$2000 Payoff For Heaviest Coyote

Albinia Grabas

By NANCY RUVALCABA nruvlaca@leader.net
 Saturday, January 11, 2003 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 8A 





PLAINS TWP. Ambulance workers didn't do anything improper Tuesday during
the treatment of Jim Luongo, a rescue chief said, but a problem with the
paging system did slow their response. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At Thursday's Board of Commissioners meeting, Luongo's landlord, Roberta
Krushnowski of Bank Street, had complained about his treatment. Luongo died
Tuesday at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ``The tone alert did not activate our pagers,'' said Volunteer Ambulance
Association rescue chief Ray Black. At the time of the call the 911
dispatching system was not properly functioning. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``If they would just have told me there was a problem with their system I
would understand,'' Krushnowski said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The volunteer ambulance service operates on a paging system much like other
911 dispatch centers: emergency workers use the system to notify ambulances
there is a call for help, Black said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Though their respond time was admittedly lengthier then usual, Black
assured the service to their patient was not compromised. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It was not my intention to blame his death on any of the workers. ...
They just should have treated him in a much more dignified way,'' Krushnowski
said Friday, noting rescue workers did not cover the partially naked body of
her acquaintance and tenant. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Fire Department also responded to the call, but did not perform CPR.
``I simply asked a firefighter if he knew how to do CPR and he said no,''
Krushnowski said. Fire officials did not return calls for comment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The only gripe I have was the response time and his treatment,''
Krushnowski said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Black would not comment on the condition or ailment of the patient at the
time they responded to the call. ``I will say that we were accused of passing
the house two or three times; there is no truth to that.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``My daughter and I saw another ambulance pass by. ... I don't know if it
was the ambulance from Plains Township,'' Krushnowski said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After the incident, a radio repair technician went to the ambulance
headquarters to assess the condition of the dispatch system. Though the
problem has not been pinpointed, the lack of an external antenna could have
caused the problem. Since then an antenna has been purchased and installed,
Black said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Krushnowski will be filing a formal complaint in regards to the treatment
of Luongo and the lengthy response time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``My reason for going to the meeting was to ask the commissioner to help us
in this matter because they are our representatives,'' Krushnowski said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

911 Pager Had Flaw, Says Chief 
Volunteer Ambulance Association Chief Ray Black Says Jim Luongo's Death On
Tuesday Not Caused By Delayed Response Or Treatment.

911 Pager Had Flaw, Says Chief Volunteer Ambulance Association Chief Ray Black Says Jim Luongo's Death On Tuesday Not Caused By Delayed Response Or Treatment.