She got real close, and with the air of authority thirty years of life and a few of Med School bestowed upon her demanded her patient be taken where she, the physician demanded. I stepped out of the elevator, asked my partner to continue toward the ER, which was one-hundred yards away, in the same building. My patient was having enough problems and did not need to witness a very unprofessional display.

"My protocols are very specific," I explained to Daughter of Socrates, "The patient is in sinus tachycardia, and the appropriate facility for this patient is here, not there."

"Are you a physician?" she gloated, as twenty now extremely uncomfortable people watched the display, some eager for the elevator doors to open and offer an escape, others amused by the spectacle.

"No, I'm the EMT, and she is now my patient."

"She's my patient, and you will take her where I tell you."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Infinity!"

Won that one. I couldn't wait for the doors to open so I could get back to MY patient. The doctor fumed. Had she greeted us and explained the situation, and had a continuation of care form and a copy of the ekg and pertinant history ready, rather than a curt reply bfrom the secratary stating, "it's in the computer" when asked for some paperwork, things would have gone differently.

What is your name?" she demanded.

I told her.

"Who is your supervisor?"

I told her. And for good measure also told her the name of the director of emergency medical services for the State of Rhode Island.

"I want their phone numbers?"

"I've got a patient to take care of, go away."

"There are plenty of people taking care of her," she replied, referring to the four firefighters and my driver who responded to the 911 call for a female with a rapid heart rate. We come to this place a number of times every week, the staff refuses to use the hospital's transport system or a private ambulance company, prefering the speed with which the 911 responders arrive.

Like Moses parting the Red Sea,the elevator doors opened. I jumped into the full car, behind the other passengers, and waited for the doors to close, separating me from the aggressor.

"What is the phone number!" she repeated.

"Call 911, you have that one on speed dial."

The doors closed.

Looks like I've got some typing in store.

I get more respect from people living on the streets, with nothing, no money, no food and no education than I did from the doctor. I think I'm going to put a little extra effort into my report.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROVIDENCE_PLATOONS_06-07-11_MOOGR6B_v42.32d4301.html

Our "leader" is putting a gun to our heads, disguising that gun as an olive branch in order to trick the taxpayers of Providence into believing that his hands are tied and he is heroically restoring fiscal sanity to Providence.

The most basic of government services is public safety. That, above all else allows the governed to flourish. A safe environment in which to live, do business and enjoy the fruits of our labor is essentially why the government even exists. All else is secondary, even education. The police and fire departments in Providence are well compensated, but far from over compensated. Our compensation is far from exorbitant, actually on the lower end of salary and benefits of similar sized public safety departments and other vocations with similar responsibilities.

That's all wonderful, but when there is nothing with which to pay these people their less than average pay, who cares? The question must be, why is there nothing to pay them?

Rather than focusing on that question, the mayor has decided to extort concessions from the two city unions that the people he represents need most. By making demands, breaking contracts, promises and the law, he has deftly switched responsibility for the city's financial woes onto the backs of the very people who already bear the responsibility for the public's health and welfare.

It is a clever political move, one that takes the heat off of him and puts it directly onto the people who already bear the brunt of society's disintegration every day, every shift  and every call. It takes true courage to put on the uniform, and assume the role of police officer, firefighter and EMT.

A true leader would have supported the people in uniform, not exposed them to public ridicule and derision. A true leader would have taken the necessary steps toward fixing the problems that he inherited, without casting blame elsewhere. If that means making tough decisions like closing fire companies and reducing police presence on the street, so be it, we'll deal with it.

We do not have the luxury of deferring blame for the fires, shootings, death and injuries, robberies, rapes and daily mayhem that we have sworn an oath to do our best to keep under control. We wouldn't blame somebody else even if we could.

We are better than that, and thought that the person the people we protect elected to lead them was too.

Apparently, we were wrong. And it looks like the People of Providence were too.

He could barely breathe, struggled to catch his breath every ten words or so, gulping air from the reservoir of the non-rebreather, then continuing with his story.

"I trained thoroughbreds," he gasped. "Came up from Mississippi in'62," gasp " worked Suffolk, and Churchill" gasp "Foxboro and Raynham" gasp "rode 'em, broke 'em, fed 'em" gasp "Loved 'em."

"Don't talk, Winston," I told him. "Catch your breath."

"I designed ambulances," gasp "in the eighties."gasp" worked at City Body on Broad," gasp "used to produce three a week," gasp.

He lived alone, now, him and his medications. Pneumonia, diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, and arthritis slowed him down a little, but at seventy-two, not as much as you would think. Most of his family was dead, or in Mississippi, and" folks round here don't know the value of conversation."

"How long have you been having trouble breathing?" Iasked.

"Oh, bout three years now," gasp " did I tell you about "gasp" the catfish that "gasp "almost killed me?" gasp.

I turned up the oxygen a little, sat back and listened.

On September 12, 2001, with the skies overhead as quiet as they were in 1903, before the Wright Brothers considered man flying a real possibility, I sat outside the fence at TF Greene Airport and waited to see some action.

I hoped to see some F-16's taking off, a B-1 bomber or two, anything, really, to quiet the rage that was building, and continued to build unabated for years. Instead, I got quiet. Not peaceful, serene quiet, rather dead, ugly quiet. Having lived within a mile of a busy airport my entire life, it was unnerving. Nature and the sounds created by lack of progress is great if you are in the woods, or on a mountain top, but I can choose to get away, and back to our roots. I choose to live in and appreciate a different kind of nature -human nature- at least human nature that is permitted to reach for excellence, and follow our creative path, and invent, and create, live and love.

There is an altogether different human nature; the kind that created the sickening quiet that surrounded me on September 12, 2001. The kind of quiet that my brother finds himself in the middle of right now, ten years later, dodging bombs, missing his family and counting the days until he comes home.

He, like thousands of other of our military are stuck in another century, surrounded by people who do not like us, or our way of life, and try to kill our soldiers, and cannot wait for us to leave so they can get back to growing opium, illiteracy, stoning women and plotting ways to halt progress.

Maybe another kind of human nature will rub off on the people of Afghanistan; the character that is on display daily on the faces and in the actions of our people with boots on the ground in their country. Maybe they will see that there is dignity and fairness in human nature, equality and opportunity, optimism and work ethic.

If nothing else, they will see that the people of The United States of America will come to their door, with big guns attached, and F-16's, and B-1's, and C-130's full of heavily armed United States Soldiers who WILL see justice done.

The night I sat on the outskirts of a dead airport, I figured it would take us a decade to see justice done and get back on track. Ten years. It's a long time. We've done enough, it's time to come home, and take care of our own.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The owner of a Warwick ambulance company admitted Friday to swindling the health-care system of more than $700,000 by inflating Medicare and insurance claims for runs his service made.

John M. Almon, 55, owner of Med-Care Ambulance LLC, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of health-care fraud for over billing Medicare and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island for routine ambulance runs for dialysis patients in 2008 by categorizing them as specialty-care transports. Such transports are reimbursed at a higher rate, and authorities said he waived the co-payment of people using his service to encourage more runs.

In addition, he admitted to obstructing federal auditors looking into billing irregularities by instructing his staff "to clean [the records] up and ensure there were no red flags," as told by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luis M. Matos.

Almon also pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators in November 2010 be denying that he ever saw a 2008 letter from Medicare officials alerting him to errors in his billing procedures. Matos said that Almon resumed his improper billing after his father conducted a financial analysis showing how much money it would lose if it stopped billing at the specialty-care rate, meaning critically ill patients were being transported.

Asked by Judge William E. Smith if he understood the consequences of his decision to plead in the case, Almon said, "Yes, I do."

He faces up to 30 years in prison and $750,000 in fines at his sentencing Sept. 30. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges last week."Obviously, he's admitted what he did was wrong," said his lawyer William P. Devereaux. He said the company will be turned over to Almon's son.

They get their checks and drink them away, month after month, year after year. It's party day the first of every month, Christmas Morning, New Year's Eve, Your birthday, his birthday, her birthday, doesn't matter, the party is on. Until it ends, as it always does, in the back of one of our rescues. There, drunk and broke, their money spent either on booze, drugs or gambling, or stolen from them by people who then spend the stolen money on booze, drugs and gambling they lash out, and verbally and physically attack us, their benefactors.

I sat in the Captains chair last night, half listening to one of them attempt to get me to attack him, calling me a punk, a douche, a piece of shit, a coward, slimeball, faggot and some others that I care not mention here.

In my mind, the usual place of refuge was missing, my tranquility unable to be reached. Maybe its the recent news that 100 firefighters will be laid off if the union doesn't do what city hall demands, maybe its my own stupidity of reading editorials and letters to the editor, and listening to radio talk shows and hearing the attacks of firefighters and cops, the name calling, the accusations and all of that, I don't know.

In place of the place I usually go was a nice little fantasy. In that other world, I got off of my seat, and beat my patient into a bloody pulp. And I liked it.

I'm starting to scare myself.

City of Providence to cut 100 firefighters or take back pay raise

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Posted: 6/2/2011 1:32:26 PM
Updated: 6/2/2011 1:52:03 PM

Sources tell WPRO's Buddy Cianci, that the city of Providence is proposing cutting 100 firefighter positions if they don't give back a three percent pay raise that's effective this July as well as other concessions.

Melissa Withers, a spokesperson for Mayor Angel Taveras, tells WPRO News that "we need a six million dollar reduction" in the fire department budget and "we don't have any options."

She would not confirm details of the contract negotiations, but said the city is running out of time and needs a budget agreement before the new fiscal year begins July first. Withers went on to say that the city needs "structural cuts for both short and long-term savings, not one-time fixes." 

This comes in the wake of the city of Providence looking to lay off between 60 and 80 police officers after union negotiations failed to produce sufficient police department budget cuts. 

Buddy Cianci broke the news about the firefighter cuts during his show on 630 WPRO and 99.7 FM Thursday afternoon. Click above to hear the audio of the news.

This (not really) Just in…

Mayor Angel Tavares has asked The Providence Residents Association to absorb a ten percent reduction in criminal activity, medical emergencies and fires. In addition, he has declared that any and all hazardous material spills, leaks or exposures cease immediately. The givebacks will be retroactive  to January 1, 2011.

"Due to the Category 5 Hurricane currently blowing through Providence, I have no choice but to demand these cuts," said Tavares when questioned by Stanley Oshepski, President of the The Greater Providence Residents Concerned About the Future of Providence, (GPRCAFP) "Draconian times call for Draconian measures."

"These cuts are unsustainable," stated Oshepski.

To balance the budget, Mayor Tavares asks all city residents contemplating murder, rape, burglary or other violent crimes to reconsider until the recession ends. Fires will be allowed on Monday, Thursday and Saturday nights only , with the exception of Waterfire nights. Medical emergencies will be rationed to ten per hour.

The cuts in resident mayhem are in direct proportion to the ten percent cuts demanded from the Police and Fire Department unions.

"We all must share in the sacrifices needed to bring our great city back to economic prosperity," explained the mayor.

Oshepski disagrees with the mayor's proposal. "I thought this was America," he stated.

"We simply cannot continue to provide city services at the current levels," explained Rossanna Danadana, speaking for the mayor. If concessions from the residents are not given, eviction notices, randomly chosen from city tax records will be sent out at the end of the fiscal year.

"We expect to save 16 million by evicting ten percent of our residents. Nobody wants to do this," Danadana explained, "but our administration is not responsible for the disaster."

"I don't expect my ideas to be popular," says Tavares, "But I already won the popularity contest when I was elected."

with wire reports from the MM

Tavares Calls on City Residents to Curtail Mayhem

Mikko Morsso, Journal staff writer

0800, Wednesday,  June 1, 2011

Mayor Angel Tavares has asked The Providence Residents Association to absorb a ten percent reduction in criminal activity, medical emergencies and fires. In addition, he has declared that any and all hazardous material spills, leaks or exposures cease immediately. The givebacks will be retroactive  to January 1, 2011.

"Due to the Category 5 Hurricane currently blowing through Providence, I have no choice but to demand these cuts," said Tavares when questioned by Stanley Oshepski, President of the The Greater Providence Residents Concerned About the Future of Providence, (GPRCAFP) "Draconian times call for Draconian measures."

"These cuts are unsustainable," stated Oshepski.

To balance the budget, Mayor Tavares asks all city residents contemplating murder, rape, burglary or other violent crimes to reconsider until the recession ends. Fires will be allowed on Monday, Thursday and Saturday nights only , with the exception of Waterfire nights. Medical emergencies will be rationed to ten per hour.

The cuts in resident mayhem are in direct proportion to the ten percent cuts demanded from the Police and Fire Department unions.

"We all must share in the sacrifices needed to bring our great city back to economic prosperity," explained the mayor.

Oshepski disagrees with the mayor's proposal. "I thought this was America," he stated.

"We simply cannot continue to provide city services at the current levels," explained Rossanna Danadana, speaking for the mayor. If concessions from the residents are not given, eviction notices, randomly chosen from city tax records will be sent out at the end of the fiscal year.

"We expect to save 16 million by evicting ten percent of our residents. Nobody wants to do this," Danadana explained, "but our administration is not responsible for the disaster."

"I don't expect my ideas to be popular," says Tavares, "But I already won the popularity contest when I was elected."

with wire reports from the MM