Clark County's new EMS provider offering 'really good care' as future of New Chapel EMS remains in flux (2024)

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Clark County has a new ambulance provider, and while the embattled New Chapel EMS will remain in tact, what it will do and where it will be based remain unknown.

The 90-day contract between Clark County and Muncie-based Heartland Ambulance Service started Aug. 1, making it the county's primary ambulance service. Effective Sept. 1, New Chapel EMS, which had served the county for several years, will no longer provide emergency ambulance services.

"We're going to move forward,"Coy Travis, an attorney and spokesperson for New Chapel EMS, said Friday."It's going to look very different than it has in the past."

Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel said negotiations with Heartland to provide additional coverage to the county were already discussed prior to New Chapel's announcement this week that its services would end. The $343,000 contract will supply Clark County with four Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances staffed with paramedics 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Yazel said Clark County is the only health department in Indiana that has EMS oversight on things like truck inspections and protocol approvals. He said Heartland began working in the county last week, and, so far, there's been nothing but positive feedback.

"I work in the ER (and) I've received some of their patients who have gotten really, really good care," Yazel said Friday. "... People have to be comfortable that when they call 911 that someone will arrive in a timely manner and take good care of their family. That's the biggest priority out there."

The EMS climate in southern Indiana has been in turmoil since last November when New Chapel was tied to controversy after its former CEO and former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel was charged with using department money to fund his and his family's lavish lifestyle. Noel faces at least 31 felony charges related to fraud, misconduct, theft, ghost employment, money laundering and public corruption.

"At the end of the day, we're all dealing with the fallout of what happened with Jamey Noel," said Travis.

Larry Wilder, Noel's attorney in his ongoing legal issues, declined to comment for this story.

Travis said New Chapel's facilities agreement was terminated in a Utica Township Fire Protection District meeting Wednesday, so they will move out of their existing headquarters on Utica Pike into to new facilities. As a result, there may be some layoffs coming, but Travis said those remaining at New Chapel would like to help going forward in any way they can.

"We really, over the last six months, have been trying our best to do well. I understand the frustrations. I understand all the feelings. I really, truly do,"Travis said. "We want to be better, we want to do better, and in spite of where things have ended up today, we wish nothing but the best for the people of Utica, we wish nothing but the best for the people of Clark County. And we look forward to whatever role we can play in continuing to provide for public safety however that looks."

Yazel said Friday he's unsure of the future for New Chapel EMS, but it could still do non-emergency work like interfacility transfers, nursing home transfers or something similar in the future. He said the county will likely continue to re-up contracts with Heartland as long as it goes well.

"The main thing is, we were having coverage issues," Yazel said Friday. "New Chapel, there's been no secret, they've had some workforce issues, and we kept talking about 'Hey, we need more paramedic units out there.' But we were simply asking for a resource they didn't have. I mean, they had all hands on deck. Their entire workforce was out there trying to serve the county. They just didn't have enough."

A southern Indiana woman who didn't want to be identified for this story said Friday that with everything going on with New Chapel EMS and Noel's legal troubles, people just want service they can trust.

"You want the ambulance to respond quickly, whatever your emergency might be. It can be a matter of minutes in a life-and-death situation," she said. "... This is a great place to live, and we want to keep it that way. Certainly, emergency services is a big part of how you feel safe in your community."

In a statement Thursday, Travis said the focus for New Chapel EMS will be moving to new spaces and restructuring/rebranding in the coming months.

He said Friday layoffs would be likely for New Chapel, but depend on how things end up.

"We have a couple of locations that we'll be moving into over the next 30 days and as we evaluate what the space limitations are for the facilities -- how many staff we can keep there, how many vehicles we can keep there -- that's going to become the limiter on what our capacity is going to be in terms of how many employees we'll have," Travis said.

Travis said the hope for New Chapel EMS is to continue working with local emergency management partners and help Heartland in this transition.

"With all the other things going on and stuff with their leadership, the boots on the ground — both from New Chapel, and now Heartland when they've been here — are working really hard to take care of our citizens," Yazel said. "But, you know, that's the thing is when something does happen that makes us concerned about the level of coverage we have, we'll intervene and intervene aggressively."

Related Stories:

• New Chapel EMS to stop providing 911 ambulance service in Clark County
• Clark County EMS officials propose 90-day contract with Muncie-based Heartland Ambulance
• Clarksville residents, officials worried about slow EMS response times
• Jeffersonville ponders creating its own EMS service as the future of New Chapel EMS remains in doubt

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