I-Team Investigation: Woman Dies While Waiting For Medical Treatment
February 16, 2011 11:35 PM
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – An exclusive CBS 3 I-Team Investigation reveals that a 39-year-old mother, flying into Philadelphia for her son’s birthday, died after waiting nearly 40 minutes for medical treatment after she collapsed in a restroom inside Terminal “E”, early on the morning of January 17th.
Dispatch records obtained by CBS 3 show the lone medic unit assigned to the airport was busy on another assignment and unable to respond to “911″ calls and police radio calls seeking help for Jennifer Moore.
The records show, as Mrs. Moore’s condition worsened, and she lost consciousness, three other units were dispatched, but all returned to their stations without entering terminal “E” and providing care to the dying woman.
The records, which don’t indicate why the units returned, show that medics were then dispatched a second time, finally reaching Mrs. Moore after nearly 40 minutes. She was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.
An eyewitness, and Good Samaritan, who found Mrs. Moore inside the bathroom, Tracy Smith, says the victim was unable to breathe, asking again and again, ‘where is the ambulance?’
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As Smith tried to comfort and reassure Mrs. Moore, four police officers worked in “tag team,” providing CPR, and repeatedly calling on their radios for medics. At one point, Mrs. Moore gave her cell phone to the officers, asking that they call her husband Timothy.
Contacted at his job in Newark, Delaware, Timothy Moore told Eyewitness News, he jumped into his car, rushing to the airport, yet, when he arrived, medics had still not made it to the scene to help his wife.
Mr. Moore then rode in the medic unit with his wife to the hospital, holding her hand and praying, until they arrived, and doctors told him there was nothing more they could do.
Mrs. Moore, a mother of two, was studying for her Masters Degree, along with her husband.
Mr. Moore, and Ms. Smith, who comforted the victim in what would be the final moments of her life, both told Eyewitness News they want answers about why the advanced life support care they believe might have saved Jennifer Moore’s life didn’t arrive until it was too late.
Responding to Eyewitness News inquiries, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison issued a statement reading, in part:
“… After receiving information from the Fire and Police departments and the Philadelphia International Airport, the City’s Office of Public Safety has begun an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Mrs. Moore. An examination of the communications between a civilian who was with Mrs. Moore and the first responders and how these transmissions were impacted by a simultaneous but unrelated incident at the airport are also under review.”
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