By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Carter County Ambulance director Tim Woods informed the board at the June meeting that new cameras were being installed in the station. Woods also reported that all of the bedrooms had locks installed and that the vehicle the board had voted to purchase from Boyd County at the previous meeting was now in service and performing well. Other vehicle updates and concerns included the news that air conditioning on one chase vehicle had malfunctioned and needed repaired. The repairs were done, and the vehicle is back in service at this time, Woods told the board.
“That’s the only expense we’ve had,” Woods told the board. As for future expenses, Woods said a ‘blend door’ for the air conditioning was needed for the vehicle purchased from Boyd County, and parts were being ordered.
Woods said that he hired a new employee and had sent out letters to inform other applicants for that position that they had not been hired. He also informed the board that he had removed a couple of employees from the part-time roster that either were no longer needed or had become problematic.
“You win some and lose some,” Woods told the board, and referenced some employees quitting recently. “So right now we are trying to recoup.”
Woods did not directly address letters sent to some of the dismissed employees which were shared with Carter County Times and which claimed that “(t)his decision has been made due to changes in staffing needs and restructuring.” Nor did he address questions about dismissing staff while the service is regularly looking for more employees to fill roles. Other dismissed employees said they believed they were let go as part of a “purge” following previous allegations of sexual harassment by other staff members and letters sent to public officials highlighting those claims and other issues. One of the employees to reach out to the Carter County Times claimed employees were written up for “negativity” and “hate speech” for questioning staffing and leadership decisions. Further questions about the issue were directed to the attorney for the ambulance board.
In spite of those issues, Woods told the board that concerning personnel they were doing really well, and his supervisors were doing a good job on daily operations.
“They are also doing a real good job scheduling, so we may sometimes have to cut back to three trucks after 8 or 9 pm. What I have started doing, which is going to be really helpful with overtime as well, is the day truck comes in and the 12-hour truck comes in at 7 am and works until 7 pm. The 24-hour crew comes in at 8 and works until 8 am the next day,” Woods said.
“We are trying a lot of new things,” Woods continued. “June was a really big month for us with the supervisors being off the road. The problem is I don’t have a place to put them, so they are sleeping on the couch right now.”
Woods said there were a couple of options to be discussed and considered to resolve that problem. Building an external building to serve that purpose would be expensive, he told the board. But rearranging the available space also has its challenges. One option was to purchase a prefab building to use for supply storage, but the need for climate control would necessitate insulating and installing heat and AC, at a cost Woods roughly estimated at $15,000. The other option would be to dedicate a portion of existing space, then wall it off to make the necessary sleeping quarters. That option would be less than the $15,000 estimate but would not serve the function as well. Woods was advised to get estimates for both options, and the board would consider how to proceed from that point.
The board also discussed the benefits of in-house versus external billing as well as part time and full time personnel. Meeting times and frequency were also discussed, and the general consensus among board members was that there were too many things the board needed to address on a regular basis for them to only meet bi-monthly or quarterly as they had previously considered, so it was decided that regular monthly meetings would continue.
In other business, the ambulance board had the final reading of their budget for the upcoming fiscal year. After discussion, the budget passed by unanimous vote.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
