On March 14 Arlington Heights police received a report of a stolen GPS unit and MP3 player from a vehicle in the 1500 block of West Lillian. A window was smashed to break in to the vehicle either March 13 or 14.

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Arlington Heights firefighters were awakened for an unusual alarm at about 3 a.m. Friday. Several clear, frozen objects or debris hit the manufacturing plant of Weber Marking Systems, 711 West Algonquin Road in Arlington Heights, Illinois [MAP/SAT]. Weber Marking Systems world headquarters is located near the plant. No one was near the incident site and no one was injured.

The Arlington Heights Police department and the FAA are investigating the incident. Nobody is saying whether or not the objects are suspected of coming from an aircraft. Blue ice — frozen wastewater — from an aircraft has been ruled out, but icy sources from other water supplies on an aircraft have not been ruled out. The building is in flight paths to and from O’Hare International Airport, which is less than six miles away. The force of the objects — about four inches diameter — was enough to create a two by four-foot hole in the roof and bring the objects through the roof.

Weber Marking Systems is located in at least 16 other countries and designs and produces label printers, labels, such as compact disc labels, and RFID smart labels (radio frequency identification labels).

webermarking.com

Buffalo Grove residents are advised to boil their water until further notice.

The Buffalo Grove water supply test positive for fecal coliform bacteria  during routine testing.

The bacteria can make residents sick and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems. When fecal coliform levels are high, there is an an elevated risk of waterborne gastroenteritis.

Boil water for one minute and cool before using.
The following uses of water should comply with the boil order:

Large quantities of fecal coliform bacteria in water may indicate a higher risk of other pathogens also present in the water. Some waterborne pathogenic diseases include ear infections, dysentery, typhoid fever, viral and bacterial gastroenteritis, and hepatitis A.

EPA Notice on Fecal Bacteria
Village of Buffalo Grove website — vbg.com (server was not responding Friday afternoon)

In Chicago they call it “Bypass” in New York they call it “Diversion.” Whatever they call it, experts say it is sign of the emergency medical system in trouble.

The practice of diverting ambulances from overcrowded emergency rooms has become widespread — and the delay in treatment can have fatal consequences.

Consider these medical statistics:

— One ambulance per minute is diverted or bypassed from the nearest hospital —  500,000 ambulance diversions per year. Source: Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

— In 2000, Columbia University in New York City found that fatalities from heart attacks increased by as much as 47 percent as a result of diverting ambulances.

— In Houston, Texas, the average rate of diversion was 14 percent in 2001. Today, the rate is 40 percent. Source:  Dr. Guy Clifton, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Texas in Houston.

— Americans are using emergency rooms more than ever in today’s society. In 2005, 115 million Americans went to the ER, up five million from the year before. Source: Centers for Disease Control.

— Between 1994 and 2004, there was a 20 percent increase in the demand for emergency care, according to the CDC, which is most likely due to an increase in the nations’ uninsured and growing elderly population.

During those years, 9 percent of the nation’s ERs closed, having lost money from inadequate reimbursement, according to the CDC.

— A recent Harvard study found the average waiting time for a patient to see a doctor in the ER jumped from 22 minutes in 1997 to 30 minutes in 2004. The same study showed patients with coronary episodes waited 8 minutes in 1997; in 2004, they waited 20 minutes.

— Of 1,000 doctors polled by the American College of Emergency Physicians last year, 200 said they knew of a patient who died because of failure to deliver prompt care in an overcrowded emergency department.

Many people also abuse the system by calling paramedics for non-emergency calls, like headaches, diarrhea, or simple frost bite.

In Arlington Heights, Illinois many ambulance calls by emergency paramedic ambulances are used to transfer residents from extended care facilities to the hospital. Emergency paramedic ambulances are also busy treating and transporting homeless people who are often found passed out, drunk on warm ventilation grates near sidewalks of commercial buildings.

Combine these factors and the emergency medical system is near a crisis stage.

Bellevue Hospital Center, the nation’s oldest public hospital, treats many of New York City’s disenfranchised residents. Few of these patients can afford private doctors.

One cause of emergency department gridlock is the practice known as “boarding.”

Admitted patients are left in the emergency department for extended stays until hospital beds become available — and patient care suffers.

The American College of Emergency Physicians supports Congressional passage of the Access to the Emergency Medical Services Act. This bill would recognize the need for more money to sustain an ailing system that must provide care to everyone, including those who can’t pay by creating a national bipartisan commission to examine the delivery of care in the nation’s emergency departments.

The act also calls on the government to collect data on the widespread practice of boarding so that new guidelines can be applied. A vote on the bill is expected by April.

See also …
FOXNEWS.COM : Emergency Rooms in America: A Deadly Prognosis