The city of Rialto is investigating paramedics who were put on leave after allegedly refusing to enter a care facility to help a man who wasn’t breathing. They cited a COVID-19 guideline that they read incorrectly or they did it deliberately.
The Rialto Post Acute Care Center called in to 911 but the two Rialto Fire responders who showed up remained at the open door of the center, wearing masks, and not entering.
The man wasn’t breathing and here they are outside:
Inside the patient’s room, a registered nurse was on top of the patient, Mr. Joseph Angula, administering CPR, with the help of other certified nursing assistants at her side.
They couldn’t move the man’s bed since it didn’t have wheels.
An officer got behind the bed and began to push, and with the nurse still on top of the man, they steered the bed down the hallways. At one point, you hear him telling the clearly exhausted nurse that she is doing a great job and not to stop.
They made it through the front door, to the waiting paramedics, who eventually took over the CPR.
The 56-year-old Joseph Angulo was transported to a local hospital where he died.
The memo the paramedics relied on read: “All dispatch centers will be requesting the facilities to move patients to the door or outside the location…”
What these paramedics appear to have missed was the rest of the memo: “If [the] patient cannot be transferred to exit for or outside prior to arrival, one member of Fire/EMS personnel should initially interact with the patient” and goes on to explain the type of Personal Protective Gear (PPE) that is advisable.”
Forgetting the memo, when does concern for fellow man and common sense take over? Are these men who should be in charge of the lives of others? Barring unforeseen information, it’s a bad look.
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