GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A Gaston County commissioner is calling for a review of Gaston Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) after an allergic reaction turned deadly.
The NBC Charlotte Defenders team broke the story on Wednesday about a woman who died after being stung by a bee outside her Cherryville home.
Her friend called 911, but records showed it took more than 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
Gaston County Commissioner Ronnie Worley watched the Defenders investigation and said the emergency response is not acceptable. Now, he’s looking at what can be done about it.
NBC Charlotte obtained an audio recording of the woman’s son calling 911.
“My mom is on the floor looking like she's about to die,” the son told the 911 dispatcher.
“That’s just unthinkable that they would go through that,” Commissioner Worley told NBC Charlotte.
Dominique Coleman also called 911 after he says the woman he loved was stung by a bee behind their Cherryville home in October.
“She meant the world to me,” Coleman told NBC Charlotte.
Monica Apolinario, 44, needed an ambulance right away. However, the NBC Charlotte Defenders team found she did not get one, not for more than 30 minutes.
“If I knew what I know today, I would just try to drive her myself,” Coleman told NBC Charlotte.
NBC Charlotte also obtained dispatch records that showed Cherryville firefighters arrived in about ten minutes. However, Gaston County EMS said their nearest ambulance was 14 miles away, so Lincoln County was dispatched.
Records showed that Lincoln County Ambulance crew did not arrive until 33 minutes after the initial 911 call. Gaston County’s goal for response time is ten minutes.
“It’s certainly not acceptable,” Commissioner Worley told NBC Charlotte.
Commissioner Worley is now calling for the agency to review staffing and other resources.
“I would ask that our GEMS personnel go back and look at the situation thoroughly,” Commissioner Worley said.
In a statement on Thursday, Gaston County EMS said there was an unusually high surge in calls at the time. However, on Wednesday, Gaston EMS also acknowledged a staffing issue during the interview.
NBC Charlotte asked if the agency needed more money for more staffing.
“It definitely wouldn't hurt. Staffing is always an issue,” responded Jamie McConnell, deputy director of Gaston County EMS.
“If the need is there and they ask for it, we are going to try to get them the resources they need,” Commissioner Worley told NBC Charlotte.
Firefighters first on scene administered epinephrine, but it wasn’t enough to save Monica’s life. Coleman told NBC Charlotte she was taken off life support about a week after the incident.
“I do think if they responded quicker, it could have ended differently,” Coleman told NBC Charlotte.
“Let's go back and look at this again and see if there is something we can do to prevent this from happening in the future,” Commissioner Worley told NBC Charlotte.
GEMS has 134 full time certified providers on staff, 115 of which are paramedics. The agency has four opening positions, according to Commissioner Worley.
GEMS encourages anyone with a known or potential allergy to bee stings or other allergens to carry an EpiPen or have an EpiPen readily available.
Coleman said Monica was not aware she was allergic to a bee sting until it was too late.
The NBC Charlotte Defenders wanted to know whether the delay in response was caused or aggravated by a shortage in GEMS staffing or equipment. So WCNC filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, asking the department for specifics on its ambulance fleet and personnel, both paramedics and EMTS, over the past five years. GEMS provided the following information:
