Culver Town Council Plans Additional Work To EMS Department

culver town hall
 

The Culver Town Council will continue discussions for reshaping its EMS Department this evening.

At their previous work session, the Town Council considered adequate salaries for possibly hiring a full-time director for the department. Currently, the EMS Department is reliant on volunteers, but discussions have centered on reshaping the department to possibly pay staff wages commensurate with their experience.
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County Employees Working Holidays Will Receive Double Time And a Half

Sixteen jail employees attended the Starke County Commissioners meeting yesterday to have the holiday pay schedule clarified. After some discussion, it was decided that for all police, 9-1-1, EMS, and jailers, the holiday pay would be straight time, but if they worked the holiday it would be straight time plus time and a half.

Commissioner Kathy Norem, who was formerly the hospital CEO at Starke Memorial, explained that it would be similar to what they paid and why they paid the amount.

“Anybody that worked the holiday got paid time and a half, but they also, within the same pay period, got an extra day off with pay. In essence, since these guys are not taking an extra day off, that’s no different, really, than double time and a half. And in some ways its much more beneficial to us to pay them the double time and a half if they work on the holiday rather than pay them time and a half and get them an extra day off paid, because with as skeleton as that crew is, that’s going to cause someone to get overtime,” Norem explained.

Any county employee working a holiday will be paid time and a half, on top of their regular holiday pay.

IU Health Starke Hospital to Wait to Contract with Private Ambulance Service

IU Health Starke Hospital

IU Health Starke Hospital officials have agreed to wait at least until the second quarter of 2012 to sign a contract with a private ambulance service to provide emergency transfers from Starke to other acute care hospitals.

At issue was a plan that would have cost the local EMS $100,000 if it lost the Basic Life Support patients that it has been transferring in the past.

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Larry Brock Seeks Ambulance Repair Grant

EMS Director Larry Brock presented his report to the Pulaski County Commissioners on Monday. Brock is seeking grants for repairing two ambulances and purchasing a generator for their Winamac station.

“We are seeking a ambulance grant to replace two of our ambulances , rechassis them, and a second grant for a generator for the Winamac station,” said Brock. “We have some rust damage due to a light that’s rusting in, of course because it’s on top of the ambulance it may fall through and we need to take care of that issue right away.”

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