Commissioners OK deal with JCH

It’s official. Jay County Hospital is set to manage Jay Emergency Medical Service beginning at the start of 2017.
Jay County Commissioners president Faron Parr signed an agreement Monday that will allow the hospital to manage the emergency medical service that has seen financial woes in recent years.
Hospital CEO Dave Hyatt and hospital attorney John Coldren presented the agreement to commissioners Nov. 7, hours after it had been approved by the hospital board. At that meeting, commissioners took the proposed contract under advisement, allowing Jay County Council to weigh in.
Council approved the agreement Wednesday.
Under the agreement, which comes as the service’s current director, Pat Frazee, is set to retire at the end of the year, Hyatt said JCH will employ the service’s manager with all other JEMS staff remaining county employees.
The manager will report to the head of the hospital’s emergency department as well as the county.
Additionally, the agreement will allow the hospital to share in any profits JEMS might reap during the tenure of the contract.
“I think we can help them improve the culture and just improve operations in general. I do not expect this to be profitable for Jay County Hospital,” Hyatt told the hospital board.
“Again this is one of those that the board would want to consider based purely on our mission of improving the health of those we serve and one part of that is also access,” he said.
The two-year agreement is set to commence Jan. 1. It includes a clause that would allow either party to opt out without cause by giving 120 days written notice.
Hyatt told commissioners last week that if approved, the hospital planned to post the open manager position immediately and begin the recruitment process with both internal and external candidates.
In other business, commissioners Jim Zimmerman, Doug Inman and Parr:
•Approved renewing a contractual services agreement with Purdue Cooperative Extension Service for 2017.
•Acting as drainage board, heard from county surveyor Brad Daniels that a public hearing for raising assessment rates on parts of the Loblolly watershed in Wells County is set for 9:15 a.m. Dec. 12.
•OK’d county highway superintendent Ken Wellman to look into purchasing a new service truck. Wellman said the department’s current truck is more than 20 years old.
•Met in executive session Thursday afternoon at the office of county attorney Bill Hinkle to discuss acquisition of real estate. Hinkle said Monday that he and the commissioners met for approximately 30 minutes and no action was taken.
•Discussed with assessor Diana Stults the possibility of posting assessor property record cards on 39 Degrees North, the county’s GIS system. Stults said doing so would be a benefit to her office as well as for members of the public.