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| Defibrillator won't work; inmate dies |
| By philly.com |
| Published: 04/25/2005 |
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Philadelphia Prison Commissioner Leon King has ordered improved maintenance for defibrillators in the city prisons after a unit failed two weeks ago when a prison nurse tried to save a suicide victim. The victim, Orlando Ramos, 20, of Frankford, hanged himself April 12 at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, according to prison spokesman Robert Eskind. According to a prison report, a correction officer found a bedsheet covering Ramos' cell door. When the officer opened the door, he found Ramos on his bed with a bedsheet tied to his neck. Correction officers cut Ramos down and began CPR. Ten minutes later, the medical staff arrived, but when the nurse tried to use a defibrillator maintained by Prison Health Services Inc., the contractor who provides health care to about 8,000 inmates in the system, the unit was inoperable. Last January, one or more automatic external defibrillators at Philadelphia International Airport failed to work properly, according to a physician who tried unsuccessfully to revive a heart-attack victim. In the prison incident, King said that while the defibrillator's battery was properly charged, it was missing two leads, wires that must be plugged into the unit to prepare it for use on a patient. But King, formerly the prison system's attorney, said he doubted that even a working defibrillator could have saved the inmate. He noted that when city fire rescue arrived five minutes later, the medics chose not to use their defibrillator. To make sure that defibrillators maintained by both the prison and Prison Health Services are ready for use, King said each unit has been examined to make sure it's charged and has all its equipment. A seal will then be placed on the handle, signifying its readiness. |
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