Entire Celina Ambulance Staff Walks Out Monday Morning

The entire Celina ambulance staff walked out this morning, including EMS Director Andy Hall.

Hall said he resigned Monday morning after 24 years with the service because Mayor Luke Collins decided to replace the service’s medical director.

“The EMS Director helps appoint this and discusses who the medical director is for the service,” Hall said. “And he just bypassed all that and went straight and put one of Johnny Presley’s doctors over us. They told us it was either that or they weren’t going to open the hospital.”

Hall said it is important to have a strong partnership between the medical director and the ambulance staff. He said they love their current medical director, Dr. Pressley.

Hall said he was trying to make sure there was ambulance coverage and had been in contact with the state over the last week to prepare. Hall said Collins had also already contacted a private company to answer emergency calls in preparation for employees walking out without notifying Hall.

“Well I come to find out that he had set it up for somebody to come in and cover and replace were we to walk out, so he took me out of the equation completely again,” Hall said. “And I just felt as an EMS director, they hired me to do a job. But he’s going around doing the job behind my back without telling me about it. So I resigned, and when I resigned, everybody resigned with me.”

Hall said he would not return to the service if Luke Collins or Cumberland River Hospital Owner Johnny Presley had anything to do with it.

“I put in 96 hours a week, 120 hours a week, and all of my guys have too, I’ve got the best crew I could ever have and I hate that they’re being treated like this and not consulted,” Hall said. “‘Hey guys we’re looking at changing medical directors, what are your thoughts on this, what are your concerns?’ No, it’s just ‘Hey here’s your new medical director.'”