Private ambulance companies to discuss policy change after death of woman at bus stop

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Bell Ambulance may be changing some of their policies and procedures. 

This comes after the death of 49-year-old Jolene Waldref near 76th and Congress last month. 

Curtis Ambulance was called to help Waldref, who had fallen at a bus stop in the area. She called dispatch for help, but first responders did not get out of their vehicle while responding to her 911 call and said they could not find her.

Twenty-two minutes later, two bystanders called 911 and the Milwaukee Fire Department was dispatched. They found Waldref on the ground between two snowbanks and a trash can. She was pronounced dead, with the cause reported as probable hypothermia. 

Curtis Ambulance defended their response, noting protocol does not include paramedics getting out of their vehicle to look for a patient.

Now, Bell Ambulance says they will meet with the Milwaukee Fire Department on Wednesday, Feb. 7. 

They hope to create a revised standard operating procedure for when a patient cannot be located right away.