EMS crews eyed after 'filthy' Chicago ambulances found

[moroni]

By Robert Davis, USA TODAY

Illinois health officials are looking for new ways to hold the Chicago Fire Department's emergency medical services crews more accountable following alarming findings from ambulance inspections.

Acting on a tip from a hospital staffer who saw inside one ambulance, state inspectors found nine of the fire department's 12 basic life-support rigs to be "filthy" or poorly stocked. (Related item: Original series: 'Six minutes to live or die')

The city uses the 12 basic life-support ambulances to handle non-emergency calls so that paramedics in its 59 advanced-life-support ambulances are available for more immediate emergencies.

Inspectors found that 12 of the firefighters staffing the basic ambulances lacked fundamental life-saving skills, and they were temporarily removed from that duty. Some did not know how to use the automated external cardiac defibrillator that is standard equipment.

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<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&e=5&u=/usatoday/20030919/ts_usatoday/11859973>

[Rose Siding]

1. Filthy repubs won't fund HS

I read an article that said the NYC EMTs qualify for food stamps.

edit- I don't mean it's ok to do a crappy job if you aren't paid well. My point is that there is no money available to either train them or hire trained workers.