MILWAUKEE – The City of Milwaukee has established new policies for ambulance companies contracted to work with the Milwaukee Fire Department in response to an incident last month in which a 49-year-old woman, Jolene Waldref, was not located by a responding ambulance crew, and died due to hypothermia after slipping and falling at a Milwaukee bus stop.
Alderman Lamont Westmoreland announced the policy change on Wednesday, February 21 in conjunction with MFD.
“I want to thank Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, the Milwaukee Fire Department and ambulance service providers for being open to improving their procedures in an effort to ensure our community is offered the best, most comprehensive support services possible,” said Westmoreland. “At the end of the day I believe these changes in policy can save lives, and we will be better off for them.”
A major change will require first responders to exit their vehicles and search for patients when weather, other environmental conditions, or obstructions make it difficult to see people who may have fallen down.
The enhanced EMS response standard operating guideline also adds provisions for ambulance providers to ensure that the scene is safe prior to coordinating their efforts to locate patients who are not immediately present.
First responders are required to exercise due diligence in performing a search for a patient and are required to utilize dispatch to attempt reconnect with the patient or 911 caller, interact with bystanders as appropriate who may have information on the patient’s location, and activate their lights and siren to announce their arrival at the location.
The policy will go into effect on Thursday, February 22 and will only affect the Milwaukee Fire Department directly. However, the city said it is anticipated that ambulance service providers that work with the city of Milwaukee will include the same policy for their staff.
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