AMR employee fired after man removed from ambulance

After an internal investigation into the Nov. 30 incident in which a Rochester man was asked to leave a city-contracted ambulance (AMR) and later died, AMR has announced that it has terminated one of the employees and initiated remedial training and corrective action for the other two employees involved.

“As first responders, we work to instill in all our employees a fundamental respect for and dedication to preserving human life,” an AMR spokesperson said in a statement released Friday afternoon. “We realize our standards for providing compassionate care and upholding human dignity weren’t met on Seneca Avenue on Nov 30, 2023, and we pledge to do better.”

The company stated that it independently contacted the New York State Department of Health Bureau of EMS and Trauma Systems, formally requested an investigation, and began gathering information and conducting interviews with all relevant AMR employees on January 16th. The investigation is ongoing and could take up to 90 days to complete.

The statement goes on to say:

“AMR remains committed to enhancing health outcomes in Rochester and will make every effort to prevent these types of tragedies from happening in the future. We are dedicated to working collaboratively with the residents of Rochester, advocacy groups, elected officials, and others. We are engaging with community organizations to seek feedback about how we operate, identify areas for improvement, build relationships, rebuild trust, and drive accountability.

“We would like to reiterate our heartfelt condolences to all those in our Rochester community affected by the November 30, 2023 incident on Seneca Avenue. We will continue to share updates as information becomes available.”