CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — The seven members of the Clarksville Town Council are calling on the Clark County Commissioners to come up with a clear plan to address lagging ambulance response times in their area.
Town Council President Ryan Ramsey believes the only way to truly fix it is to remove the current provider, New Chapel EMS.
"I believe that...in light of staffing concerns, as well as the continued issue of response times, that [removing New Chapel] is probably the course of action that needs to take place," Ramsey said.
The average amount of time for an ambulance to reach Clarksville residents in June was 11:29. That was fifth best out of eight townships in Clark County.
"That's an urban area that's pretty close to the destination facility. So, response times should be quicker than that," Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel said. Yazel is a practicing emergency medicine doctor, and also is the Chief EMS Medical Officer for the state of Indiana.
New Chapel has dealt with a lot of change over the last eight months. The organization removed Jamey Noel, its chief of 20 years, in November after he was initially charged with 15 felony charges for theft, ghost employment, corrupt business influence and more.
The organization has been trying to stabilize itself under its new chief, Matt Owen. New Chapel has lost two contracts -- one for fire service and one for EMS service -- since mid-May. On May 31, New Chapel lost 10 employees when they chose to join the new fire department that replaced them, New Albany Township Fire Rescue.
"We have endeavored to be open and honest about these hardships and our responses to them," New Chapel spokesperson S. Coy Travis said over email. "They are not obstacles that will be overcome in a short time period, and despite our best efforts and sincere desires, they will, at times, affect the level of service we provide."
Ramsey and the six other town councilors signed a letter and sent it to county commissioners on June 19, asking them to declare a 'health emergency' and also saying if the situation does not improve, they will seriously consider starting their own ambulance service by adding onto Clarksville Fire Department. Clarksville first debuted this idea in late 2023.
In a FOCUS investigation last week, we showed highlights of 70 "jot forms" that Clark County 911 dispatchers filed after a troublesome EMS run. One wrote, "I understand it is not New Chapel's fault as to why they do not have units responding, however, it is starting to get very dangerous because our county does not have enough workers for ambulances."
Yazel believes the solution may include Clarksville "flexing up" to add an ambulance service, but doesn't feel comfortable ending New Chapel's contract early if there is no county-wide agency to replace them.
"The main issue is to remove somebody, you have to have alternative options, and we literally don't at this point," Yazel said.
Yazel is part of a work group studying EMS service statewide, and is on the Clark County EMS board. Yazel and his statewide team recently released a study showing many paramedics are experiencing burnout because the pay and benefits do not match the hours required. He also said EMS service doesn't have the easily apparent "upward mobility" that a fire department may have.
Yazel did say New Chapel EMS is improving its communication with him and other first responding agencies.
"New Chapel has been working with us, they've made some good faith efforts," Yazel said.
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