Lake Zurich awarded the Ron W Lee MD Award
5/30/2016
This past winter, the Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Department was dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle crash, involving a car and an ambulance. Upon arrival, the crew discovered that the ambulance was a critical pediatric transport unit and was in the middle of transporting a ventilator-dependent six year old child. While there were no apparent injuries from the crash, the ambulance was incapable of continuing with the transport.
The patient was enroute to Lurie Children’s Hospital, in Chicago, for a six-month ENT Checkup. Due to the circumstances, this is a major undertaking, and the crew was faced with a dilemma: They could wait for another private ambulance to be sent to transfer the patient; transport the child to the nearest hospital for evaluation and then be transferred to another private ambulance. The crew did not feel either option was right for the patient. The ETA for a replacement ambulance was at least one hour. Transport to a different hospital would not benefit the child and would result in a missed appointment (something that was scheduled months ahead of time). Or, the Lake Zurich unit could compete the mission and transport the patient to Lurie (a round trip of approximately 80 miles).
The crew felt they could handle this transport and, with the approval of their superiors, continued the trip to Lurie Children’s Hospital. The outcome was positive and demonstrated, once again, that the highly trained members of the Northwest Community EMS System use critical thinking in making treatment decisions.
In recognition of this “above and beyond” action, the crew involved and the entire Lake Zurich department, were named recipients of The Community Service Award of The Robert W. Lee, MD Excellence in Pediatric Care Awards for 2016. The award was presented at the May 16th Village Board Meeting.
Those named in the award are:
Captain David Pilgard, Lieutenant Darren Garcia, FF/PM Eric Ryan and FF/PM Steve Norman.
The system congratulates all involved.
