By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Oct 13th 2010 12:01PM
Filed under: News, Politics
An emergency medical technician (EMT) in New York City has been officially charged, after refusing to help a pregnant woman who later died.
Melissa Jackson has been charged with official misconduct and faces one year in jail after she allegedly
failed to help Eutisha Revee Rennix (pictured), when she became sick in a restaurant in New York.
After becoming sick at the restaurant, Rennix, who was six-months pregnant, began to have seizures. Others in the restaurant went to help her and pleaded with the EMTs to provide assistance. Instead, the EMTs allegedly told the patrons to call 911 and refused to provide any support.
Rennix's baby was delivered, but the child died just two hours after her mother.
The other EMT on the scene with Jackson has died since the incident. Most ironic about Rennix's death is that the EMT dispatch center was in the same building as the restaurant where she died. Despite their proximity to Rennix's location, the EMTs arrived too late to help the dying woman.
Clearly, this incident should never have occurred. A review of New York City policies on matters like this one is necessary, given that the EMTs may have been responding to some kind of regulation increasing their liability when they try to do their jobs while not on official duty. Either way, a dying citizen with EMTs nearby shouldn't be neglected. We can most certainly agree to that.
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Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here. 
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Comments: (11)
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By: Mercy on 10/14/2010 6:43PM
December 9, 2010 hasn't happened yet.
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By: dvine on 10/13/2010 2:56PM
you knw what i don't understand is if your not willing to help ppl when your off duty then why choose this profession.. i understand they probably was tired and ready to go home or whatever but how can you watch someone and do nothing if you have the skill to do something..
it's unfortunate..
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By: magic on 10/14/2010 5:46PM
they where not tried and really to go home, they where on there lunch brake. i had been in healthcare for oner 27 years, both of these EMT's should not have been in it for a day. this is a job for only the people that feel it from the heart, it's not a money thing. if you don't feel it, please don't ever do it. this is what happens when folks do. may this child of GOD and her baby,rest in peace.
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By: Nana on 10/13/2010 4:10PM
People are just lazy these days and have no strong work ethic. There have been numerous days that I have worked through breaks to help students and parents with concerns. I can't even imagine letting a sick person suffer because I was too busy having lunch. The EMT should be happy the courts showed compassion on her in a way she was unable to do to the dying pregnant lady. One year seems a little lenient. The whole incident is beyond tragic...it's very shameful and just a sign of the decline of society in America today!
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By: Howard Wilson on 10/14/2010 1:10PM
Your comments are so right on. Society Empathy is the worse I have seen in my 56 years on this earth.
On 911 we were singing com-bi-ya! holding hands, we cry togather, we pray togather, we felt the pain of all those soul who lost their lives. for that moment we we all citizens of one Nation under God.
What we see now is the worst behavior of human being in this modern society, which make us more of a Neanderthal than human.
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By: blackbear72 on 10/13/2010 6:10PM
Again the fake Dr. writes about something he knows nothing about. He can at least take an hour to research what he writes about. He believes there is a correlation between the location of the dispatch center and the time it takes for an ambulance to arrive. Most likely there are no ambulances at the dispatch center only dispatcher. He says a review of the city's policy's needs to be done to find out if there is a policy against helping while off duty. Then why didn't he review the policy, which is public information, before writing the article? Regardless of what the policy states, it is the duty of all EMT's to render aid, to anyone they find who needs it to the level of thier training, on duty or off. If they did refuse to help they would be subject to lose their license and possibly be liable to the victim. The biggest issue here is what the EMTS could have actually done to help this woman. With the absents of equipment, which we don't know if they had or not, there is really nothing they could have done. Without equipment the only thing they could have done was make sure the woman didn't hurt herself while having the seizure and call 911. If the woman stopped breathing they could have preformed CPR, but the story dose not say if she ever did stop breathing before the ambulance arrived.
The other issue is weather they just flat ignored the woman, which it sounds like they did. That would be a violation of there duty as an EMT, but it did not cause the woman to die.
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By: magic on 10/14/2010 6:00PM
i have followed this story from the time it happened. they had a bus, they where on lunch. i don't know about n.y., but in other states i've worked it this was licence losing time. but i understand that at the time they said they where on lunch, and this was not the area that they worked, and for the other employees to call 911, that was so wrong on so many levels that i don't even know where to start. i know that no matter what i could never walk away with out giving aide to the best of my training, not matter how many hours i just worked or how hungry i was. i am emt, but i stopped working the bus and work inside the hospital, i found for myself i like it better when they come to me instead of me going to them, but that doesn't mean if i happen across anyone in need i get to tell them to make it to the hospital so i can help them. i help them where they need help. everybody is somebody's loved one.
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By: edujustice2005 aka Benton on 10/14/2010 11:34PM
edujustice2005 aka Benton: @ blackbear72; I cannot see what blackbear72 comment about is pretaining to the article of the death of the lady. If or if they weren't there, he might didn't know, but, he said they will check the city's policy, that could have been good enough! Why is it that we have to complain about every little thing? Why don't we take an invertory of ourself first. Regardless, that EMT should have been fired on the spot! And should not be able to work in that professional any more. God bless the mother and her child, and the EMT.
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By: KIKI on 10/14/2010 3:59PM
I wish both EMT's would have been disciplined earlier. The EMT's took an oath pledging to dedicate themselves to helping the public and they neglected their duties. If your able to save a life NEVER turn away from someone who needs your help. That is so screwed up at what they did. Why would you want to be a villian instead of someone's hero? I don't get it at all. At least one of the EMT's is facing charges because the other EMT was shot in the head and killed in a Manhattan night club. Can you say.... KARMA???
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By: magic on 10/14/2010 6:24PM
@blackbear, itdoesn't say in this artical, but from the begining they said she had an asthma attack, then begain having seizures plus she was six months pregnant, any and all of the the above can be life ending. she needed help, see didn't get it. there is nothing more to say. you sound like me, do youwork in healthcare? 99% are good , hard working and do it for the right reasons, but yes it's that 1% that is empathy dead and not meant for this that the pubic hears about, it's not fair to the rest of us... but it's true. yes take up for us when we are right, but walking away from someone needed assistance can't not be made right..... no matter how you try to twist or turn it.
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