Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 7-27-18

Local
Four Paramedics Suspended After Woman Dies
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Earlier this week, Mike Merrill, Hillsborough County Administrator, announced that
four Hillsborough County paramedics are facing discipli- nary actions. They have been suspended with pay, pending the outcome of a hearing.
The employees have been
Merrill said the Human Resources Department re- ceived the complaint on July 11th and that based on the facts and statements obtained dur- ing the review, the four Fire Rescue personnel did not per- form their duties.
According to the investiga- tion, at approximately 3:02 a.m., Hillsborough County Fire Rescue received a call for med- ical assistance from Ms. Nicole Black. She was calling in reference to her 30-year-old daughter, Ms. Crystle Gal- loway.
Fire Rescue arrived at the residence and located Ms. Galloway in bed on the third floor. Two Hillsborough County deputies were on the scene and explained to go to the Paramedics that Ms. Black wanted Ms. Galloway to the hospital and that she needed assistance in getting down the stairs.
“According to Lt. Morris and FMI Sweeney, the pa- tient was asked if she wanted to be transported to the hospital to which the patient responded affirmatively.”
The background report stated, “Once the patient ar- rived at the bottom of the stairs HCFR employees removed her from the stair chair and as- sisted the patient to her mother’s car. Once the patient was in the vehicle, the mother left the scene.”
The Paramedics went back into service 13 minutes after arriving at the scene.
However, Ms. Black stated that she wanted her daughter transported by Fire Rescue. They allegedly ques- tioned whether she could af- ford the $600 fee.
Ms. Galloway was taken to Brandon Regional Hospital, where she died.
Ms. Nicole Black, left, and daughter, Ms. Crystle Galloway.
identified as: Lt. John “Mike” Morris, 36; Fire Medic Justin Sweeney, 36; Fire Medic Andrew J. Mar- tin, 28; and 38-year-old Act- ing Lt. Cortney Barton. They have all been accused of failure to properly assess the patient; for allowing the pa- tient to leave the scene without executing an informed refusal; and failure to properly docu- ment and falsifying the true na-
ture of the call.
Merrill said the Human
Resources Department was made aware of a rescue inci- dent that took place on July 4th. The incident involved a call for help for a 30-year-old woman who was possibly having a stroke. The caller told the dis- patcher that the patient had “passed out and recently had a C-section the other day, lip swollen and drooling.”
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2018