The Valley Emergency Medical Services Board of Directors met behind closed doors for about two hours Tuesday (Jan. 3) to question two of its own members about the use of a company vehicle.
In the end of the executive session meeting, the board decided to end its investigation and not issue any disciplinary action, according to VEMS vice president Jared Heon.
The review was prompted after board treasurer Madalene Taggart was in a car accident while driving VEMS’s new Ford Expedition on a trip back from Virginia on Dec. 21.
Taggart was hit by a tractor trailer truck, while the truck tried to avoid another accident.
Taggart and two passengers escaped injury.
But the incident raised concerns among other board members, who weren’t aware the truck was being taken out of state.
Executive Session
Tuesday, the VEMS board questioned Taggart and board president Jerry Schwab during the two-hour executive session.
Schwab, who is Taggart’s son, authorized the trip.
Executive session meetings are non-public meetings allowed in certain circumstances, such as when a government body talks about legal strategy, a specific employee or a real estate transaction.
At the start of Tuesday’s VEMS meeting, some board members questioned whether parts of their discussion should be held in public, because the overview of the accident and investigation had already been made public in newspaper articles.
Joe Burnett, a VEMS board member from Griffin Hospital, said he thought the entire conversation should be held in executive session.
“I consider this an open investigation,” Burnett said. “And I would question the process of conducting it publicly.”
Both Schwab and Taggart said they wanted to speak during executive session.
The board voted to go into executive session without any public discussion about the incident.
Background
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Schwab said VEMS always drives its new vehicles at least 2,000 miles before putting them in service. The trip to Virginia was part of that practice, Schwab said.
Executive Director Robert Pettinella said the trip didn’t violate any existing policies.
However, the Board of Directors is now looking to create policies on who can use VEMS vehicles and how those vehicles can be used.
Currently, there is only a written policy that addresses how paid employees at VEMS can use VEMS vehicles.
Board members are volunteers.
Heon said the policy discussion will come at a later date.
The agenda for Tuesday’s special meeting only indicated a discussion about the incident, so the board didn’t talk about the policy questions, Heon said.
The board voted after the executive session to allow Heon to make a statement about the incident.
His written statement said:
“In response to events that have occurred, VEMS will be updating its vehicle usage policy. The VEMS organization has evolved over time and certain areas will be updated to reflect these changes. No disciplinary actions have been taken at this time. This incident investigation is considered closed, pending any new information upon receipt of the police accident report.”
The board didn’t make any other votes at the meeting.
