Paramedic’s 911 response leads to warning from regulators

(Photo via Getty Images, logo courtesy of the State of Iowa)

An Iowa paramedic has been sanctioned by the state for an alleged failure to perform lifesaving services in response to a 911 emergency call.

According to the Iowa Bureau of Emergency Medical and Trauma Services, paramedic Katelyn Leisinger of Ute and her EMS partner responded to a 911 call on May 28, 2024. Upon arrival, Leisinger and her partner began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the patient.

However, the bureau alleges, Leisinger failed to continue resuscitative efforts, did not administer any medications, failed to initiate an airway for the patient and then discontinued any resuscitative efforts without authorization from what the bureau calls “online medical direction.”

The bureau has not publicly disclosed the nature or location of the 911 call, the EMS service that Leisinger worked for at the time, or whether the patient survived. In the past, Leisinger has worked for the Ute Ambulance Service.

The bureau has issued a warning to Leisinger and ordered her to complete a full class in advanced cardiovascular life support and a three-hour course in professional ethics.

Belle Plaine EMT warned

In an unrelated action, the bureau recently issued a warning to Emergency Medical Technician Jessica Waln of Belle Plaine.

The bureau alleges that on May 23, 2024, Waln was given a syringe of Versed and asked to administer the drug to a patient through an intravenous line, which she did. IV-medication administration does not fall within the allowable scope of practice for an Iowa EMT, the bureau noted.

No other details about the case were disclosed. In the past, Waln has worked for the Belle Plaine Area Ambulance Service.

Waln will be required to complete a two-hour course in professional ethics, according to the bureau.