With public safety involved, North Las Vegas grudge match not so funny

For me, most local politics is like professional wrestling. I know it's a bunch of baloney, but all that eye-gouging and head-butting can provide a lot of cheap entertainment.

A majority of the time, breathlessly controversial issues turn out to be not all that important and are neatly categorized in the entertainment category. But when money is tight and public safety is involved, politics can affect the lives of the lowly citizens straining for an unobstructed view of the action in the peanut-crunching crowd. That makes it serious business.

With that, I take you to North Las Vegas, where the wrestlers have left their respective corners and have begun what has the makings of a genuine steel-cage-match donnybrook. The North Las Vegas Fire Department and its paramedics are metaphorically bumping chests with the paramedics dispatched by MedicWest ambulance service, which has a mutual aid contract with the city. Also in the ring are city officials who are trying to watch the foundering budget without diminishing public safety.

Memos I've obtained focus on an incident in which, veteran NLV paramedics contend, MedicWest personnel acted unprofessionally during a life-and-death "Delta" cardiac arrest call. Multiple Fire Department witnesses recounted the incident in which it's alleged a MedicWest paramedic was more concerned with retrieving the unit's medical monitor than in assisting in the treatment of the patient. It's also true the fire Rescue 251 personnel insisted on transporting the heart patient. (Generally, the private ambulance companies do the transporting.)

"It was obvious they were upset that we were going to transport ..." one fire captain wrote Nov. 17 in a memo to his battalion chief. "Prior to transporting, MedicWest crew got into the rig and demanded their monitor back and was only concerned with their restock (of supplies.)" The private paramedic declined to ride to the hospital in the Fire Department unit.

The memo goes on to state a possible reason for the disagreement: "His reply was 'He has been told by (company official) John Wilson that he needs to be a bull dog out there and not let fire department transport.' He went on to state 'that he would be in trouble if he rode with us.' "

Attempts to reach MedicWest officials by phone and e-mail Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Is the Delta call dust-up an isolated incident, or an indication the important relationship between fire and private ambulance paramedics is breaking down?

From his perspective, NLV Fire Department union President Jeff Hurley is convinced his members are in the sights of budget-cutting city officials who might be tightly aligned with the ambulance service. He believes the company has been lobbying to oust Fire Chief Al Gillespie and points to the council's recent decision to table the acquisition of a $216,000 rescue unit as a sign the politicians aren't paying attention to the needs of the department and the community it serves.

"They're promoting animosity out there," Hurley says. "They're directing them to be less cooperative. We didn't want this to trickle down. This should have nothing to do with the crews in the field."

The department has criticized the ambulance service's on-time record. Behind the scenes, one MedicWest official has pointed out the high price of the rescue unit to select city officials.

One city councilman who finds himself in the sights of the union is Richard Cherchio, who says he was only trying to be fiscally responsible when he helped table the rescue unit purchase. Cherchio says it wasn't personal.

"My decisions aren't based on whether I like somebody or not," he says. "I understand their concerns. We just need to do the right thing for the community."

Thumb-in-the-eye politics is one thing, but in good times or bad, public safety is no laughing matter.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.