RCEMS Director On Leave While Being Investigated By State For Making Runs Without Certification
The Director of the Russell County Ambulance Service has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by state EMS officials and the local ambulance board. That announcement came after an executive session during Tuesday night’s ambulance board meeting. According to Acting Board Chairman David Withers, EMS Director Joe Flanagan is being investigated for responding to about a dozen ambulance runs although Flanagan has yet to obtain certification in Kentucky allowing him to make ambulance runs. Flanagan, who is originally from Russell County and worked at the local ambulance service during the 1970s, moved away and was a licensed paramedic for over 20 years in the state of Georgia before being hired to run the local ambulance service just over one year ago. Withers stated that when Flanagan was chosen as EMS Director in February of 2009, he was chosen to manage and oversee the agency’s operations….he was not hired as a paramedic although the EMS Board would have preferred that he be certified. According to Withers, Flanagan was expected to obtain certification in Kentucky although Withers could not recall if a specific time period had been outlined for Flanagan to do so. It should be noted that a few months after being hired as Russell County EMS Director, Flanagan was diagnosed with cancer and has been undergoing treatments over the past several months. EMS Paramedic Troy Walters told the Board members last night that he had reviewed the 12 runs in question which Flanagan responded on along with other EMS personnel and according to Walters, Flanagan’s role during 9 of the runs was performing duties of “on scene commander” during wrecks and other serious calls while other members of the ambulance service treated the injured. On at least one other occasion, according to Walters, Flanagan responded with Walters to a call of an unconscious person in the Eli area with Walters driving to the scene and Flanagan driving from the scene to the local hospital. Walters stated that when that call came in, two other EMS crews were on other runs, so Flanagan decided to make the run with Walters, rather than waiting the time it would have taken to call another crew in to respond. State law requires that all persons responding on ambulance runs at least be certified as a “first responder”….trained in basic first-aid and life support measures. Acting Board Chairman David Withers said that he and fellow board member Steve Bunch, as well as all EMS personnel would cooperate with the state’s invest-igation. In the meantime, veteran EMS employee Terry Hancock will serve as “Acting EMS Director”. Hancock was appointed by the Board after their executive session.
