Hospital Helicopters: Worth the Cost?

The Argus Leader reviewed Medicare billing data for three hospital helicopter services in South Dakota and found that just 3 percent of flights were for accidents. The overwhelming majority of the flights were for hospital transfers. Critics say helicopters, which costs thousands per flight, are being used when cheaper ground ambulance services would work.

"New Jersey Transit's struggle to recover from Superstorm Sandy is being compounded by a pre-storm decision to park much of its equipment in two rail yards that forecasters predicted would flood, a move that resulted in damage to one-third of its locomotives and a quarter of its passenger cars."

New Jersey Transit placed much of its equipment in rail yards that forecasters predicted would flood after Hurricane Sandy, a move that damaged one third of its locomotives and a quarter of its passenger cars, according to a report from Reuters. The damage could cost tens of millions of dollars to repair, according to Reuters.

"The Atlanta police helicopter that crashed Saturday night, killing two officers, was a Vietnam War-era chopper that city officials 11 years ago said had outlived its useful life."

This investigation by Mike Morris of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the council approved funds for a new helicopter, but the helicopter in question was still being used.

"This story might sound like something from an old Spaghetti Western or a move from a bandit’s playbook in the mid-19th century, but the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has learned that theft from freight trains traveling the rails is all too real in modern-day America."

"A month-long investigation by the Democrat and Chronicle revealed that the Police Department routinely violated its own policies by fixing tickets for officers and their friends and relatives for flimsy excuses or none at all."

Through an open-records request, the Democrat and Chronicle found that between August 2009 and July 2012, a total of $7,800 parking tickets were dismissed, adding up to $272,000 worth of fines.

The Associated Press reports that one of the most common rail tankers allowed to haul hazardous liquids across the country is dangerously flawed (link comes via Fair Warning and NPR), and industry groups have been fighting pushes to increase safety standards.

Documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune have revealed that Utah's Transit Authority CEO has spent more than $600,000 on international travel. Trips range from China to the United Arab Emirates and also include 17 U.S. cities.

"But UTA officials say they receive great value from travel, learning from mistakes and successes of other transit agencies. They say the travel is necessary to lobby for federal money and helps in developing strategies to change Utah’s "car-first" culture."

A concerned citizen, and Union Pacific employee called the UTA last November to voice her concerns about a sound wall that was too high for people to see oncoming trains. However, even after the second complaint, by another concerned citizen, the UTA did nothing. Now, 15-year-old Shariah Casper is dead.

“Records obtained through open records laws plus interviews show that UTA was warned at least twice about dangers at Mid-Jordan crossings that contributed to Casper’s death, but no improvements were made until after she was killed.”

Furthermore, the UTA declined to comment on the matter, citing an expected lawsuit from the slain teen’s family and claiming, in part, “that such records could include sensitive information that could harm “homeland security” if released.”

Since 2007, the city of St. Louis has worked to cut overtime costs. Many departments have been successful, though one stands out as continuing to rack up high overtime payouts: the Towing Services Division. Reporter David Hunn of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, writes that the foremen “in the towing division serve as examples of how the city often uses overtime to fill in for positions lost in budget cuts.” If one or two workers cannot work, other employees fill in the shifts. This usually means they work on their scheduled days off.  The most “senior” employee pocketed “at least $184,000 in overtime since 2007.”

Although two of the four foremen “admitted that they regularly used vacation days and worked overtime all in the same week,” they “saw nothing manipulative about such a practice.” Due to budget cuts, the department is unable to hire an additional foreman, though the manager of Towing Services believes an additional employee could help with the current problem.