Vet Dies Waiting for Ambulance 500 Yards from ER
12-31-1969
A Veterans Affairs hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is reviewing its policy after a vet died while waiting for an ambulance to take him to the emergency room just 500 yards away.
Witnesses say the man collapsed in the cafeteria Monday of what looked like a heart attack.
Staff followed procedure and called 911, but it took half an hour for the ambulance to arrive and transport the victim to the emergency room, which is located in another building on the hospital compound.
In fact, that other building is only a four-minute walk from the cafeteria.
Some are questioning why the man was not strapped to a gurney and just wheeled to the emergency room.
