PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In the face of ambulance shortages, firefighters are pulling off improvised rescues amid the struggling paramedic system in Multnomah County.
Though rescue workers are trying their best, the shortage of nearly 60 paramedics with the county’s ambulance service, American Medical Response (AMR), means life-threatening situations where every second counts are becoming more difficult to handle.
Portland Fire and Rescue shared stories with KOIN 6 News about harrowing rescues in recent months, including helping an injured toddler hurt in a serious fall and a man who was having a stroke. In both cases, they had to improvise how they transported the patient to the hospital without available ambulances. “What we were seeing on scene was an extremely traumatic incident where the child needed an immediate transport and immediate attention,” said Isaac McLennan, president of Portland Fire Fighters’ Association.
When McLennan and his PF&R crew responded to the Code 3 911 call, involving a seriously hurt 1-year-old, they decided to transport the toddler to the ER in their fire truck when it was evident no ambulance was available to help. “Our trucks are not suited for transport. It’s not well lit. There’s not a lot of room to work. But thankfully, myself, the rest of the crew, we got creative and we tried. We did everything we could to help this kid,” said McLennan, who reported that firefighters faced two dozen similar situations.
Back in October, KOIN 6 News reported how firefighters rushed a man who was having a stroke to the hospital while in their big rig. “Portland fire showed up because there was no ambulance available,” said Brett Kovar, the stroke survivor.
Kovar added he’d likely be dead or severely disabled if firefighters waited for an ambulance. Luckily, the hospital staff was able to give him the clot-busting drugs in the nick of time. “Literally, they grabbed him, put him in a wheelchair, rolled him into the ER,” said Dr. Lisa Yanase, a neurologist at Providence Portland. “And we all took one look at him and went, ‘Oh, we know what’s happening,’ and the team was just able to spring into action with no warning he was coming.”
As KOIN 6 News has been investigating for months now, Multnomah County requires AMR to place two paramedics on ambulances. Other nearby counties require one paramedic and one emergency medical technician (EMT), a model known as 1:1 that AMR has been advocating to temporarily switch to until more paramedics can be recruited. This has proved to be at the heart of the issue among county leaders and AMR in their ongoing dispute over response time solutions.
“It’s really, it’s an issue that needs to be addressed and we cannot delay. People in this community are not safe because ambulances are constantly not available,” McLennan said. When it comes to finding a solution for the issue, McLennan said he thinks politics and profits shouldn’t be prioritized over people’s safety.
