The Mehlville Fire Protection District will not transport patients to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center for now, according to an amended hospital run policy.

Until further notice, only in life-threatening situations when St. John’s is the nearest Level 1 trauma hospital will patients be taken there.

The Board of Directors agreed Dec. 20 that above all other reasons, the safety issue was cause enough to change the district policy while nurses at St. John’s are on strike.

Chairman Tom O’Driscoll said that while the hospital is assuring the public that it is fully staffed, the nurses come from outside agencies and don’t know the doctors or patients with whom they are working.

Chris Francis, president of Local 1889 of the International Association of Fire Fight-ers, asked that the topic be added to the board’s Dec. 20 meeting agenda. He said that the union’s Executive Board had been approached by a number of members who were concerned about crossing picket lines to bring patients to St. John’s.