When Emergency Services Are Needed

[reflection5]

I don't think we know that at all.

Then maybe OP SamiHami can answer that if she knows.

Did husband seem at all concerned about wife's condition?

[Twik]

If the ambulance ride itself was $45K, that's scary.

However, the ER visit, after a seizure, seems to me to be a non-debatable issue, unless the man is more concerned about his wallet than his wife's health or, indeed, life. Even if he did not sound threatening, berating people who assisted your sick wife because the cost of treating her illness is high, is ridiculously entitled. THEY didn't make her have a seizure.

[Hillia]

What he said to the staff was extreme enough for them to feel threatened and call the police.  That goes beyond a bit of yelling, which is rude but perhaps understandable, and into unacceptable.

[Library Dragon]

I have a payment question which is kind of related.

If someone had called an ambulance and then the woman had refused to get into it and go to hospital - would anyone need to pay and if so who?

This was the previous director's concern about calling the EMTs.  If the patron refused treatment we would be charged.  After an incident when a patron had a seizure, we called 911, and he refused treatment we called and asked the question.  We were told that we would not be charged.  Our agency had never heard of that happening. 

[ladyknight1]

I agree the husband was probably freaking out about the bills, but he shouldn't have called and berated the staff.

It was wrong, but when people are scared and upset, having a bit of a verbal blow up is IMO pretty understandable.

Scared and upset about what?  Bills,money.  Not the welfare of his wife.

From the information given it appears that the husband was more concerned about the bills than he was about his wife's condition.  Am I the only one noticing that?

No, that is also what I noticed. I ran the situation by DH and he felt the same, the person's well being comes first.

[WillyNilly]

I agree the husband was probably freaking out about the bills, but he shouldn't have called and berated the staff.

It was wrong, but when people are scared and upset, having a bit of a verbal blow up is IMO pretty understandable.

Scared and upset about what?  Bills,money.  Not the welfare of his wife.

From the information given it appears that the husband was more concerned about the bills than he was about his wife's condition.  Am I the only one noticing that?

No, that is also what I noticed. I ran the situation by DH and he felt the same, the person's well being comes first.

But he must have already knew his wife's condition - after she or the hospital were the ones who informed him of the situation and 911 being called in the first place. For all we know the condition was "totally ok".

[Twik]

How would she be "totally ok" if she'd just been having seizures? Something was wrong there. Perhaps not something that the ER was able to help with, but they best I presume she'd be told is "you're OK for now".

[ladyknight1]

At what point does someone's medical emergency outside of their home become "totally OK"?

[Hillia]

How would she be "totally ok" if she'd just been having seizures? Something was wrong there. Perhaps not something that the ER was able to help with, but they best I presume she'd be told is "you're OK for now".

She may have been 'totally OK' by the time he talked to her, but she was not at the time she had the seizure, nor apparently in the time it took to contact emergency services and have them arrive.  Would he prefer that they adopt a wait-and-see policy before calling the ambulance?  This is a school staff, not medical personnel; they have no medical history on her, no way of adequately assessing her physical condition, and no way of contacting him in a timely manner, which in a medical emergency can be seconds.

[BeagleMommy]

The husband was out of line - big time!

Many times, when my blood sugar drops, I am unable to articulate what is going on.  I appear confused, my speech garbled, I shake and get clammy.  I would not be able to tell someone to call my husband or instruct them on what to do to bring me back to normal.

I suspect this is what happened with the lady in the OP's story.  While I can appreciate his worry/frustration over the cost of the ambulance it doesn't excuse his behavior to the people who assisted his wife in her time of need.

I've been in the woman's place where 911 had to be called for me while I was at work.  DH's only concern was that I was alright.

[TootsNYC]

I can understand calling 911 is the right thing to do (I'm not doubting that at all!), but I can understand the husband's frustration. I know with some insurance or without insurance that ride might cost $500 out of pocket + possibly thousands in ER bills. It's horribly scary that the decision of how thousands of your dollars are spent are in another person's hands.

Still rude/inappropriate to berate the person who had to make that tough decision because bystanders aren't qualified to decide whether or not a seizure is a medical emergency for that person.

I come down right here.
This is very nicely worded.


A work colleague smacked herself on the head while coming back to the office from a work errand, and we all thought she'd need stitches. I was going to take her to the emergency room in a cab, and the HR person came bustling down and was insisting on calling an ambulance. My colleague was really upset because of the expense. And I think she DID have insurance.

Maybe we need a world in which the ambulance call is something that can be written off.

Also, the guy probably *was* upset about his wife--hence an adrenline spike.
Then he finds out she's OK, and now all that adrenaline has to go somewhere, so he sends it over to the "I have to pay the bill" category. And that also explains why he was so over-the-top on the phone.

It's probably a classic case of "taking it out on the messenger." Still rude, of course.

[Twik]

Toots, you're always so nice.

I'm a little more cynical. I think that someone who would be so abusive that the staff feel threatened is not just reacting out of adrenalin. I think he is the sort who figures if he yells aggressively enough, someone will say, "OK, OK, we'll cover the cost of the ambulance. And her treatment at the OR. Just stop screaming!"

[AngelicGamer]

Three Stories:

When I was at work (Borders in December 2007), I slipped/tripped over a display, flew into the open aisle where people could move in and out of the cashier bay, and was stunned.  It took a few minutes but I was able to say that I wanted a family member called instead of an ambulance.  It turns out that I broke the tip of my tibia and had to walk around in a removal cast boot.  I'm still glad that my supervisor decided to not call 911 because I didn't hit my head or anything.

Now, fast forward to August of 2012.  I was working on taking things down to the basement and the stairs to the basement were coming out of the wall.  I didn't notice it, save for feeling that the top stair was sinking.  So, I step down on the first step and boom - I fall with the stairs.  911 was called and I was checked out by the paramedics.  I refused to go to the ER because I knew I didn't lose consciousness.  Also, at the time, I felt fine.  It turns out that I sprained my shoulder pretty badly but otherwise was fine.  We did not get billed but, if we had been, we would have paid for it.

The third story comes from this year when my grandma had a stroke and I called 911.  It was the absolute right thing to do and I'd do it again.  We did get something in the mail because they couldn't get her insurance info.  We promptly filled it out and sent it right back.  Whatever bill we get, we will be paying it. 

Bottom line - the husband was out of line and the wife needed 911 called for a reason.  We can assign everything we want to try to put the husband in a better light, but I don't think he deserves it.  What if his wife had died because of a complication of the seizure due to 911 not being called?  I'm pretty sure he'd be suing the university what quick.

ETA: I have stroke on the brain.  Apologies.

[reflection5]

I remember years ago I went to work in the morning and planned to leave at noon to attend a funeral.  Well, about 11am I opened a file cabinet door too fast, hit my head pretty hard, got a nasty bump on the forehead and was dizzy/disoriented for several minutes.  Supervisor asked if I wanted EMTs or co-workers could take me to ER to be checked out.  (A head injury can be very serious.)  Co-workers took me to ER, tests were performed, Dr. cautioned me not to drive for awhile, and they took me home to rest.

The reason I didn’t want EMTs was I didn’t feel it was necessary and I also didn’t want a family member to be called (things were hectic that day because of funeral that afternoon).  I really wasn’t thinking about the cost (although insurance would have paid most of it).

We can assign everything we want to try to put the husband in a better light, but I don't think he deserves it.  What if his wife had died because of a complication of the stroke due to 911 not being called?  I'm pretty sure he'd be suing the university

Oh, you can be SURE of this.

[Twik]

Basically, if the wife was concious and coherent, she could have refused the ambulance. Since she didn't, I suspect she was still in a non-coherent state. Not getting her prompt medical attention at that point would be negligent. You don't bundle up someone who can't give you their name straight, and push them into a taxi to go to a walk-in clinic.