Clarksville residents, officials worried about slow EMS response times

CLARKSVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- A letter from the Clarksville Town Council to the town commissioners reveals concerns from officials and neighbors about emergency response times.

When someone in need calls 911, they expect an ambulance to show up. Some southern Indiana residents are saying those ambulances aren't getting to people fast enough, and they're worried it's putting people at risk.

"If you're calling for a heart attack, stroke, traumatic issue, we want people there at a moments notice and that doesn't always happen," Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel said.

Currently, New Chapel EMS is the primary company serving all of Clark County and Tri-Township in Sellersburg then picks up a few runs if New Chapel can't get there.

It has Clarksville Town Council members concerned. A letter from the council says the situation is presenting a substantial health risk to the citizens of Clarksville and should be considered a health emergency.

"People are frustrated," Yazel said. "They're not comfortable with where their tax dollars have gone."

Yazel expressed his concern on social media about the staff shortage at New Chapel EMS. The letter to commissioners, dated June 7, was in response to that shortage.

The private EMS company, New Chapel, was founded by former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, who is in jail on a $1.5 million bond facing 31 felony counts, in part, for the alleged misuse of millions in taxpayer dollars.

"Do you feel like, if somebody in Clarksville calls 911 they will not get service," Yazel asked. "They'll get service, possibly not as timely as we'd like."

In May, there were 443 calls from Clarksville residents, and the average response time was 11 minutes and 15 seconds.

In June, 399 people in Clarksville called 911 and the response time was 11 minutes and 29 seconds.

Council members said the town is paying between $600,000 and $1 million a year for EMS and they're not happy with the service.

"They're saying 'Hey, we understand that there's a workforce issue and some things along those lines, so let's see what we can do to service our citizens' and honestly, I commend everybody on that," Yazel said.

The Clarksville Fire chief has already presented an estimate to town council. It would cost $1.5 million per ambulance to start a municipal EMS service.

Once they have certain equipment, the cost to maintain the service would go down.

Town council members aren't sure when it'll be up for discussion again.

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