State by State: February 2020

VIRGINIA: Rescuers Respond to 69-Car Pileup

A massive chain-reaction crash on I-64 near Williamsburg the morning of Dec. 22 gained national attention as the number of involved vehicles approached 70. There were 51 people reported injured, most of whom were released by the next morning. Riverside Health System saw 45 patients from the crash, according to a company spokesperson. Virginia State Police Sgt. Michelle Anaya said that while fog and icy roads contributed to the crash, the cause of the initial accident remains unclear. 

INDIANA: Indianapolis EMS Educates Lawmakers on MIH Program

Indianapolis EMS paramedic Shane Hardwick and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Adam Perkins met with lawmakers, the Department of Justice, and White House officials Dec. 11 to present the collaborative efforts of IMPD, IEMS, and Shepherd Community Center in a project titled Shalom. Shalom partners a community paramedic and a community officer in a high-volume Indianapolis district and connects frequent 9-1-1 callers to healthcare and municipal resources, and refers social needs back to the community center. 

CALIFORNIA: AMR, Falck Wrangle Over San Diego Territory

American Medical Response, the longtime provider of EMS services in San Diego, has retained a law firm to formally protest the city's decision to contract with Falck. AMR’s counsel asserts that San Diego's recent bidding process was defective, that Falck does not meet the city's minimum standards specified in its request for proposals, and that Falck “appears to have falsified a recent proposal to Alameda County,” according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Falck denies the allegations. The existing contract expires June 30, 2020.

ALASKA: Medevac Crash Followed Flight Declinations

Federal investigators say the Nov. 29 crash of an air ambulance in Alaska occurred at night after two other companies turned down the flight due to weather and limited daylight. The dispatch officer for Medevac Alaska wasn’t notified of the previous declined flight requests, according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board. Three people died when a twin-engine Piper PA-31 carrying a two-person medical crew crashed on the Kenai Peninsula. The plane was headed to Seward Airport to pick up a patient from Providence Seward Medical Center.