Fifteen complaints were filed in October with Kentucky Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) against the Jessamine County EMS, however, the results and the possible rammifications of the investigation have not been made public.
In a memo dated Oct. 25 from EMS director Jerry Domidion to the fiscal court, none of the initial complaints were verified by an OSHA investigator but two separate violations were revealed.
“I’m very proud of our service,” Domidion wrote. “I believe there are not many services that could go under the microscope from OSHA of 15 possible violations and come out with zero deficiencies.”
According to Domidion, the two violation that were found were the absence of “Health Assessments” and the second is the absence of a Hazard Communication Manual. Domidion wrote that EMS had its own manual and without it the department could have been cited for more serious and possible monetary violations.
“I am able only to confirm that (OHSA) has opened an investigation regarding a complaint received about Jessamine County EMS,” said Dick Brown, executive director of the Kentucky labor cabinet. “That is all we can and will say until the investigation is completed and a final report issued. That could take several months.”
Domidion said that it may be any where from four to six weeks until they receive the citations at which point EMS will have 15 days to make the necessary changes.
Jessamine County attorney Brian Goettl also confirmed there was an investigating, but no citations or fines had been issued yet.
He said he expected the results sometime by the end of November and there was no comment until if or when that happens.
In a phone message from the OSHA investigator, Mike Tinsley, to a former EMS employee, he stated that there were citations and fines. Tinsley is also mentioned in Domidion’s memo.
“We were able to issue some citation, resulting in some fines, that will ultimately go into fixing some of the programs,” Tinsley said Oct. 29.
In his message, Tinsley stated those programs were the hazard communication program and the N-95 respiratory protection program.
Tinsley confirmed the investigation but would not comment when reached at his office in Frankfort.
Also, Tinsley would not confirm if this meant any fines for the citations.
Two of the four Jessamine County EMS programs/plans in Tinsley’s voicemail were also addressed at the Jessamine County Fiscal Court meeting Monday night.
Domidion brought the four items, adding the Hepatitis B policy and the blood-borne pathogens exposure control plan, before the fiscal court for approval on the policies, stating it was just an update in the language with any new guidelines from the state.
The fiscal court approved to update the language of all four policies.
If the Jessamine County EMS were to receive a “Citation and Notification of Penalty,” by law it must be immediately posted at or near the place each violation occurred to make employees aware of the hazards to which they may be exposed.
The citation must remain posted for three working days or until the violation is corrected, whichever is longer.
