One of the two Warwick EMTs who had their licenses suspended by the Department of Health after declining to transport a woman to Kent Hospital, who died later that day, has returned to active duty, while the second continues to be paid but is not assigned to a rescue crew.

A consent order was ratified June 22 by Jason Rhodes, chief of the Center for Emergency Medical Services, by which Brandon G. Colombo agreed to a 12-month suspended probation and submission of a plan to complete continuing education that among other things includes EMS rules and seizures.

The agreement signed by Colombo acknowledges violation of the consent order could result in further disciplinary action including, but not limited to, license suspension or revocation.

The case dates to Feb. 10, when Colombo and Michael Monteiro responded to a group home at 11:37 a.m. Monteiro was advised a 44-year old woman had experienced a seizure with subsequent breathing difficulty shortly before entering a sleep-like state in which she was found.

According to the consent order, after consulting with the group home staff and the facility’s nurse and a review of the woman’s medical history, Monteiro decided not to transport the woman to Kent. Monteiro reportedly advised the home staff if there was a change in the woman’s status to call 911 immediately “and rescue would come back.”

Shortly after leaving, the consent order reads, the woman began moaning and started making unusual breathing sounds. Rather than calling rescue again, the house manager and a member of the staff transported the woman to Kent themselves, arriving about 12:45 p.m. The hospital staff diagnosed the woman as having a tachycardia, and despite life-saving efforts, she died at 2:20 p.m.

The Department of Health learned March 1 that Colombo and Monteiro had performed emergency medical services for the woman. On the basis of the department investigation, Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott, the state’s health director, summarily suspended Colombo and Monteiro EMT licenses on March 4.

Neither the woman who died nor the group home where she resided was named in the consent order.

Mayor Frank Picozzi decried how long it has taken to arrive at this point. He said Colombo is back on a rescue and that Monteiro is putting in hours with the department, but not in the capacity of an EMT.

A spokeswoman for RIDOH offered no timetable as to when or if Monteiro license would be reinstated.