LICH emergency room to the scene is less than two blocks, and distance that can be reached by walking in a little more than two minutes. This additional delay may have been critical insaving Simkovsky%u2019s life. Comparison of the 911 logs from the police and from the Emergency Medical Service pertaining to the case show a two minute discrepancy in the response record.The two minute discrepancy between police and Health and Hospital Corporation records concerning the arrival of the Long Island College Hospital ambulance at the scene of Mr. Sidney Simkovsky%u2019s collapse is %u2018%u2018not anything unusual,%u201d according to a spokesman of the city%u2019s Emergency Medical Service.The discrepancy first came to light after The PHOENIX obtained summaries of emergency communications via the city%u2019s emergency service number, 911. The police and Health and Hospital%u2019s each have their own log of calls via 911. According to the Health and Hospital%u2019s tape, the LICH ambulance arrived on the scene at 10:56 a.m., while according to police records the ambulance arrived at 10:58 a.m.John McMullen, 1st Deputy Director of Emergency Medical Service said this week that discrepancies between police and emergency medical tapes are relatively common, since Health and Hospitals usually gets first notification in such cases. He also said that the ambulance report came more precisely at 10:56 and 47 seconds, diminishing the gap substantially. Furthermore, the clocks keyed to the 911 tape machines, though checked three times a day, are often not precisely synchronized between the police and Health and Hospital records.In another entry of the Health and Hospitals tape log, McMullin amended an earlier statement indicating that according to his information, the LICH emergency room personnel reported that the ambulance was already on the way at 10:51 a.m. McMullen had earlier reported that at that time the Brooklyn dispatcher for emergency service had acknowledged the hospital%u2019s earlier call and directed the hospital to dispatch an ambulance to the scene. McMullen now says that the dispatchert made the 10:51 call to the hospital in response to a %u201c secondary,%u201d that is a call for help from an additional source. LICH emergency room personnel reported, according to McMullen, that the ambulance had already been dispatched on the basis of another call.There has been no report from either the Brooklyn DA%u2019s office or from NYPD headquarters on their concurrent investigations of hospital and police actions in the Simkovsky case.Despite reports this week that the opening of the newly-renovated Prospect Park Boathouse would be delayed indefinitely because of cost increases and the unavailability of paving materials, Prospect Park Curator Donald Simon announced Tuesday that he%u2019s ordered work to progress %u201c even if asphalt has to be used temporarily in its place.\The Boathouse, which has been lavished with a $1.4 million renovation, was scheduled to open on Memorial Day. When it became known that the proper paving materials were not immediately forthcoming, Parks Recreation andCultural Affairs officials feared that the building would not open this summer. Dr. Simon has given the order to get the building open as soon as possible. He forsees a July opening.In the meantime, the rowboat concessionaire will continue to operate on the Lake adjacent to the Wollman Skating Ring. Restaurant Associates, the food concessionaire scheduled to begin operations at the boathouse this summer, have decided not to progress with interior work for their grill and ice cream operation until a firm opening date has been set.624 - 2922G-OEE p a l a c e ,118 Court Street(Near Atlantic Avenue)Father%u2019s Day GiftFit for a King..A large selection of watches, wallets, belts, colognes, men%u2019s jewelry,radios, cameras and shaversOpen Monday through Saturday from 9 to 8 ~ * V-/ #June 13, 1974, PHOENIX, Page 9
                                
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