Two Homeless men using ambulance service as a taxi, 1,363 trips

[Liberal_in_LA]

LA & SF figured out it was easier to put the frequent fliers in apartments with health benefits provided.

Homeless using ambulance service as a taxi

Two homeless men in Fresno, Calif., have called for an ambulance an average of nearly twice a day for more than a year, racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs and even more when they get to a hospital.

They are Fresno County's highest-volume ambulance users -- "frequent fliers" as they are called in the business -- and their 1,363 combined trips made up 1.34 percent of all American Ambulance calls in the county last year.

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Some in the industry say the two are abusing the system, using it as a free taxi service. But the men, who are friends, say they're just trying to get to a hospital for treatment of their chronic illnesses.

Calling 911 when there is no emergency is a crime and there is no law saying the men must be brought to a hospital, but ambulance officials err on the side of caution. They fear liability lawsuits such as a 1979 case in which a sick man called for an ambulance, was not picked up and died.

"We do not refuse any service," said Dan Lynch, Fresno County's emergency medical services director. "If they want to go to the hospital, we will take them. It's easier to take them than to take the time to talk them out of it."

http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/02/13/homeless-using-ambulance-service-taxi

[cloudbase]

1. Some outside of the industry

would agree they're abusing the system.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. caling for an ambulance twice a day is definitely abuse.

[liberal N proud]

3. It took 1,300 trips to figure out they were abusing the system?

Last edited Tue Feb 14, 2012, 06:50 AM - Edit history (1)

They were just taking advantage of a system that allowed them to cruise.

The dispatchers and drivers are to blame here.


My bad, 1300 not 13,000

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. in the article it explains that they were asked by letter, to stop abusing the system

Otherwise, ambulance system is afraid of litigation if they don't show up when they call.

[Warren Stupidity]

13. 1,300.

Perhaps if we didn't allow our poor to go homeless, to be discarded like garbage, to be routinely abused, to be treated like vermin, perhaps there would be a bit less abuse of the worn out fabric of our pathetic safety net.

[Tsiyu]

16. Thank you

If they reported every time city managers and mayors and councilmembers and corporate cronies "milk" the system, we couldn't keep up.

So we focus on the "least of these" and demonize them so then it's "Okay to let them rot; they'll just abuse the system."

It's always easier to condemn someone "beneath us" than it is to help them.

[limpyhobbler]

4. These are clearly two men with nothing left to lose.

They may have some real need that is not being met.

[kestrel91316]

11. Yeah. Likely Thunderbird and meth.

[limpyhobbler]

19. I think they need transportation.

[annm4peace]

6. City leaders in Fresno too stupid !

thanks for posting LIberal in LA.

I saw the article at work and couldn't post. I was born and raised in Fresno and about 25 years ago
the ignorant and arrogant Neo Cons took over in Fresno.. sort of the likes of what we see now in the National GOP.

the small group of Progressives and Humane citizens of Fresno have been trying turn around the assaults on the Homeless, and in the recent 4 months they have tryed to do so many things to stop the City, State, and Feds from destorying the tent cities, taking away sleeping bags and tents, and just last month a know homeless woman who helped so many other homeless women died on the sidewalk just outside a packed Shelter.

The UN needs to interven in Fresno, CA because no US government can seem to do anything sustainable.

the Progressive have consistantly tried to tell the City officials and other Residents that it is cheaper to take care of the homeless than to throw them out with trash.

This year the FEDS toss several million dollars to the city officials to end homelessness but it will take much more than that and there needs to be transparent oversight. It seems the City is using the homeless funds if it helps the economic bottom line.


Mike Rhodes with Community Alliance has been documenting the horrible abuse for the last 10 years (and he can always use donations). and I have shared many of his reports through out the last 6-7 years.

http://fresnoalliance.com/wordpress/?p=1313

but here are a couple of links of that stick out

Faith Groups Speak Out About the Homeless Issue
(video of them asking the city to let the tent cities stay since isn't enough shelter)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/12/21/18703199.php

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/27/18695595.php


You can ask the Fresno City Manager wouldn't it be cheaper to provide services and set up tent cities.

Mark Scott, City Manager
2600 Fresno Street
Room 2064
[phone]

http://www.fresno.gov/Government/CityManager/ContactCityManager.htm


Ashley Swearengin, Mayor
2600 Fresno Street
Room 2075
[phone]
http://www.fresno.gov/Government/MayorsOffice/ContacttheMayor/EMailMayor.htm

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. thanks for the additional info and contact info

[libtodeath]

7. I think it is sad

that in this country we allow poverty and homelessness to rob a person of their dignity.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. And I thought I had an issue with my twice a month frequent flyer!

[annm4peace]

10. Here is a previous thread I posted that gives some more info

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002189875

[Warren Stupidity]

12. This is welfare cadillac queen bullshit.

Thanks for catapulting.

[polly7]

14. We used to get calls from people wanting to come

in to the Pasqua in Regina .... where they'd skip out and head off to get their drugs and / or, party. There was no way to refuse any of them, the most frustrating was being called twice in one shift to the same home.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

15. One of my relatives tried this scam, twice.

The second time he was arrested and we let him chill in jail for a couple of days before bailing him out.

He was intent on drinking himself to death, an enterprise we declined to actively assist him with. So he got the bright idea to call an ambulance, wander away from the hospital to buy booze and then call from the hospital for a ride home.

[cliffordu]

17. Why do I think this is the modern equivalent

of Rayguns "Welfare Queens"???

Kinda calling bullshit on the article, not the OP, or it's author.

But really. Bullshit.

[HughBeaumont]

18. Marc Benjamin of the Fresno Bee . . .

. . . looking up articles written by him to find some slant.

This is kind of a lame way to bash the poor on his part. The greater issue is the care and services they're not receiving.