Marysville medics say UW Medicine owes them apology

MARYSVILLE — Medics who provided emergency care to four critically wounded teenagers at Marysville Pilchuck High School on Oct. 24 now say they are owed an apology from UW Medicine.

Seattle medical leaders’ false statements regarding the on-scene decision-making added pain to what was already the saddest day in many emergency responders’ lives, said Dean Shelton, speaking for Local 3219, the union that represents 91 Marysville firefighters and paramedics.

Shelton, a paramedic and fire captain, also is the representative for more than 800 firefighters in the northern region of the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters.

“We knew the truth would come out,” Shelton said Friday morning. “We knew that our members had met all industry standards. We knew our members had provided the greatest care… and with time, those (UW) statements would be proven wrong.”

UW’s motives in the immediate criticism remain unclear, Shelton said.

“They made statements that were out of context,” he said. “They made statements that were false. They made assumptions and they clearly didn’t take into account the facts.”

The controversy started within hours of the shootings. Publicly and privately, UW Medicine began questioning why Marysville medics put the victims into ambulances headed to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

UW leaders claimed the teens should have been flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and that medical helicopters were hovering over the high school and were waved off. Seattle media jumped on the story with fervor.

An investigation by The Herald turned up public records showing that Airlift Northwest helicopters weren’t even inside Snohomish County when trauma experts on the ground decided not to wait and sent the victims by ambulance to Providence.

Five students ultimately died from their wounds, including the shooter. One of the victims survived after being shot in the jaw.

The Marysville Fire District stands by the decisions and actions taken at the scene and at Providence, Interim Fire Chief Martin McFalls said Friday.

“I have no doubt that the victims of the MP tragedy received the best possible care available,” he said. “Our hope is that the families and this community will continue to heal and eventually move past this horrific incident.”

Local medics greatly respect the emergency medical professionals at both Harborview and Providence, Shelton said. Harborview provides the medical training required by the Marysville Fire District for firefighters who wish to become paramedics.

That makes the story told by UW Medicine even more puzzling, he said.

“We are paid to make decisions in these types of moments and our members went above and beyond, and the decisions they made in the time frame that they made them in was beyond exceptional,” he said. “For someone to criticize that, it’s beyond unacceptable. I would expect that the people responsible for those statements should own them and should make amends with the members and the people involved.”

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.