EMS worker bitten by patient while responding to call

SHEEPSHEAD BAY, Brooklyn — An FDNY EMS paramedic was bitten in the face responding to a call Friday in Brooklyn, according to officials.

An FDNY official said it happened on Friday at about 1:40 a.m. The paramedic responded to 2856 Haring Street for a report of someone feeling ill.

While the paramedic was trying to move the patient onto a stretcher to take them to the hospital, she was bitten in the face by the patient, a union official said.

Anthony Almojera, an FDNY EMS union officer, shared the account on social media seeking to amplify the dangers EMS workers go though. (She gave Almojera permission to share the photos with PIX11.)

After the attack, two people were taken to local hospitals, an FDNY spokesperson said — a patient and the paramedic.

The union called the attack vicious and said the paramedic suffered “extensive injuries and possible permanent facial scars.”

“How much longer will our women and men be sent out on calls without having the proper tools to assist them? This past week alone, over a dozen FDNY EMS Local 2507 members were assaulted, one even sustained a broken nose, another crew had a knife pulled on them and countless others suffered other injuries,” said FDNY EMS Local 2507 President Oren Barzilay.

“When will our public officials come to our defense and offer EMS personnel protections? We need better training, better equipment, better care of our women and men for the long term effects from these assaults.

“The injuries sustained by our Paramedic are horrific. No one should be attacked when they are at work, and certainly not EMTs and Paramedics who respond to every incident with one mission – to save lives,” said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

A source said two other EMS workers were bitten in recent weeks in addition to Friday’s attack.

via: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/brooklyn/ems-worker-bitten-by-patient-while-responding-to-call/

Photo Credit: Anthony Almojera