** Colorado ambulance company suddenly shuts down; leaves paramedics financially strapped
** UK man waits two hours for ambulance after being impaled by spike
 UNITED STATES NEWS
** A group of 40 Colorado paramedics from Denver are scrambling financially after the ambulance service they were working for suddenly shut down. That is the word from KDVR (Dave Young/May 28) which said City Wide Ambulance shuttered its doors at a time when many employees are owed thousands of dollars in back pay. According to the news site, the company’s owner is currently unreachable. Senior EMT and dispatcher Andrew Bullock said the closing was so sudden several patients were stranded at appointments. The shut-down has also impacted around 60 other medics serving areas like Colorado Springs, Loveland, and Aurora. The company’s attorney said via letter the business closed because both Medicare and Medicaid owed it money. However, several employees have disputed this, saying the company was receiving appropriate payments from both organizations. Medics said they would now go before the Labor Board to get reimbursed for the money the company owes them.
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** The North-East Ambulance Service has been left with egg on its face after taking two hours to respond to a call for a man impaled on a ground spike Monday. The Northern Echo (Dani Walker/May 30) said James Hodgin suffered potentially life threatening injuries in the incident after he fell down an embankment just after 2 a.m. in Weardale. According to the newspaper, Hodgin’s friends called EMS twice to bring paramedics to the scene. The post had penetrated Hodgin’s chest. He was bleeding heavily and was having trouble breathing. After the first call to dispatchers, friends applied pressure to the chest. The ambulance finally arrived on scene at 3:57 a.m. Upon arrival at hospital, Hodgin was diagnosed with a collapsed lung and scratched liver. A spokesman for the ambulance service said they are investigating the lengthy call response.
