Medical director sets care guidelines

Your recent article concerning the termination of a captain in the Cedar Rapids Fire Department requires further clarification (“Fire captain ‘confused' over firing,” July 23).

State law and administrative rules clearly state that the medical director is responsible for determining guidelines under which an advanced EMT may provide pre-hospital care. Additionally, he/she can only provide that care under the direction of the service program medical director as outlined in those guidelines.

The advanced EMT in the field is operating under the direction of the medical director and that medical director is entitled to determine who may or who may not provide care at his/her direction. Ultimately, the Civil Service Commission, city government or the department have no say in who a medical director may allow to practice under his/her license. If the medical director does not like the care being delivered by an individual under his/her license, they can be denied this permission.

This is not an issue of suspension of employment as that decision is made by the department. This is an issue of a medical director being allowed to protect their license.

I am sure that the department, which does an outstanding job for the city, feels fortunate to have a deeply involved, conscientiousness, medical director such as Dr. Brad Wisnousky who has many years of experience in pre-hospital care. There are service programs out there who would consider themselves fortunate to have a medical director such as Wisnousky.

Tim Trosky

Cedar Rapids