Too Stormy in Baltimore

Last Wednesday evening, a good friend of the family -- and a volunteer firefighter to boot -- had a medical emergency involving a family member up here in the Vale of the Gunpowder.  When Medic 60 -- the paid EMS unit for Parkton -- responded to the call, the paramedic on board refused to transport the patient to a Towson hospital, claiming it was "too stormy in Baltimore", and he didn't want to drive there. As a result, the patient was transported to York Hospital in York PA -- an undesirable medical facility if there ever was one.

This is the type of service we can expect from the paid corps of Baltimore County EMS Personnel?

Now, I want to tell you a couple of things. First, there was one major storm that swept through the area last Wednesday night, most of which had blown through by the time they would have arrived.  It was an intensely localized cell that came and went inside of two hours.  Too stormy?  Since when is a paradmedic a qualified meterologist?

Second, York Hospital does not possess the best reputation in health care.  Never has, and probably never will.  I, quite frankly, would rather drive myself to Towson than be taken by ambulance to York.  My chances of living are demonstrably better at GBMC or St. Joseph's than they ever would be in York.  And York Hospital is no further from Parkton than GBMC or St. Joes.

Third, this friend's family member is now an hour away from the friend and their family.  That's convenient when someone is seriously ill, isn't it.

But, hey, I guess it was a little too stormy for a public servant to actually serve.