Interim ambulance director appointed

WASHINGTON — The Washington County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday morning to offer Katrina Altenhofen an appointment as the ambulance department’s interim director. Altenhofen is Hospice of Washington County’s executive director, but has a lengthy background in emergency medical services.

Supervisors plan to hold a special meeting to make the appointment as soon as possible after Altenhofen’s anticipated acceptance. If it goes through, she’ll take the helm of a county service in turmoil, which officials and employees say is plagued with factionalism and fears of retaliation.

Jack Seward Jr., a member of the Board of Supervisors and its liaison to the ambulance department, said he was disappointed to see the service still reeling from the suspension of Director Jeremy Peck and resignation of former Interim Director Pat Curl in recent weeks.

“We do need somebody out here, we do need somebody to help out … It still seems like there is definitely two different factions out there,“ Seward said. ”I have not been able to get those factions to come together to work. It’s frustrating to me.“

Given the tense situation, supervisors said they had to choose between the neutrality of a distanced applicant from Cedar Rapids and the familiarity of Altenhofen, a former ambulance staff member whose office shares a backyard with the service’s building a few hundred feet away.

Ultimately, they chose the latter.

"She is local, she’s in town, she’s worked with almost everybody there,“ Seward said of Altenhofen. ”I believe, from everything that I’ve heard, she is well respected and there would be no reason to doubt her credentials or where her heart’s at.“

While she currently works in hospice care, Altenhofen’s ambulance experience is nothing to scoff at. She’s a former member of the state’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, which regulates ambulances, and founder of the West Chester First Responder EMS service in 1989.

Altenhofen is also a certified paramedic with years of experience on the Washington County Ambulance before it was a government service, although county officials said they didn’t plan to put her on ambulance shifts.

She said she was likely to accept the position.

“I still need to see the details, but for the most part, I think yes, my answer will be yes, to help out,” she said. “I have a strong passion for EMS … and I want to make sure we have the best county service for our community.”

Altenhofen said she felt prepared to face the tensions within the department.

"I want to be able to find out, and listen to the individuals,“ she said. ”Because at the end of the day, we’re a team, it’s not just this person versus that person.“

On the question of how, Altenhofen said her familiarity with the department would help her navigate disputes.

“I don’t know every one of the folks on the ambulance anymore, but I know plenty of them,” she said. “And have been around long enough that I would hope that would garner some ability to say, ‘Hey, we need to sit down and have a discussion,’ whether that’s a series of staff meetings, or a one-on-one with each and every one of them.”

The likely new interim said ambulance work wouldn’t trade off with her position at the hospice center. The temporary ambulance position is 15-20 hours per week, and is not intended as a permanent role, according to county supervisors.

“Usually in the winter months I teach for Kirkwood, or the University EMS classes,” she said. “So instead of filling my time up with that, I will be working and helping out with the interim directorship. My day job is still, first and foremost, the director for hospice … when I’m done at 4 o’clock at hospice, I’ll probably walk across the yard there, and spend a few hours at the ambulance.”

As she takes the reins, Altenhofen asked the community to be patient.

“It doesn’t help if you’ve got the internal works of everybody snipping back and forth, and then you also have a dialogue of social media carrying on in the outside world,” she said. “We need to come together and do what’s best for our emergency services.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com