Fairfield staff resigns from CARE Ambulance

FAIRFIELD — The owner of CARE Ambulance confirmed Tuesday that his entire ambulance staff in Fairfield resigned on Monday, but the company is making up the staff shortfall by sending employees from other locations.

CARE Ambulance owner and CEO Bob Libby told the Jefferson County Ambulance Service Agency during its meeting Tuesday that eight staff members resigned the day before. Libby told The Southeast Iowa Union that those eight consisted of four paramedics and four EMTs. CARE Ambulance is based in Iowa City, and it is sending employees from Iowa City to work in Fairfield.

“We’ve reached out to lots of people, and we’ve been able to staff it like the county wants,” Libby told The Union.

When asked what prompted the resignations, Libby said, “I suspect they’re just not happy with a decision we made. We asked one person to leave, and she took everybody with her.”

Libby confirmed that the person he asked to leave was base manager Judy Heisel.

CARE Ambulance’s contract with the Jefferson County Ambulance Service Agency requires the company to staff two full-time Advanced Life Services ambulances, which means having a paramedic on every rig. However, CARE announced in December that, due to a shortage of paramedics, it could only staff one ALS ambulance full-time, and another that would run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Libby said that, despite the resignations, his company can still staff 1.5 ambulances. Last week, District Court Judge Myron Gookin issued a ruling requiring CARE to fulfill its contract.

The Union asked Libby if he could comply with Judge Gookin’s ruling.

“I can’t promise two ALS ambulances every day,” he said. “We will when we can.”

Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding said that most of Tuesday’s meeting with the ambulance service agency was in closed session, as the team of lawyers for JCASA discussed strategy related to upcoming mediation with CARE. The two sides have agreed to meet with a mediator on Jan. 24 in Iowa City.

“We are continuing to try to make this work,” Moulding said. “We want the contract to be fulfilled. We’re trying to avoid further conflict, because [CARE] is our partner.”

Moulding said that he and the other members of JCASA’s legal team want what is best for the residents of Jefferson County.

“The injunction [from Judge Gookin] states flat out that CARE Ambulance’s interests are financial, while the agency’s interests involve matters of life and death for Jefferson County residents,” Moulding said. “All I care about is that when somebody calls 911, help is on the way.”

In December, CARE representatives asked JCASA for an additional $90,000 per month for the remaining nine months of their three-year contract, which they claimed was necessary in light of unforeseen expenses such as abnormally high prices for insurance and traveling paramedics. In response, JCASA representatives agreed to have their three respective parts — the City of Fairfield, Jefferson County Board of Supervisors, and Jefferson County Health Center — to each contribute an extra $3,300 per month for nine months. The supervisors agreed to the extra money on the condition that CARE fulfill its contract to have two full-time ALS ambulances.

Libby said he wants the people of Jefferson County to know that he and his company are doing the best they can.

“A lot of people think we’ve left, but we’re far from gone,” he said. “We’re trying to find a solution to a problem that is global. The county is working well with us, and we’re working the best we can.”