Despite a hiccup in an emergency call last Wednesday in Clinton, and some negative comments made during a meeting last Wednesday evening, the CEO of the Dr. John Warner Hospital still has faith in his ambulance crews, but believes the negativity created by the incident may put the future of ambulance service in the county in jeopardy.

CEO Earl Sheehy says he still has complete faith in the DJWH ambulance service, and says they are a very good and professional group. Comments were made by DeWitt County Ambulance Advisory Committee Chair Teresa Barnett that those who wrote letters of support for the DeWitt County Ambulance Association would not have if they knew of last Wednesday's incident. Sheehy says that is absolutely not the case.

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Because of the way the ambulance staff was portrayed during Wednesday's meeting, Sheehy fears his crews may not stay around long enough for the hospital to maintain service. He says why would these people stay if they have job offers somewhere else and they are in a community that perceives them as not trustworthy.

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Depending on how many ambulance crew members potentially leave, Sheehy says the impact will vary. He also speculates he could see over the coming weeks, ambulance crew members may be leaving.

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Sheehy feels there could have been a better time than Wednesday to address issues with the hospital's ambulance responders.

Despite his disappointment in DCAA's decision, he says the Dr. John Warner Hospital will work with the new provider, Paramedic Services of Illinois, in transferring their equipment over to them.