Kentucky EMS team under fire for treating man with antivenom

[bcr229]

So... if you work with venomous snakes and you have antivenom on hand, be prepared to stick yourself.


https://www.wkyt.com/2025/09/24/ky-e...ith-antivenom/


Ky. EMS team under fire for treating man with antivenom
By Alyssa Williams
Published: Sep. 24, 2025 at 5:48 PM EDT


POWELL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - In May, WKYT brought you the story of James Harrison, the director of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo.


He was bitten by a highly venomous Jameson's Mamba while working.


Harrison got the antivenom he needed to live, which they had there at the zoo, but he still spent days recovering in the ICU.


Now, the first responders who helped administer that antivenom are in hot water.


"I'll be honest with you, I think it's ridiculous," said Powell County Judge-Executive Eddie Barnes.


Barnes said he and another EMS worker were called to assist Harrison when he was bitten.


"The victim had told us that we needed to administer the antivenom as soon as possible, and if not, the first stages are paralysis, second stage was respiratory arrest, third stage was cardiac arrest, then he said, ‘I'm going to die,'" Barnes said.


Barnes said they were unable to reach their EMS director, but they did speak with medical staff at Clark Regional Medical Center.


While they were waiting for a helicopter to take Harrison to UK hospital, they gave him the antivenom.


It's a decision Harrison's wife, Kristen Wiley, is thankful for.


"Every physician that we've talked to about it, and about the course of the bite, agrees that they were heroes and did what needed to be done to save him. That's who I want working on me in an emergency," Wiley said.


The Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services, or KBEMS, may think otherwise.


Barnes said he later learned KBEMS' policy changed two years ago, and that only wilderness paramedics can administer antivenom now.


"If we had sat there and let him die, then we would have been morally and ethically responsible, and we could have been criminally charged for his death," Barnes said.


That's why Barnes, who has his paramedic's license, and other EMS workers will go before KBEMS to argue why they should keep their licenses.


"If it came down today, I would do the same thing. You cannot put a price on a person's life," Barnes said.


Their hearing will take place on September 30.


WKYT has reached out to KBEMS regarding this situation, but has not heard back yet.

[Lord Sorril]

Obviously the person/group who wrote the procedure has a fragile ego and cannot handle issuing a correction.

[Homebody]

I take issue with the statement that these EMTs are in "hot water." Anyone who has to follow policies, at some point, has to explain why they didn't follow the policy. In the medical field, the process is more formal because lives and huge sums of money are at stake. Now, assuming the facts are as stated in the article, I would take issue with these EMTs being disciplined. In fact, I feel they should be commended.

Additionally, I'm not an EMT or doctor, but this policy seems reasonable to me. In areas with ready access to hospitals (not the wilderness), it seems to me a reasonable policy to leave decisions on whether and what type of antivenom to administer to doctors. No policy can cover every situation. This situation was highly unusual. There was no doubt about what species bit the man. It was identified by an expert that was very familiar with that particular animal. The species was extremely venomous, much more venomous than the snakes native to Kentucky. And they had a vial of the proper antivenom at the ready. The decision to break with policy and administer the antivenom in this situation was a no-brainer.

[Bogertophis]

The EMTs did the right thing for sure. Policy makers need more schooling... & they need to change this silly regulation. I was going to suggest a waiver from the patient might be a way around it, but what if the patient loses consciousness, & there's no adult to speak (sign) for them? The EMTs had no choice...his death -if they didn't administer it- would have been blamed on them too.