PORT TOWNSEND — A multitude of ambulances converged on a senior care center Wednesday morning as three rescue calls came in simultaneously.
Life Care Center Executive Director Angela Cerna said that she couldn’t recall three calls back-to-back in the nearly 10 years she had worked there.
At one time, four ambulances and two fire trucks were parked outside the facility, which is located at 751 Kearny St., Port Townsend.
The first incident happened at 10:10 a.m. when the nursing staff noticed that a 63-year-old man was having trouble breathing and determined that it was serious enough to call paramedics.
Such calls are commonplace, staff members said.
After the first crew arrived, a second patient, a 93-year old woman, also had trouble breathing, and a second crew was called in.
Cerna said a third patient, a 78-year-old man, fell out of his wheelchair.
Cerna said the only witness to the incident was the driver of a shuttle bus who had come to pick the patient up and that an investigation is expected to reveal how it happened.
The care center was renamed in May, but dispatchers referred to it by its former name, Kah Tai.
All three patients were transported the 1.5 miles to Jefferson Healthcare hospital.
East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Ted Krysinski was acting as shift supervisor when the calls came in. He shifted to paramedic duties.
Quick response
He said the emergency crews were able to respond quickly by reallocating resources, but that will not always be the case.
“How fast we are able to respond depends on what else is going on at the time,” Krysinski said.
Even if enough emergency personnel are on duty when multiple calls are required, it can take some time to respond.
“All of our resources are not located within the Port Townsend city limit,” he said.
“We were able to respond today, but we had to call in responders from Critter Lane and Station 1-3 [Airport Road].”
If more medics were required, the department could have called in resources from Port Ludlow, Krysinski said.
“If there is a massive disaster, we can only allocate so many resources at one time,” he said.
“We will eventually get to everybody.”
Hazardous materials
When the third call came in, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue was dealing with a hazardous materials call at the Jefferson County landfill, and personnel had to be reallocated.
Krysinski said that five 1-gallon drums of hydrochloric acid, one with a small leak, were found in the recycling bin at the landfill.
Two people suffered slight exposure and were taken to Jefferson Healthcare, where they were treated and discharged, Krysinski said.
The fire department called in state Department of Ecology personnel, who directed disposal of the material to the Port of Port Townsend’s hazardous waste facility.
The level of available emergency services is determined by average need, population and property taxes, Krysinski said.
“If you live on the Peninsula, you are not going to get the same service level you would if you lived in a highly populated area like Seattle,” Krysinski said.
Cerna said the Life Care Center currently has 58 residents and a nursing staff that includes 13 registered nurses and 12 licensed practical nurses.
She credited the nursing staff for their quick response and their ability to diagnose problems before they become critical.
She was also pleased with the emergency services’ response time, even to the multiple incidents.
“They were here right away, and they were just awesome,” she said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
