By Gail Peckler-Dziki~Correspondent
Who decides when the paramedics should be called in Silver Lake is the question that Silver Lake trustee and chairman of the emergency government committee Barb Ironside wanted answered at the Aug. 21 board meeting.
The agenda item was “to authorize Silver Lake Fire to upgrade medical calls.”
Currently, Silver Lake Fire responds to all emergency medical calls as first responder. The Silver Lake Volunteer Fire Department (SLFD) has 33 members, a number who are already licensed to provide various levels of emergency medical care for their regular jobs, and the fire department itself is licensed in Wisconsin as a first responder.
There are plans in the works for the SLFD to move up in licensure for medical emergencies.
The item was tabled, since there were some unanswered questions. Trustee Mike Decker wanted to know the legalities of the issue. Who would is qualified to make a determination that paramedic care is needed. Decker explained that while he is a volunteer firefighter, he has no medical experience.
The short answer to that question is that anyone who is trained, from first responder up, is trained to make the determination if more care than that individual can provide is needed. First responders are trained to assess the situation and make that call, according to McFarlane who is a paramedic with a private company.
An audience member asked why SLFD responds to each medical emergency. SLFD fire chief Andrew McFarlane explained previously that the fire department responds for every call. This policy was implemented seven years ago by former fire chief Ralph Drinkwine.
This policy, McFarlane said, keeps volunteer firefighters involved in the community and allows them to serve residents in all capacities. This policy is very common with other municipalities. This also allows SLRS and SLFD to practice working together, practice encouraged by the National Incident Management System (NIMS) arm of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The need for different departments to work together has been in the spotlight in the past 15 years. The most recent event in this area where that became evident was the tornado that passed through the town of Wheatland about four years ago.
“We are both responsible to the village board,” McFarlane explained. “The village is liable for whatever we do, since we are paid by the village.”
SLFD members can assist SLRS when needed. Also, if SLRS is out on another call, first responders will arrive to aid the resident quickly.
Since SLRS does have contracts with other communities, those calls may have the ambulances in another community. McFarlane also explained at earlier meetings that the fire truck is taken out on such calls for two reasons. The item was tabled, since there were some unanswered questions.
At issue was a recent emergency call where both SLFD first responders and SLRS members arrived simultaneously at the scene of an emergency. Greg Galich, a retired Kenosha firefighter and emergency services coordinator for United Health Care, was one of five SLFD members to respond and one of the two that entered the home of the patient.
After the usual visual assessment, taking the vitals and applying the cardiac monitor, it was determined that the patient was experiencing a significant medical emergency. Galich recommended that paramedics be called. The discussion regarding calling in paramedics occurred while the patient was being treated and within the hearing of family members. That recommendation was denied twice.
An SLFD source stated that all first responders are trained to determine if greater care is needed. “When handling an emergency, until something is ruled out you always consider the worst case scenario.”
The SLDF first responders stayed until the patient was put in the ambulance and all left the scene 23 minutes after arrival. SLRS intercepted with Salem Rescue at Highway 50 and B.
SLFD sources explained that it is common for Salem to send a paramedic in a POV (personally-owned vehicle) and the paramedic then rides in the SLRS ambulance, there to care for the patient.
“A paramedic could have been on scene within five minutes of a call,” the source commented.
There is no way to know if the longer time to paramedic care had any part in the patient outcome.
During the meeting, village president Sue Gerber accused Galich of violating the HIPPA or patient privacy law because he discussed the incident with Silver Lake trustee Pat Dunn. Dunn stated during the meeting that Galich at no time gave any information that might identify the patient.
McFarlane said that he had received no written complaint from Gerber regarding her accusation. ‘If there was a violation and we received a written complaint, our leadership would investigate the allegation. We take violations very seriously.”
From his understanding of the situation, McFarlane said he didn’t believe there was any violation.
During citizen comments, former village president Roger Johnson told the board and McFarlane that he had heard money was missing from the Fireman’s Dance and wanted to know about that.
McFarlane said that all the money was handled by two people at all times and was all accounted for. The amount deposited was also counted out and accounted for by the teller who received the deposit.
The Silver Lake Fireman Association sponsors the annual Silver Lake Fireman’s Dance and all money raised goes to help the village make necessary purchases for the SLFD.