A man who was recently treated aboard a City of Brownsville EMS ambulance is saying that a week after a EMT administered an Intravenous (IV) tube in his arm, a bruise is still visible due to the "aggressive" way the paramedic stuck the needle in his vein.
Jose Luis Mendoza Jr., of Portway Acres subdivision said he wasn't feeling well on October 19 and his relatives called the Brownsville EMS. As he was being taken to a local hospital, one of the EMTs attempted to place the IV in his arm.
"The EMS paramedic aggressively grabbed my arm and with the other hand put the IV, moving it in apparent anger side to side and causing me great pain," he wrote. "It hurt so much, I got scared of the EMT's aggressiveness."
The rough treatment not only caused Mendoza great pain, but left a nasty bruise that lasted more than a week, at which time he contacted the Brownsville Fire Dept. Capt. Daniel Zuniga at Station 8, located at the Port of Brownsville.
Mendoza made a report about the incident October 25 to Zuniga, who then told him that he could also make the report to the Brownsville Police Dept. "I wrote a statement to Capt. Zuniga and after I gave it to him, he told me that maybe I shouldn't talk to the police, but to talk to EMS Chief Hector Valdez instead," Mendoza wrote.
Mendoza then contacted Valdez who asked that he provide him with his number and that he would give him a call.
With the bruise in his arm still clearly visible, Mendoza said he has not received any call from the EMS chief and wonders why EMTs with such aggressive and rough behavior toward patients are allowed to man the city ambulances.
"Whay are they so rough and angry with patients," Mendoza asked. "Who's supervising these guys?"