Last night at the Farragut / Bearden football game during the third quarter defensive player Robby Leonard went down with a terrible injury. Now, the trainers were there and began an IV on the field. However, there was NO Rural Metro ambulance on site. The Knoxville/Knox County Volunteer Rescue Squad was nearby and came on the field. Leonard was ultimately loaded onto a backboard from the rescue squad's truck and then transported off the field on a Farragut gator type cart. Once off the field the injured player and personnel were still forced to wait another 10 minutes for the Rural Metro ambulance to show up to transport Leonard to a hospital. So, he was on the ground for 15-20 minutes and another 10 minutes. So, Rural Metro's response was nearly 30 minutes to get to Farragut High School.
The Knox County Commission awards the ambulance contract every few years for Knox County. As Knox County homeowners that are not served by a Volunteer fire department, we are obligated to contract with Rural Metro for fire protection. In the Knox County contract there are mandatory response times, which Rural Metro clearly violated last night. Sources close to Knox County's EMS department have informed me that it is understood that Rural Metro has been in non compliance with response times for some time.
Rural Metro hires a local (popular to government bureaucrats) PR firm and also has a former Knox County Commissioner on their payroll as a Government Relations employee, code word for Lobbyist and deal maker. This is an unacceptable practice.
The Knox County Commission awards the ambulance contract every few years for Knox County. As Knox County homeowners that are not served by a Volunteer fire department, we are obligated to contract with Rural Metro for fire protection. In the Knox County contract there are mandatory response times, which Rural Metro clearly violated last night. Sources close to Knox County's EMS department have informed me that it is understood that Rural Metro has been in non compliance with response times for some time.
Rural Metro hires a local (popular to government bureaucrats) PR firm and also has a former Knox County Commissioner on their payroll as a Government Relations employee, code word for Lobbyist and deal maker. This is an unacceptable practice.
This is a photo taken from the stands as the VOLUNTEER Rescue squad performs the duties that the Knox County contracted Rural Metro were unable to perform last night.I would encourage anyone that can to make financial contributions to the Knoxville/Knox County Volunteer Rescue Squad by visiting their website, here.
1 comment:
Found this while searching for articles on Rural Metro. I think some things need to be pointed out:
1. The KVRS was only there because one of the Squad members was related to one of the football players. While they did a commendable job, they were just there to watch the game. I encourage people to make donations to the above link.
2. Since you were at the game too, I'm sure you could see that the 2 quickest entrances to the field were blocked. The Campbell Station entrance by construction and the Kingston Pike entrance by traffic. This is why the ambulance was driving around and around trying to get in.
3. It's not Rural Metro's fault on response times; you can bring any other ambulance provider, or create the Knox County Ambulance Service, and there will still be unusual circumstances when ambulance response is delayed or difficult, like this one.
4. To say that Rural Metro is "in non compliance with response time" is misleading in the fact that noncompliance is built into the ambulance contract. A certain amount is acceptable, and anything over that is a fine paid to the County. I just read in the News Sentinel that one month it was over $50,000.
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