Those closest to Kenya Barona described her as a jovial and helpful woman - one that went out of her way to do what she could to assist others. But now, Barona's loved ones are planning her burial - and they're blaming BERT Ambulance service for not giving her a fighting chance.
Her family claims that they waited over 30 minutes for an ambulance to reach Barona's Supal Street address on Friday night after she suffered a fainting spell, presumably due to her high blood pressure. But that ambulance never came. Later, they found out the company was more interested in collecting their $20 fee than saving a woman's life.
Courtney Menzies spoke with her family and has the details in this story.
It takes about 10 minutes for a vehicle to travel from Coney Drive to Supal Street, when there is no traffic.
This was the circumstance under which an ambulance needed to get to an apartment building to assist a Kenya Barona after she fainted. But after what they say is over 30 minutes of waiting, the family had lost hope of it ever arriving.
Her common-law husband, who by her side through the entire ordeal, said that they had to resort to getting police officers from a nearby checkpoint - but by then it would have been too late.
Voice of: Ervin Fitzgibbon, Common-law Husband
"All that space of time, she's talking to me about her wanted to lie down but I didn't want to her to lie down, I want her to go to hospital. Then after that when I look about half an hour, because all the while we are talking good, then those people didn't show up so I said let's try to take her to hospital so that's how we took her. That police came and assist us and in that space of time we were still waiting for the ambulance, they didn't show up."
What he didn't know was that Barona's friend, who had called 911 twice when the ambulance did not arrive quickly, had later been asked by BERT if they would be able to pay the fee - before even dispatching the ambulance.
Farrah, Friend of Deceased
"They say they need to find out some questions before they reach. They say they need to know what is wrong with her and whatever. I said to the person that the lady is obese and she has a lot of things that is wrong with her and I told the person that they need to come now. The person says that there is a caution fee that needs to be pay, $20. I said you all haven't reach yet. The person said no and that they need to know that the $20 has to be paid before they come. That $20 cost my friend her life."
And today, Barona's family was still in dismay over the lack of urgency shown by BERT. Her aunt, Josephine Flowers, explained that she could not leave her house in the Pickstock area because of the curfew, but was constantly checking up on Barona via phone.
She told us that the BERT dispatcher had asked Barona's friend if she suffered from COVID - a question they would have no way of answering. Flowers also explained the way she felt when she realized that BERT was asking for payment before even rendering assistance.
Josephine Flowers, Aunt of Deceased
"When I heard that I was so angry. They said that they were on their way. When they reach her address my niece was already dead at the hospital because with the help of the policemen and some neighbors they carried her out and they took her to the emergency, but it was too late. My niece was not given a chance to get the medical attention that she need and that is what makes me angry. We need to do better for our people in Belize and I don't care what BERT says. I know that they have a lot of new employees, they need to train them well. If you could ask for money before you save a life, you need to get another job and if that is what the company is saying then they need to rethink what their mission is. If their mission is to render assistance so that they could save you until you reach the hospital, then they need to rethink."
And instead of pursuing the normal course of legal action, Flowers said that the family's goal is to now ensure that no more families have to endure what they have been through.
Josephine Flowers, Aunt of Deceased
"No amount of money can bring my niece back. All I want to see is changes and I am not going to stop until we see better from them. How we can get it? We could do something as a community, because all the people who have listed their discontent and their hurt from what BERT has done to them, it's too numerous and one person life lost is too much. This hurt and also it makes me want to do something to make sure that there is a change. My niece will not die in vain. We will start with BERT, I'll start there."
Reporter
"So the family is planning to take legal action?"
Josephine Flowers, Aunt of Deceased
"It doesn't have to be legal in the sense that we go to a court. What we were thinking about is several things that could happen. Some people want us to sue, but who? we don't know and then as a family we discussed that maybe we could give a donation to them so that the other people who are less fortunate than us would not go through this same thing."
Barona's mother did not say much, but she added that $20 would be nothing to pay if it had saved her daughter's life - and in fact, she would have paid tenfold if necessary.
Sharon Flowers, Mother
"I was building a house for her, so twenty dollars wouldn't have been any problem. I gave them the permission to call the ambulance, so I would have paid that, paid that more and more because her house was nearly finish and I told her nobody would leave you outdoor, you will get something over your head."
BERT denied an interview, but issued a press release which explained that their standard operating procedure during a pandemic is to screen all calls before dispatching the ambulance. The dispatcher is tasked with contacting the caller to find out details about the situation to prepare the EMT's as well as to give over the phone instructions to assist the person in crisis as the ambulance makes its way to the location.
The release also says that they have responded to all emergency calls despite a patient's ability to afford the service, and that it is also a part of their standard procedure that all callers be advised of the service fee at the end of the call.
BERT said it would not give an interview until they spoke with the family, but up to the time of the interview this afternoon, the family said that the company had yet to reach out.
