[KPFARS-Members] SBEMS Resignations

[Kennedy William]

Members:

I'm writing this to update you on the current situation of SBEMS (SB3) personnel.


Background:

On December 9th, Supervisor Reid had a confrontational meeting with the SB3 Board (Board) and verbally tendered his resignation, but retained the right to rescind up to 12/31/14.

On December 16th, Supervisor Reid published the January schedule which reflected about 2/3rds of the staff not providing any availability for January 2015 in what was a show of solidarity by the staff with Supervisor Reid.

The Board President requested Supervisor Reid provided his final decision to him by December 19th.

Supervisor Reid provided a proposal that, among other items, included:

	His request for administrative function reflecting his not riding as an scheduled EMT on the rigs, except in the case of a callout that was not able to be filled by other staff, at an annual salary of $50,000 per year.
	He wanted use of a vehicle to secure a scene if both rigs were on calls or assist crews if needed on calls requiring additional resources (CPR, incident Command, etc)
	Remain in the position of Operations Supervisor with the "understanding that I run the operation, and whatever means necessary need to be employed to do so."

On December 23rd, the Board as a whole held a meeting with any staff that wanted to attend, including Supervisor Reid, that, in my opinion, was very confrontational and unprofessional.  The Board met afterward as a whole with Supervisor Reid to discuss specifics on his proposal.

On December 29th, the Board met, including the 3 Squad Chiefs, to review his proposal and clarifications from the 23rd meeting.  After forecasting the cost of his proposal, which SB3 was not able to cover as proposed, another proposal was approved that would have met more then 80% of his economic request, albeit some of which was performance based and payable in 2016.  The proposal also required him to continue riding as an EMT 2 coverage days per week and was structured to mitigate certain risks of FLSA requirements.

On December 30th, The Board President presented Supervisor Reid with the Boards counter to his proposal.  I was in attendance as witness and for discussion purposes.

On December 31st, Supervisor Reid confirmed his resignation by text to the SB3 staff and signing off on radio transmissions to SBHQ without any formal notice to SB3 Board or President.


Philosophy:

As a representative of KPFARS on the Board, and one who helped set up operations in 2004 - yes it has been over 10 years in service, I have always provided my input and votes based upon the philosophy that SB3 was an extension of the 3 volunteer First Aid Squads in South Brunswick.  It was to be established and managed by representatives of the 3 squads.  And as time evolved, the volunteer squad(s) would continue to manage and absorb the SB3 entity into themselves.  However it was always driven that the volunteers are responsible for the provision of all BLS services to the areas we serve.  I also based my input upon SB3 hiring experienced 911 EMT's  that could operate on daily basis without the need for excessive supervision.  I also worked with the expectation that the SB3 staff and volunteers work in harmony together to provide this service to our community. 

Where we stand:

Currently we have only 3 confirmed resignations out of 28 staff but expect more to follow.  We have added 4 EMT's from KPFARS to ride on SB3 and both KPFARS and MJFAS Chiefs will be speaking to their members that might also be available.  It is important to note that SB3 as a licensed unit with paid EMT's must comply with strict standards on response and staging among other items.  We have interviews scheduled for hiring experienced EMTs next week.  We will also put out "robo calls" to advise everyone of any particular shortage.

With the situation facing us that SB3 will have reduced resources assigned for January,  and that EMS services is the responsibility of each volunteer Squad for its' respective area, I ask that everyone who is a member keep their pagers on and respond if possible for 2nd or third calls.

Please feel free to email me or call with any questions.

Thank you for your support and commitment to EMS in SB.

Bill Kennedy