Gerlach new EMS director

CELINA - Mercer County commissioners on Tuesday morning appointed a new head of the county emergency medical services department.

Kyle Gerlach of Coldwater will serve as EMS director effective Sept. 6 with a beginning salary of $50,500, according to the commissioners' administrative clerk, Kim Everman. Unlike his predecessor, Matt Nietfeld, who resigned July 1, Gerlach will serve as director of the EMS, not as coordinator.

Commissioner Jerry Laffin this morning said the EMS coordinator previously served under emergency management agency/EMS director Mike Robbins. Commissioners, Laffin said, felt the EMS head should serve independently as the agency's director, not coordinator. Robbins' title will change to EMA director.

Commissioner Greg Homan said the board had interviewed three candidates. Gerlach stood out for his work with Spirit Medical Transport, a private ambulance service in Darke County. Homan also noted Gerlach has served as a volunteer with Coldwater EMS.

"He brought to the table a pretty similar skill set in terms of managing a private service that was very similar to Mercer County EMS," Homan said, adding Gerlach has a number of years of experience and management skills.

"(He's) familiar with the current system we have in place," commissioner Rick Muhlenkamp said.

Gerlach is the operations manager of Spirit Medical Transport where he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company, which has more than 80 employees, according to his resume.

He also is tasked with employee evaluations, scheduling and payroll activities, inventory and budget control. Gerlach is a state-licensed advanced EMT and level 1 firefighter, according to his resume.

Gerlach said he's been involved with Mercer County EMS for almost 12 years.

"It's just something I really enjoy doing," he told the newspaper this morning. "I've been an EMS since the end of 2004, and I've just worked my way up through."

He said the county position is an opportunity to return to work in Mercer County and to provide the best care for citizens.

The first thing he wants to do is meet with all four branches of the county EMS to learn what kind of struggles they face and to facilitate collaboration.

He said he also wants to implement protocol testing to ensure the competency of the agency's EMTS - the first line of prehospital care for citizens. He wants to make sure the county's many volunteers feel confident with their skill level when called to a scene.

In the absence of Nietfeld and an education program director who was fired, Robbins has been handling the day-to-day administrative functions while EMS employee Michelle Garman and EMA administrative assistant Sheryle Kuhn have been providing support.

Commissioners in July contracted with an outside agency to provide EMS billing services, a duty previously shared by the two former employees.

Commissioners approved an agreement with third-party service provider EMS Management & Consultants. Homan said it's a one-year agreement, effective Oct. 1, that can be renewed up to three years. The company will retain 4.5 percent of the money it collects for the county. EMS last year took in revenue of $987,889, a bulk of that from ambulance fees.

Mercer County EMS provides emergency service to the county's 40,814 residents in a 473-square-mile area.

It has 114 paid employees and volunteer paramedics, intermediates and basic and first responders based in four stations - Celina, Rockford, St. Henry and Coldwater - and operates 10 advanced life-support ambulances.