Wayne Brothers EMS recently fired EMT Shirley Muldowney. The reason for her termination was said to be excessive speed. According to Muldowney the ambulance has a governor so it is impossible for her to have gone as fast as management claims.
This issue starts when EMT Muldowney was doing a simple transport from a retirement community over to an assisted living center. The patient being transported had recently been diagnosed with an condition that would require a higher level of care than the retirement community offered.In route to the assisted living center the patient developed respiratory distress. Soon the heart monitor that patient was hooked up to started to show a cardiac dysrhythmia. The paramedic in back asked EMT Muldowney to alert dispatch they needed to head to an emergency room.
Muldowney then turned on the lights and siren as per agency policy.
After dropping the patient off at the ER the crew was told to report back to the managers office. Upon arrival at the office the paramedic was told he was allowed to take a break. Then the EMT was asked into the office and told to close the door.
Once in the office EMS director Richard Goinu told Muldowney he had gotten a complaint about her driving. According to the complaint a citizen said he ambulance was traveling well over 95MPH down highway 15.
“I was in shock. I told him that the ambulances govern out at 70MPH. There was not way I could have been going as fast as the citizen says. He then tells me that the citizen is a local business owner so the citizen is more trustworthy than I am.”
Director Goinu was not able to comment on this story citing HR department policy about employee privacy.