Positive COVID-19 Cases Cause Staffing Shortage for One Jefferson County Ambulance District

An ambulance district in Jefferson County has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jerry Appleton is Chief of The Rock Township Ambulance District. He says at one point close to a dozen employees were out on leave after testing positive for coronavirus.

Due to the staff shortage, Rock had to pull a ambulance out of its rotation periodically because there wasn’t enough man power to staff the unit.

During that time Rock relied on mutual aid from surrounding ambulance districts to fill in on some medical calls.

Even with the high number of employees testing positive, Chief Appleton adds they have also taken all the necessary safety precautions including deep cleaning of the station house and vehicle fleet.

The 10 employees that were out have since returned with a clean bill of health.