RE: Dirty Laundry

["Thomas, George" <thomas@statmedevac.com>]

Well said Rollie.

One of my concerns is how so many folks are taking the writings of a
newspaper as the gospel fact. How many times have you been at the scene of
an accident, fire, etc. and then watched the evening news or read the paper
to be surprised at the "facts" presented by the media. You were there, you
saw the exact facts, but as is the case most times, the media bends the
facts to some incredible untrue shape.

For all you that are agreeing with the newspaper article and the Pittsburgh
area flight staff, do you have the true facts? I don't believe that it is an
industry standard for programs to stack flights or lie about times. It
probably does happen, but don't lump everyone into that category without the
facts. And I can state with a clear conscience that it doesn't happen here
in my program! If you want to challenge me on that, contact me directly, not
via the flight web. We would be happy to give a tour of our Communications
Center and how we operate. How about it Linko? When are you coming back to
town? I can meet you at Primanti Brothers!!

George Thomas
STAT MedEvac
412-460-3000 Ext. 229
thomas@statmedevac.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Rollie Parrish [mailto:rparrish@flightweb.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2001 6:28 PM
To: flightmed@flightweb.com
Subject: Dirty Laundry


On Tue, 4 Dec 2001, susan nittinger wrote:

> Sadly enough, this has gone on for
> years and years in the Pittsburgh area.  I can't
> believe it took this long to surface.

I've been waiting for someone else to comment on this aspect of this
issue, but no one has yet, so I guess I will.

Incidents such as those described in Pittsburgh are in no way
unique to that community or the flight programs involved.  My guess is
that it's rather common, especially in areas where there is high
competition between flight programs. In fact, of the few relatively few
programs in the Northwest, I know of or have heard of flights being held
rather than giving them to a competing program. I've heard of programs not
handing over patients just because the other programs didn't have the
exact same advanced procedures and treatment protocols. I've seen ground
agencies hold on to patients that should be flown and vice-versa, all in
the name of "keeping the numbers up." Some people think this is wrong and
unethical, others think it's just a way of doing business because it's
been going on for so long.

The point is that it's unfair for STAT MedEvac to be criticized for
practices that are probably common industry-wide. Because they are a
well known industry leader, the spotlight is shining on them and I'm sure
that everyone is thankful their own programs aren't being targeted. Add
some disgruntled employees or vocal individuals from competition and you
have a fairly effective smear campaign.

Because this issue was first brought to our attention via a public media
source (link to a printed newspaper article), there's no point in trying
to squelch the discussion on this important but very sensitive issue. The
"milk has been spilt," so we might as well learn something from it.
However, if a flight program has been doing something that they are
embarrassed to have discussed publically, it should give them food for
thought. Perhaps other flight programs doing the same things will choose
to change their practices before the spotlight shines on them.

BTW, we should avoid airing "dirty laundry" regarding specific flight
programs or individuals. First of all, it's unprofessional and generally
makes the poster look like a disgruntled individual. Second, it wouldn't
take long to detract from the otherwise positive nature of the discussions
here, as has happened in other forums. Third, remember to at least include
your name in posts and beware of any company polices regarding these
discussions.

Later

-- 
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Rollie Parrish
FlightWeb: For Air Medical Professionals
http://www.flightweb.com




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