By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Over the weekend an anonymous whistleblower or whistleblowers, claiming to represent a group of current and former “Concerned Employees of Carter County Ambulance Service,” sent media outlets a letter that they said they were also mailing via USPS to each of the ambulance board members, fiscal court magistrates, and the mayors of both Grayson and Olive Hill. In this letter the writer(s) allege multiple ethical violations among staff and leadership, as well as dereliction of duty, misuse of funds, favoritism, and unsafe work conditions, among other accusations.
The first allegation made in the letter is that leadership has initiated new policies without following proper procedure. The letter writer, displaying an insider’s insight of EMS policy, notes that a revised ethics policy was implemented and rolled out to staff on March 31. That policy includes a personal conduct clause that requires employees to “maintain the highest standard of integrity… (both) on and off duty.” It also requires all employees to abide by the code of ethics, and forbids abuse of power by soliciting gifts, discounts, or “anything of value where there is any direct or indirect connection between the solicitation and their (job).”
While nothing in this section of the policy itself was criticized, the Concerned Employees claim they were implemented without the approval of the ambulance board, as mandated by ambulance board directives.
The Concerned Employees also highlighted other policies they do find egregious, such as one which, “state(s) the agency has the authority to search a person’s belonging and electronic devices – even when they’re not directly on CCEMS property.”
The letter writer(s) also note that the policy was not only implemented without going through proper channels, but that the administration is selective in their enforcement of the policy.
“Despite this,” the Concerned Employees write, “it has come to our attention that Director Tim Woods and Deputy Director Mike Wears have attempted to have a recent DUI charge against Supervisor Robert Shannon Holifield expunged.”
That arrest occurred on March 8, and was documented in the March 12 edition of the Carter County Times, though we were not aware at the time that Holifield was employed as an emergency ambulance employee.
The Concerned Employees note that this behavior is a direct violation of the policy enacted on March 31, however the incident occurred more than three weeks before the policy was implemented. Despite this, the Concerned Employees further note that “(m)ultiple employees have expressed serious concerns about Holifield’s continued functioning as a supervisor, as his decision to drink and drive demonstrates poor judgement and character.” They also pointed out an example of inequitable enforcement with a previous employee who was accused without an arrest.
“Additionally,” they wrote, “a previous supervisor was demoted over an unsubstantiated report to KBEMS. It is unethical to demote one employee over an unfounded claim while attempting to erase the record of another convicted of a DUI.”
KBEMS stands for the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services.
The letter also accuses deputy director Mike Wears of using county funds to fuel a company vehicle for personal use, of bringing his child to work and expecting other staff to provide babysitting service, and regularly being tardy for his scheduled shifts.
It further states that Wears and director Tim Woods have left the county without adequate emergency coverage when they’ve assigned vehicles to perform non-emergency transports while no other ambulances were available to respond in the event of a 911 call. This, the writer(s) point out, is a violation of the Kentucky Administrative Regulations in Title 202, with states, “An agency shall not exhaust its resources by answering a nonemergency call or for response to mutual aid requests.”
The Concerned Employees claim that Woods and Wears stated they would utilize administrative vehicles to respond if an emergency call came in during the period when the vehicle was engaged in a non-emergency transport.
They also pointed out that Wears lost his West Virginia paramedic license, and was terminated from his job with the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority in 2011 after he “allegedly slapped an intoxicated individual in the face while the person was handcuffed in the back seat of a police cruiser.” According to news reports from the Charleston Daily Mail, Wears responded to a call from a Dunbar police officer who called for a paramedic while transporting a person to the police station for public intoxication. According to the report Wears slapped the individual in the face while the man sat handcuffed in the backseat of a cruiser, following an argument. Wears was not arrested right away, however he was later arrested on a charge of misdemeanor battery.
They further claim that Wears is compensated at an inflated rate, and that he has retaliated against other employees when they question or disagree with his decisions.
Finally, they allege unsafe working conditions – including policy revisions that prohibit sleeping while on duty, “despite the fact that shifts last 24 to 48 hours.”
Ambulance board president Kara Johnson said she was not yet in possession of the letter the Concerned Employees said they were sending her (the letters were reportedly mailed through a local post office on Monday morning), but she did address the recent DUI arrest of Robert Holifield.
Responding via text message, Johnson noted that Holifield, “has not gone to court” on the charges in question, and that the incident in question occurred when “it was his day off, not while on duty.”
“So,” she continued, “it is not our place to hang him as guilty until it is proven that he was intoxicated and is found guilty.”
“We as a board have been informed,” she added, “and agree that this is not a proven case, or a patient care issue.”
Director Woods, when reached for comment, noted he had not received the letter yet either. He did, however, say that before openly commenting on the situation he would like to see the letter, bring the issues in it before the board, and discuss them with the ambulance service’s legal representation.
Until he has a chance to take it through those appropriate channels, he said, his only official comment is going to be, “No comment.”
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
