Negligent EMT Workers Could Face Jail Time

The Daily News reported today that the two EMTs workers accused of failing to help a dying pregnant woman when she collapsed in front of them did not show an ounce of remorse afterward, according to sources.   I know when the gas tank in my car is empty. But I've never been very good at gauging the level of someone else's remorse.  Besides, what does "remorse" have to do with it?

Without even having to divine the state of their emotions, the plain and simple fact of the matter is that Jason Green and Melisa Jackson, the two emergency medical technicians, walked out of an Au Bon Pain coffee shop with bagels while Eutisha Rennix, who was six months pregnant lay gasping for air on the floor of the eatery.

"They had a callous disregard for that woman," one longtime co-worker said.  I couldn't believe it. It's like they felt as if they couldn't be bothered to help that woman."  Who cares what they felt?  It's what they didn't DO that matters.

The lawyer for Green and Jackson Tuesday claimed his clients did all they could for Rennix, 23.  If this is true, he has a lot of explaining to do.  

The Brooklyn district attorney's office said it is considering prosecuting Green and Jackson for official misconduct and reckless endangerment. They could face jail time if convicted.

Rennix, who had a 3-year-old son, was taken toLong Island College Hospital, where she died. Her premature baby died two hours later.

"It is outrageous that emergency medical technicians who have a duty to provide emergency services to individuals could ignore someone who is in need of such services," said Rennix family lawyer.  I couldn't agree more.

Heartless EMT Workers Refuse to Care for Dying Woman

A grief-stricken Brooklyn mother blasted two off-duty city emergency medical technicians Sunday who are being investigated for refusing to help her dying pregnant daughter - decrying the medics as "heartless."  She had it right.  They are heartless and negligent and should, soon I hope, be on the receiving end of punishing personal injury lawsuit.

Cynthia Rennix wept for her 25-year-old daughter Eutisha Revee Rennix, who died after collapsing in front of two FDNY EMTs who were buying bagels at the shop where she worked - but declined to help.

"They are useless. They are heartless," said Rennix, surrounded by relatives in her Flatlands home. "They are trained. They should be more responsive."

Co-workers said they begged two EMTs in the store to help, but they only callously turned and said, "Call 911" before walking out with their food.

"Those EMS workers who didn't help. ...She would have been alive," said a colleague who asked that her name not be used.

"I am angry," said the dead woman's twin brother, Eudane Rennix, a soldier stationed in Kuwait who rushed home to comfort his family. "[The FDNY] should apologize. They should try to reach out to the family."

State Cuts Budget of Venerable Greenwich Village Hospital

I realize that a bad economy hurts everyone.  But it shouldn't hurt the people who are already suffering from injury and illness and need proper care.  News that St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan has laid off 180 employees made me wonder if such a move will end up costing the venerable hospital more money than it will save?

Studies show that the ratio of nurses to patients in city hospitals greatly effects the number of malpractice law suits a hospital is hit with.  The lower the ratio the better a hospital performs, which results in fewer cases being filed against the institution.

St. Vincent’s, with 366 beds, is a major presence in Greenwich Village and the latest among a handful of community hospitals in New York City and the surrounding area to lay off workers in recent months. The hospital came out of bankruptcy two years ago, and it continues to carry some debt, Mr. Fagan said.

The Greater New York Hospital Association, a trade group, had projected last month that 12,000 health care jobs would be lost if Gov. David A. Paterson’sproposed cuts were adopted; ultimately, the state budget cuts were smaller than initially proposed.

“You can’t cut health care seven times in two years and not expect there to be consequences,” Brian Conway, a spokesman for the trade group, said Tuesday. “We have said time and again that hospitals have no room left to absorb additional cuts, and we’re deeply concerned that what happened at Saint Vincent’s today is just the tip of the iceberg.”