| Calhoun County Emergency Ambulance Service abruptly announced Tuesday afternoon they would cease providing ambulance service to Calhoun County, effective 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The less than 24-hour notice has put Minnie Hamilton Health System in a lurch, with the EMS closure coming two weeks early.
The closure was first learned from Facebook postings.
Minnie Hamilton CEO Steve Whited said, "Minnie Hamilton is ready to cover calls, but not to the extent we would have been in two weeks.
"Several new employees are orienting this next week. We will handle it, but there may be a few bumps over the next couple of weeks. Our radio communications, Internet, and lease agreement for the Arnoldsburg sub-station has not been completed," Whited said.
Calhoun Commission president Kevin Helmick said, "Unfortunately, the commission was not notified by EMS of the early closure, but we will be doing everything to see that service is provided the community."
Commissioner Chip Westfall expressed his continuing concern that dependable service be maintained to county residents.
Sabrina May, EMS office manager, did give notice to Minnie Hamilton Health System Tuesday afternoon that the service was closing.
"We feel that it is best for our company and our employees that we close 911 operations at that time. Several of our employees have found other jobs and will begin their new jobs before the 16th," May said.
"We feel this should not cause to much of a problem since this has been ongoing for a year and was stated to the county commission that MHHS was ready to step up at anytime," she said.
EMS Director Danny May did not notify EMS board members of the early closure decision, after telling the Calhoun Commission the agency would provide service through May 16 when Minnie Hamilton Health System would become the provider.
May told commissioners he would work with the county and MHHS through the transition, while having the current EMS board and management work on the liquidation of assets to pay debts.
Calhoun OES/911 Director Kathy Wood said ambulance services in regional counties will provide mutual-aid during a crisis, expressing concern regarding the disruption during the transition.
March Tucker, Director of the WV EMS Technical Support Network said the state will provide emergency back-up to see that ambulance service is delivered to county residents.
The Calhoun Commission made a decision on April 18 to designate Minnie Hamilton as the ambulance provider, following a scathing audit by the state's EMS Technical Support Network.
The audit said that Calhoun Emergency Ambulance Service has a large debt load, creditors wanting to be paid for services, ambulances not working and needing replaced, with the revelation of critical management problems for several years.
See related story MINNIE HAMILTON WILL BE COUNTY AMBULANCE PROVIDER IN 30 DAYS - Commission Hopes For Smooth Transition
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