File this in your "the world is going crazy file". A Detroit paramedic says that he's being punished for giving a blanket to a cold man. Apparently the paramedic failed to ask permission before giving away alleged government property of a donated blanket. I know. I had to read the news article twice before my brain could digest it.
Paramedics are trained to save lives. They can never be paid enough for the job that they do. EMS employees do it because they have compassion. Their training and instinct is to help people. In this case, the crippled elderly man was rescued from his burning home, on a cold Detroit night while wearing nothing but his underwear.
The paramedic who is being punished acted out of compassion and concern. The cold man was able to be warm. There was one less patient to take to the ER because of hypothermia and the paramedic who gave the man a blanket is almost a hero. Well, more or less. In reality, he says that he is being brought up on EMS departmental charges.
I think that the Detroit EMS supervisor needs to get a life. I can see no reason to for his alleged reasoning. Can you? Punishing EMS workers for doing what they are trained to do is ludicrous. The paramedic who gave away the blanket may have prevented the cold from making the man sick or worse.
The supervisor says that they can't have their staff giving away government property. If the paramedic was giving away high dollar medications, then I would say he's right. But, to punish a paramedic from giving away a blanket is just wrong.
Hopefully, the supervisor will change his mind. We never know what happens in our future. Had he had been in the elderly man's shoes, he would probably have wanted some way to stay warm. If it ever does happen to him, I hope that someone like the paramedic who is being punished has a blanket to give away. I know that I would be grateful. What do you think?
