The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "emergency response" ...
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Addressing 911
It all started with a tip from people on the front lines, and quickly unraveled into a story that has sparked much needed oversight of Ingham County's new consolidated 911 center. The center merged two 911 dispatch centers into one back in June of 2012. In October, a group of first responders approached Reporter Ann Emmerich with alarming concerns about problems within the system. They believed at least two deaths could be connected to delayed response times because emergency crews were sent to the wrong address. They also believed county officials were trying to "cover up" the problems. Using the Freedom of Information Act, Ann Emmerich began digging into records from the 911 Dispatch Center. She obtained documented complaints from the Lansing Fire Department, call logs from the dispatch center, and time stamped recordings of 911 calls. Just days after Emmerich made those FOIA requests, Lansing's Mayor announced he would form a task force to investigate concerns with the County's 911 Center. At the time, there was no advisory board in place to oversee the center. Once officials went public with the formation of a task force, the original board that worked to establish the 911 center was brought back together to begin oversight.
Tags: broadcast; 911; FOIA; 911 center
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Parking Patients
"Parking Patients" examined the amount of time hospitals in the Memphis area were taking to assume custody of patients brought to their emergency departments by city ambulances. In hundreds of cases we found patients were spending hours strapped to ambulance stretchers, waiting inside emergency departments for hospital staff to sign off on the transfer of care. In the meantime, city paramedics were tied up waiting with the patients and unavailable to answer other emergency calls. We found dozens of cases in the last year in which the city ran out of available ambulances to answer these calls, and had to rely on private companies to fill the gap, sometimes resulting in longer response times. The fire department blamed these shortages on the practice of hospitals using paramedics as "free labor."
Tags: broadcast; hospitals; paramedics; patients; waiting; ambulances
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"33 Minutes to 34 Right"
When Continental Flight 1404 crashed during its landing at the Denver International Airport, it took ambulance responses teams 33 minutes to reach the crash site. KMGH-TV's investigation reveals critical problems with Denver's ambulance system and dispatch center, as well as with the city's overall preparedness for emergency response.
Tags: Denver International Airport; Continental Flight 1404; Denver Health Medical Center; plane crash
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The Siren Song of Alcohol
Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, is facing a staggering upward trend of alcohol-related injury. Ambulance calls taking place at night and early morning hours are consuming and straining city emergency medical response resources. Binge drinking, drunk driving, and blacking out have all on the rise over the last five years.
Tags: drunk; drinking; alcohol; Iowa City; University of Iowa; binge; ambulance; injury; blackout; driving; intoxication; strain; resources; emergency; violence; deaths;
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Code 3
"Code 3" focused on ambulance delays in San Francisco and provided a rare glimpse inside an inherently complex and often secretive bureaucracy. The project began as a two-day series and continued with several follow-up reports. Paramedics and quality control experts say the city does not have enough ambulances and needs to hire more paramedics. A history of tensions between paramedics and firefighters, and a lack of coordination between the Fire Department, the Department of Emergency Management and the Public Health Department, continues to undercut the city's 911 medical responses and the quality of care. The city does not collect sufficient data on 911 responses to fully audit ambulance delays, examine particular treatments and learn from clinical mistakes
Tags: ambulances; emergency response; San Francisco; first responders; fire department; department of emergency management; public health department
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The Mahoney Scandal: Fall from Grace
This story uncovered how Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney had secretly paid a former staffer - and one-time mistress - $120,000 and promised her a job at a Democratic media firm to stave off a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. Further reporting also found that Mahoney had gone to great lengths to help another former mistress - a county emergency response official in her district - win a grant from FEMA. The report shows how Democratic leadership was aware of problems with Mahoney's conduct as early as September and encouraged him to deal with the situation.
Tags: FEMA; government corruption; illicit affairs; illegal settlements; sweetheart deals; sex scandal
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Reasonable Doubt
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office was found to violate federal civil rights regulations when deputies began focusing on immigration enforcement. The arrest rate plummeted and response time on life-threatening emergency calls slowed dramatically as spending soared to help crack down on illegal immigrants.
Tags: customs; Joe Arpaio; criminal investigation; Phoenix police; human smuggling
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State of Emergency
The story revealed how, for the past decade, Denver Health has been able to systematically lobby the Mayor's office to lower the ambulance response time standards in the operating agreement the hospital keeps with the city. Even as call volume has increased significantly year by year, the contractual changes have enabled the hospital to stay in response time compliance without adding more paramedics and ambulances. This series also showed how the hospital was deleting a key chunk of call duration from the figures being reported to the city, in violation of the municipal agreement. The city's actual ambulance response times vastly underperform nationally accepted standards. Veteran Denver Health paramedics say the increasing delays in emergency response have dire consequences.
Tags: ambulance response times; municipal agreement; ambulances; Denver; hospital; slow ambulance response
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Code 3
"'Code 3,' a two-day series that focused on ambulance delays in San Francisco, provided a rare glimpse inside an inherently complex and often secretive bureaucracy." Findings included: 439 people died while waiting for the ambulance to arrive; in 27 percent of high-priority medical calls, first responders failed to meet the city's time standard; and the city's 911 call center was the weakest link.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; ambulance; response time; 911; Fire Department; Department of Emergency Management; death; medicine;
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EMS Taxi: Health Care Dysfunction on Wheels
An analysis of the public records database found that Cleveland residents were calling 911 to be picked up by Emergency Medical Service ambulances for minor ailments. This is because dispatchers can't say no. The result is that response times are slow and the transportation is a high cost for the city.
Tags: transportation; emergency medical services; Medicaid; Medicare; Metrohealth Medical Center; Cleveland; ambulance; 911; database; health; medicine;