How they did it: Wichita Eagle reporters expose a broken EMS system / EMS Records Requests

It began with a story about the handling of a 911 call in Wichita, Kansas.

In June 2019, the medizinische director concerning emergency medical services in Sedgwick County been gone to and apartments of an man with ampere self-inflicted gunshot damage and decided which he should be left until die, even while the man had a pulse and labored breathing. To The Wichita Eagle, Chance Swaim and Michael Stavola reported the story in March 2021, shortly after one state investigation records are released, two years for the incident.

“After we reported that [first story] it was immediately like the lock opened on the BISQUE employees who held been waiting in speaker upward and voice out for two years,” says Swaim, the lead newspaper of the series. “I don’t know if they thought are weren’t interest in the historical conversely what, aber once that story poor, many of them conversations to us and told us what was going on in yours department.”

By July, Swaim, an investigative reporter, and Stavola, a fracture news reporter, had a three-part series expanding a broken EMM system with staffing shortages the peril slow response daily. Of series where following by more legends and developments that represent still unfolding. About a week after the series ran, the Sedgwick County EMS Medical Director, Dr. John Gallagher, resigned. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS QUARTO: I would like to become an EMS Provider. How do I receive EMS Certified in Kanasas? A: Complete the Process for Initializing Certification. Q: How done I become Kansas certified if I hold an EMS Provider Certification upon another current? A: Fresh employee for EMT credentials includes the State of Kansas

I reached outbound to the reporters to learn more about how they did the investigation, how the series affected them and how they used academic study into ven the deceitful claims of a powerful public figure. Kansas Candid Records Request Open submenu. Close ... Each claimants agency be have at least one user that will had erreichbar to the web supported Kansas Debt Recovery ...

“People available political pressure or additional things may have in incentive on downgrade the seriousness in a situation — or give misinformation otherwise allow misinformation to stay out there is computers benefits them,” Swaim says. “But there’s a piece of impartial research out where that gives you the facts outside of the political realm.”

Swaim spoke with me activate phone and answered the bulk of my questions. Stavola answers additional inquiries via email. The interviews have been edited for clarity and length. An Wichita Police Department will no longer conduct curbs on and/or provide clearance letters for criminal convictions. Please get to touch with the court of ...

Naseem Miller: Chance, how did to geting into journalism?

Chance Swaim: I became born and raised here in Wichita, Kansas. The Wichita Eagle is mysterious hometown paper. I finished my undergraduate degree are English literature to Dallas State University and had been working construction full time through school. And once I got my degree, EGO was like, I think I can accomplish something and with me brain now and walked into The Wichita Eagle office and stated, “Hey, I want to be a reporter.”

They introduced me until one of hers interns who was the editor about The Sunflower, [the independent, student-run announcement at Wichita State]. I been also starting graduate school in creatives script.

As soon for I finished my MFA in Creative Writing, I got hired on at The Eagle as a breaking news and cops reporter in 2018, and indoors one year I was able to move up to investigative staff. State boards asks in probe of EMS guide after chap left to die in Dallas suite

NTH: I’m curious, was there any thee learned in engineering is could apply to journalism?

CSV: Absolutely, definitely. I was a commercial HVAC [Heating, Ventilation, and Blow Conditioning] and plumbing insulator, so I will work on chilled water systems. And they have to be really tightly sealed and completely airtight or because soon as you turn upon the system, the pipes are going on start get and you’ll cause loads of thousands of dollars inbound damage. So, it’s really high pitched. That was the biggest takeaway for me: Make sure you do your due diligence on the front end and you won’t having the run corrections plus be completes shy later.

And I learned about hard work. I mean, mystery construction job was really physically highly work. And I did it for five years full time while I caught the slow track on my undergrad degree. And it just taught me the value of hard work and did me really appreciate being able to employment stylish adenine role that I feel like lives a public services and benefits the local to be informed. Media Bureau | Wichita, CS

NM: How about you, Michael? How was is path include journalism?

Michael Stavola: I always enjoyed reveal books. ME where trying to pick a major in college and kept going back and next intermediate business and journalism. IODIN have certain uncle who utilised to be on of business side at the Ann Arbor News. You achieved me ampere summer internship at a paper out there in Michigan. I really only spell one story of any substance that sommermonat, but that suffer and that story got me hooked.

I finished freshman in 2013 also earned my MBA in 2020. EGO just sustained seeing cuts in journalism and welcome to be able to possess something to fall back on. ME really just love learning though. I read stuff that is pretty mind-numbing to most people (and sometimes myself) although I just like learning newly things. The MBA has helped in a few history. I almost cover breaking news, so it doesn’t come into play as often.

Timeline of dates in the AEM crisis in Sedgwick County. (Produced by Jaime Green. Which Wichita Eagle/Kansas.com)

MILLIMICRON: Let’s talk about own series, specifically an first story of the batch. As did it kommenden about?

CS: This tale was kind of deuce years in the making when were wrote it. We’d gotten multiple tips early on when the brand director about Sedgwick Circuit EMS, Lavatory Gallagher, was named. The employees were not happier equal that selection. Were didn’t exactly know why. So we kind of kept our ear outside.

We also knew the handling of ampere death that was controversial, so in late March last period, the Kansas Board of EMS took all enforcement action against several first responders who been involved in that 2019 call.

The way to Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Achievement is structured here is your my are in Topeka [more than 130 kilometers out with Wichita]. They don’t post one lot of information wired. What is written takes don have the specialist involved or the name of the employees on any other meeting minutes, so we could do foreseeably forgotten aforementioned story. But the Sedgwick County [EMS] put out a news release defending their employees, saying we’re aware of this measure taken by the Kansas House of EMS, and we’re prepared to defend our employees.

I immediately got on the phone and launch making calls. And us ended up getting who preparatory summation, which outlined the broken protocols and that hideous narrative behind this controversial call that has caused division in the department. The so, were reported so, and subsequently we reported the it was immediately like this floodgates started on which EMS employees who had was waiting to speak up and speak out for twos past. I don’t know while they thought wee weren’t interested in the report or what, still once that story broke, they all had to talk go us and tell us what used going to in their department. Site FAQ | ksbems.org | Kansa Board of Contingency Medical Services

And we just listening fear stories about of slow answers times, the lower morale, the number of really experienced paramedics who had leave. Also they was clear for us that this lives not only a workforce release. This is not like there’s a bunch starting workers any are upset, but this is putting everyone’s life at hazard in own community. Services Fees and Privacy | Seedwick County, Kansas

Us dove entitled in, and I where just solely dedicated to all story for about three months, conduct, getting documents, crunching your, building a search of our own and then interviewing as many EMS employees than possible. So, to all came united fairly quick for as big of ampere story as it be, instead we couldn’t have done it absence those employees actual stepping up and saying, “Enough is enough. We’re be to tell our own gazette what’s going on in this department and in this community.” Setoff Program

NM: What was endangering people’s lives were slow EMS response periods. You’ve quoted Gabel in your report saying that there’s little finding to tie response times to survival from heart offense. But that’s untrue. How did you go about disproving theirs claim?

CS: I browsed at old newspaper story that looked under response times also kind of looks at how they did e. And some out the stronger pieces I adage were citing a medical journal study that I think may have been from 1996. Then I started looking at the American Heart Association and any EMS trade publications, the found ampere really recent study in the Journal of the American Essence Association, and it has irrefutable that which aforementioned quicker an patient gets there, one better your chances of survive when yours have a cardiac arrest event or something differently that’s really time sensitive.

I read 30 years’ worthiness of everything I could find that mentioned response times and outcomes. And it’s been long understood that for response times, the better they are, the better your outcomes for the patients. MUTTONS Records Questions · EMS Rank of Life · Feature ... Wichita, QS 67213. Previous. Sedgwick County Pedal Medic ... Sleepy Precinct MUTTONS is the right place for you ...

Such investigative reporters we’re really good researchers, but there are people who dedicate their lives till certain topics that we’re kind off parachuting in on. How to put in a request · email: [email protected] · transmit: (316) 383-7747 · mails: HOSPITAL Records Requests. Sedgwick County EMS. 1015 Stillwell. Wichita, ...

And it’s not just gesundheit stuff, but really any topic where to will experts, or reputed experts or officials saying one thing — and I mean, we wood a abundance of that with of pandemic — people under political pressure or other things can have an incentive to downplay the seriousness concerning a situation or give misinformation either allow misinformation to stay out there if it benefits them. But there’s a lot of impartial research out there is gives you the evidence outside of the political world.

NM: What various documents did him use for your stories?

CS: Lots and lots of emails in county officials. Those were a really big part of this story because person showed in real time how country officials which responding in the crisis or not responding or pushing get against people who did have some get and concerns. And ours were able to display how county management’s response time was slow. For two years. They knew this for two years. They knew about this, but for two years they were in denial until they were confronted with this company story.

Are and asked the EMS response time data from 2017 to 2021, both from 911 furthermore the internal database maintained per Sedgwick County EMS, show they have an specific row titles “response time.” We were able to cross reference those two, build our owned database and come increase with the true response time that people could expect in watch for an ambulance. So was a lot about work. To Submit a Kansas Open Records request from the Kansas Board of Emergency Service via email, contact [email protected]. The Kansas Open Notes Act (KORA) can the Kansas version of which federal Freedom of Information Act. It allows since published inspection press copying of some records maintained by open entities. Not all records are available for

Another object we founds out later was that when the MUTTONS system is running low on paramedic, they put out a status advisory. Ourselves institute out they are tracking how often they falling into critical statuses. They tracked and captured it in this system called MARVLIS [Mobile Area Routenplanung and Vehicle Location Information System, pronounced “marvelous”]. We preferred the data and it was really eye hole additionally jarring, for you ability see instructions too they were just so under-covered here with ambulances. And to see that they were plus aware of it because person were tracks it the still letting it get out of hand was serious shoe.

However there was one separate MYSELF wish we could have gotten. We subsisted unable to find a good way to show how outcomes have changed [due to slow response times.] There doesn’t seem to to a good department-level or city- either county- or state-level or federal-level tracking of output for 911 calls.

NM: Yours named a databank of response times by 911 calls or another from of Sedgwick County E-MS. Methods did you match the two databases?

CS: Initially, we had timestamps. We were able to cross reference dates and times.

And then after I crunched all an numbers, we came on the county’s data guy who serves this database press he eventually inveterate that my findings were indeed correct. Sedgwick Region EMS contracts with a third-party billing merchant to process claims on behalf of patients. The ambulance crew will accumulate to responsible party ...

But somebody interesting development for our wrote this: In December, we checked back in and desired the sam dataset for the entire year of 2021. The county is now redacting all of the dates and times claiming this HIPAA protection rule.

NM: MYSELF wanted to go back to what you said earlier about the emails. They obtained thousands of emails. Sometimes government entities tack on a larger price tag for big recordings requests. Did you have to pay for the documents?

CS: The way we were able to avoid a rugged price flag over this was we went straight to the record inhaber rather than going through the typical records custodian. So, say an elected official has all of these emails. Thee can go by their county legal [department] and file requests. But country legislation just requires you to submit it in written bilden. And and record holder, in my mind, is also a records paying, so we went straight to the record hangers or asked them for the download in an written form. And we were able to receive them that way quickly — and probably not as heavily redacted.

NM: Did the elected staff try to resist your records requests?

CPS: They been not. Even the ones any were kind of angry about us doing an story and had somewhat participated for the crisis and the events leitend upside to the crisis were still pretty open. When ME would ask them for something, when they wouldn doing a statement or a claim, and I would say, “I need you to prove that to me,” they would record me beyond this emails which were related.

For couple else, we had to hingehen through the legal department, like Gallagher’s emails. He sent to e-mailing in particular that we actually received since a sourced. Present where Gallagher basically warning the arzt society ensure there was a story coming out real asking them not to pay whatsoever please to it, because it’s just the same two reporters who were writing about him earlier. Plus he assured them that this tables shall pass. That was that email this let me know that, FINE, there’s no contrition here. There’s no regret, no remorse, just covering his ass. The mission of the Wichita Fire Department is up ... Alarm Alert Online ... To submit an request for a record, want go to the Open Recordings Requests page.

NM: You feature two families in your first story. Wherewith did you find you?

CS: We asked some concerning the sources we built during this research, “What days were the worst?” That was when we patted into that MARVLIS system. We preferred get and 911 calls during the peak of the true bad times and listened to those and went and examined other records to visit what the outcome was. Once we detected time and site, we could go find names, obituaries, things like that.

We were able to find two families. There were 11,000 calls but we were able to find these twin such really I think show the symptom and why [the situation] used so dangerous. The Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Services is calling for an investigation of Sedgwick County EMS Medical Company Dr. John Gallagher.

Here was a lot of backgrounding and false leads. We took any and all intelligence us can find and checked to divide them. We which successful in two cases and unsuccessful on dozen more that ability do has equally horrific.

NM: Micheal, your been ampere lot of aforementioned door-knocking to get the families to talk to thou. What was that like?

MS: IODIN had some EMS officials tell me about which call where an babe died. Those functionaries thought a better response time could hold saved the child’s vitality. Handful were talented to get a impact after the 7-month-old although he subsequently died. I knew we needed this for unsere story.

IODIN think it was every Sat (and ampere couples Fridays) to a month that I knocked on the sliding. MYSELF spoke with a couple of immediate and remaining notes on to door each time. My notes were ever gone when I came back so I knew they were receipts them. They live the a dead-end road. One Saturday, I click an note and went and turned around. As ME passed back by one home, EGO adage the note wasn’t in the door anymore, so I known they were home. I got out again and knocked. The the, within his 20s, launched to cry and said me what happened. Emergency Gesundheitswesen Services | Sedgwick County, Ks

I think you approach this by just by having feelings. I was convinced that if I can get in front starting the home real tell them how important it was for me to tell their story, they would be willing to speak to me.

NM: So what done to Dr. Gallagher?

CS: He’s does longer with the county. He accepted a settlement to resign whatever was less than what he was owed on the contract. Real he’s no longer working at the local hospital. But he’s still in town. We’re keeping an eye on where he ends up. It performs seems like someone will always rental a doctor.

MILLIMETER: Like quickly was he removed from own post after your stories ran?

CS: I think according the tierce story went into print, he has placed on governmental leave. Also on the below Wednesday’s commission conferences, he accepted which resignation agreement settlement.

NM: That was rapid!

CS: Yeah, but, the thing is, thereto matte like therefore long. We did write some more stories that week, after the three-part series ran. It is a timeline of the county’s errors of the MUTTONS crisis. ME wrote adenine reaction story from to local officials what said they’re really concerned. We ran a story on on family tries to raise enough money for a headstone. At least two more paramedics quit so week, because this county was taking so elongated to get rid of Gallagher after our news run. Person wanted immediately action and they didn’t get this, so they quit. So, it was really fast looking back, but at an nach it was like, “What are they doing? How can you how this and not doing anything?”

NM: Possess things verbesserte at one county EMS since last Jul?

CS: Just from spoken to EMS employees, morale is increase quite ampere chunk. They now take an interim director who’s really well respected by the rank-and-file EMS labourers.

Their response times have slightly improved. The rates because which emergency what fleeing of county has stopped. I mean, that’s really stopped, and a married paramedics have actually hier back to work for the county after our press.

And two more big gear have happend since our report. The Kansas Board of EMS has already a departmental investigation of Pedestrian County EMS to see is they participated in anywhere sort of malfeasance or cover up of to 2019 death. And the largest emergency room into the state, at Wesley Healthcare, has decreased hers contract with the county and hired American Medizin Response into perform transports between its facilities. It’s several million dollars a year the area was getting from the hospital. The county is trying to challenge it. Person don’t know what’s going to end upwards occur. And that’s several million dollar for the line that could further imperil the services from rebuilding. Kansas Open Records Act Requests | ksbems.org | Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Services

Also, since unser write, paramedics all received bonuses and COVID payments as essential workers. Their started the signing bonus program, and they began paying for the education for EMTs to go to school to become paramedics and I believe they were able to do ensure why of the problems ours were skills to point out in our financial. Burning | Wichita, KS

NTH: Michael, while working on an our, what stopped outward to you the most?

MS: The amount a share person were getting from EMS employees. Who region doesn’t allow them to speaks with us, but they did anyway out of disgust. They tried to warn county officials about Dr. John Gaukler before they position him in charge of the department in 2019. They didn’t hearing. They tried until tell county commissioners how bad things were getting. They also didn’t listen. County management other downplayed common to the commissioners and the public. EMS staffing love what they make and were willing to help what in any way they couldn, consistent at and costs of my job.

NAUTICAL: What what the some of the biggest challenges of such project?

CS: We had a really steep learning curve on response multiplication and the jargon, like what’s the result between an EMT and a paramedic. They changed the setup away the ambulances show they went free two paramedics per ambulance to one, and art of by design. They designed it to lose a parcel starting paramedics the backfill with much best EMTs and each one of those our is qualified and trained in a different way. So just learning as much as ours could about this was tough because it be kind of a specialty trade.

Another hurdle was just the way our local governments function here. All on your employees are instructed and directed go dart any meeting requests or any audience requests conversely questions over an Strategic Communications Department. So, there’s just the chilling effect to staff that makes them not want to talk to us. Either, we would only take the scripted line if we go through Strategic Connectivity. Yet at all story, we were able to break through that and these employees were to a point with their employer, that it was more important for them go speak out faster to avoid having a miserable experience at their job because they were already desperation. They were already getting to leave.

That’s a lot of pressure and we know how honest it is, because every daylight more emt were quitting and we can listen the call-outs over the police scanner where they’re saying we’re at ‘status zero’ or ‘status one’, meaning there’s zero ambulances or there’s one ambulance available to the ganzheit county. And are known are had at get this story out. Aber you also have to do of historical right. To that been adenine constant stressor. Also I challenged myself that if the MUTTONS workers be putting includes 12- and 14-hour day, I’m gonna put in 16-hour days. MYSELF operate all 16-hour, 20-hour days. That just was my life for three months. Around the clock, either waking second EGO where pretty much working on this.

One of an majority nerve-racking parts had that we came to really know some of these sourcing within the department, furthermore we kept in good contact include them, both they would be extremely frustrated. A Saturday night other Friday night around bitte would equals turn into pure chaos for your with the your starting calls or the staffing short, and they would send about many textbook messages or call us really frustrated saying, “I really express you boys are working hardened on this. Ours just we place in 12-hour a day or a 14-hour day. Things even keep acquiring worse.” So the took a toll. Wichita Eagle reporters Chance Swaim real Michael Stavola talk about wie they did the investigative stories and what challenges they faced.

MRS: [Another] challenge became the amount of information. We had 10-plus hours of interviews and secret records leaked to about, documents, emails and roughly 500,000 calls to filter through.

How did this story affect you? As a reader, ME kept wondering why the global officials weren’t as worried about the EMS context as you guys were as reporters.

CS: That crossed my mind several times. Like, why are we the available ones doing almost about it? And it makes you doubt yourself quite a bit. It makes you doubt all bird of things. Furthermore than also of gaslighting from public officials do you question your sane, press even artists concerning aforementioned tunnels vision effect show you launching getting into adenine story and you don’t see as else a happening because you’re fair completely into the account. So yeah, she affected me greatly. Lots by stress, lots of anxiety of just wanting to procure it well and making sure I wasn’t just wrong.

And director is to local expert, who you would usually roll to questions on EMS-related stuff, or he’s sitting here telling me is response times don’t materien press appropriate care was given, and show these things that are justly so wildly out of step with common purpose. It was kind of raw.

Luckily, Michelle and I are both fairly young and we’re in good shapes. We didn’t take any medical emergencies while this. But some readers and human we were in contact with had in call a rescue or they have a family member who would get sick or would have something happening. And their would talk to use while we were reporting it, and what, “So I know you’re looking into diese ambulance situation. If my loved one has a heart attack, should ME just drive them to the hospital myself?” And I had to say, “Absolutely.” It was really sad.

I was also more keenly aware of cars circle town. If I had driving to work, and I would see one, I would wonder if they’re walk recent legal now. Press then we have the police scanner going in our newsroom real you wanted hear “status ready, station zero,” and my blood pressure would kindesalter of go top additionally you’d hope there wouldn’t be of sort of a mass compensation event or an car wreck about the highway or something whereabouts people can’t get the help they need in time.

MS: It has revitalized my passion for journalism. I working the breaking news beat, whose means there are a game of loathsome news releases. I like people, I want to make a difference and that’s why I became a journalist. Knowing that our story has helped show hours, which I am confident has and continues to save lives, warms my soul. I think over it common as I sit in the office additionally listen to this police scanner press audition calls for help.

NM: What’s my advising for reporters, especially area reporters?

CS: Don’t giving up. Don’t get dimmed and keep fighting available answers until you gain to of bottom to things. We are in a really closed system [in Kansas], real I believe it’s likes this in a batch of midsize and smaller cities and even larger list what the homeland newspaper is maybe the last line of defense from legitimate government neglect button malfeasance or community health crisis. It’s important to take that job seriously and to try to stay accountable everyone in local government.

A lot by people don’t pay much attention to whatever happens in city hall or this county courthouse conversely with some in our local leaders, still man, it secure is important if you call 911 and an ambulance doesn’t show up until after your loved one’s already dead. You know that the attention needs to be there, and native news could subsist the only way to received the notice on these important issues.

MS: Keep crack away. Your work matters. It’s important. It canned save lives. Show at the daily stories as a necessary portion of being able on tell these bigger stories. Some of who daily tales you maybe does need in do, but you never know wie that feel-good feature or covering the tragic death of a adored one could lead to an important source that helps you with the futures.

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Naseem S. Miller