Brian Thomas resigns as Jefferson County Ambulance Director

FAIRFIELD – Brian Thomas has stepped down as director of Jefferson County Ambulance, and the county supervisors have appointed base manager Judy Heisel as interim ambulance director.

Thomas ended his role as ambulance director on April 22, but he will remain on administrative leave until July 12. He said he is continuing to work with Heisel to train her in the duties of ambulance director while he is on leave.

The supervisors accepted Thomas’s resignation and thanked him for his work and dedication. Supervisor Lee Dimmitt said Thomas “built an ambulance service from the ground up,” playing a critical role in launching the new county-run ambulance service on Oct. 1, 2023, when it took over the responsibility from CARE Ambulance.

“What he managed to accomplish in a few short months is nothing short of phenomenal,” Dimmitt said.

Thomas said he decided to step down from his position for a couple of reasons - No. 1: He felt it was difficult to fit in, that he wasn’t fully accepted because he was an outsider; and No. 2: He saw that ambulance base manager Judy Heisel was well respected, competent, and had the experience necessary to take on the role of ambulance director if he chose to leave.

“She fits that role better than I ever could,” Thomas said about Heisel. “She is more organized, and she works well with the board [of supervisors]. She knows everybody in this community. Now that I’m out, I want to support her in her role.”

Heisel said Thomas’s resignation came as a surprise to her, but she feels that her 20-plus years in emergency services have prepared her well for taking on this new responsibility.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the residents of Jefferson County so they get what they need and deserve,” Heisel said.

Thomas is a native of Houston, Texas, and has worked as a medic in the U.S. Air Force, in EMS in the Houston area, and a few years ago was director of operations for CARE Ambulance. During his stint with CARE, Thomas oversaw Heisel as the base manager then. When it came time to hire a base manager for the new county-run service last May, Thomas recommended hiring Heisel. At the time, Thomas remarked that,“Her operation in Fairfield was the pinnacle of what I wanted my other bases to be like.”

The relationship between Thomas and the Board of Supervisors was “hot and cold,” Thomas said. He told The Union that, in his previous jobs, he was entrusted with certain responsibilities, and his supervisors had faith in him to complete the mission.

“It was a lot different here,” Thomas said about his time as county ambulance director. “I think it has to do with me not being from here originally.”

Thomas said Heisel is a “natural” for the position, and he simply felt she could be a better ambulance director than he could.

“Judy Heisel has been a part of the community for over 20 years,” Thomas said. “She knows everybody. I didn’t have that type of pull with people. I didn’t know them from elementary school.”

Thomas credits Heisel for bringing in so many great EMTs and paramedics, allowing Jefferson County Ambulance Service to fill its positions at a time when most ambulance services are struggling to find qualified staff.

“We were fully staffed before we even opened, and it’s all from word of mouth,” Thomas said. “She was instrumental in getting us up and going so quickly.”

Heisel said she has been able to recruit good employees through word of mouth, and that she had previous experience working with the EMTs and paramedics that the county has hired in the last year.

Thomas is proud of what he and his staff accomplished in the last year, moving into the former First National Bank building on West Burlington Avenue and remodeling it into an ambulance base with a three-bay garage.

“That was with Judy’s help, because she was a very important piece in doing this,” Thomas said. “I feel like I have completed what I needed to at the time.”

Though his time with Jefferson County Ambulance Service is coming to an end, Thomas does not plan to leave Fairfield. He purchased a house here last year, and would like to put down roots. He’s thinking about going into consulting, such as helping other counties or municipalities start their own ambulance services.

“Iowa has a lack of emergency services that we so desperately need,” he said.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com