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Safety levy looms big for EMS, fire department
‘Heater’ on the way
Can departments continue to provide top-notch service? Harrison’s life squad and fire department jawad@registerpublications.com is caught in a numbers’ game directly linked to the city’s budget woes and quality of service delivered on any given day. Joe Awad Harrison Press Editor
The city is poised to float a five-year 4.8 mill safety levy in November with the power to dictate if fire and life squad services will remain at Harrison’s traditionally high level or be compromised as the city fights through an indefinite budget crunch that hit many Tri-State municipalities five years ago. At the core of the quality issue is the number of responders now on-site at the firehouse. Until last year, 10 employees manned the station; now usually eight, according to Fire Chief Rob Hursong. Passage of the levy will restore the 10-person squad. Failure will keep the number at eight or lower. The department’s budget was “slashed” $250,000 in 2013, which eliminated the ability to backfill, which means two less people on duty, said Hursong.
photo by sandy minor/Harrison Press
US Navy Veteran Bill Schedel, 92, throws the first pitch before the Harrison Baseball Team’s annual Military Appreciation Game Thursday, May 1, against Elder. Schedel took part in the D-Day invasion. The port side gunner was on a Landing Craft Tank. He made eight trips delivering tanks and soldiers to Omaha Beach on D-Day. The Salute to Veterans included the Harrison Color Guard and bagpipers. All gate proceeds and donations will be donated to Honor Flight Tri-State, a program which flies veterans free to Washington, D.C. for a day of patriotism and sight-seeing. The game was televised on ICRC-TV, on which you can see the various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces honor local veterans.
Two less makes huge difference
Two people, particularly full-time, fully trained paramedics, make a huge difference in several ways. For instance, a patient whose condition is deteriorating is likely to experience a much better outcome if two medics are attending to him, but these days one of the medics often is the driver, he said. “The problem is there is so much equipment that we are required, by protocol, to take with us, and we are concerned about injuries to our employees as well. You have to factor in all the equipment that we have to take, and then carrying a patient in and out, and making sure the equipment is secure,” said Hursong. “We have to have enough people there to manage the patient, care for the patient, move the patient safely. And we have to make sure our employees have the assistance when it comes to moving patients.” Here is another way to look at the situation. Harrison operates under the rules of the Southwest Ohio Academy of Medicine, which has determined that 10 people on duty increases the quality of service, which can translate into a life-or-death scenario. Hursong said there is no doubt that with 10 people there is a “significant change in patient outcome,” particularly because the city has been able to avoid mutual aid, but that standard will change without more operating funds.
Fast response time is key goal
In the old system, Harrison paramedics were dispatched to Crosby Township as a chase unit, which resulted in Harrison residents sometimes waiting on an ambulance from Whitewater Township, or even Cleves, he said. “You’re looking at ten- to eight-minute response times, which we have reduced to less than four minutes for the majority of runs within the city and majority of the (Harrison) township,” said Hursong. “We don’t want to get into relying or waiting on mutual aid until somebody gets freed up from those other runs. If it ends up being a run that we have to send multiple medics in, then we don’t have that ability to transport anymore. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do the See Safety Levy, math. If we have four units and Page 12 there are only eight guys on
Students help hospital solve parking issue plan.” The girls consulted professional engineers and architects “discussed the options, performed calculations, and made our decision for the proposal,” they said during their presentation. “It showed us the different perspectives of the engineering field,” said Taylor Hawn. The short-term solution, they said is to establish a temporary gravel lot on campus and provide shuttles running at five-minute intervals at the beginning and end of the work day or offer small incentives for employees who choose to park in the gravel lot. They then suggested two possible long-term improvements that included building a new parking garage. They provided the advantages and disadvantages of each project, accounted for cost, and provided the calculated cost per parking space. They also compared their results with plans already established by Mercy - West. Though theirs was the only team from a junior high school, the Harrison girls were confidant with their plan and their performance. They knew they had worked hard, and prepared well. The judges agreed. The Harrison Junior School got involved with the
Patricia Huelseman Harrison Press Staff Writer phuelseman@registerpublications.com
Seven students from Harrison Junior School used their excellent education and resources to outshine two high schools in a competition help Mercy Health - West Hospital solve a parking problem. Michael Kramer, hospital site administrator and vice president of operations at West Hospital explained that the new facility, near North Bend Road in Green Township, was designed to accommodate the Cincinnati community on the West side. “The response of our community to West Hospital is greater than we expected,” he said. The unexpected influx of patients is a welcome surprise, but the parking spaces cannot accommodate so many patients and employees. Kramer developed the solution to have local schools create a new parking lot plan. The competition gave the students hands-on experience that helped resolve the parking space issue. The Harrison girls devoted countless hours. Their dedication was obvious when the seven ladies presented a comprehensive parking lot plan that described the initial issue, and developed a “game
photo by Patricia Huelseman/Harrison Press
Students from Harrison Junior School used their excellent education and resources to outshine two high schools to help Mercy Health - West Hospital solve a parking problem. project when they invitation was sent to all the local schools. Mother of Mercy High School and McAuley High School also responded to the invitation. The challenge that Kramer outlined required the students to “come up with long and short-term solutions for parking that can meet peak parking demand scenarios for hospital and Medical Office Building staff while still allowing for ample patient parking.” Students also were expected to “evaluate the long-term and short-term plans Mercy Health has put in place tentatively to determine which might be the
best solution.” After meeting with Kramer in March, the students set to work, creating a plan. Representing Harrison Junior School under the guidance of Gateway to Technology teacher Angela Elsasser were Mackenzie Beltz, Morgan Britton, Stephanie Cox, Taylor Hawn, Jenna Richardson, Clarissa Verkley, and Isabel Wilson. “I asked all my classes for volunteers. These are the seven I got and they’re the seven I wanted,” said Elsasser. The students of the pre-engineering class at
See Parking Lot, Page 12
Bond set at $200,000 for alleged robber photo by joe awad/Harrison Press
Harrison Fire Chief Rob Hursong
Copyright Register Publications, 2014
89th Year, No. 19
Bond has been set for $200,000 for Michael Kline, 26, charged with aggravated robbery of the Cheviot Savings and Loan in Harrison. Kline was arrested in Dayton Friday, May 2. Dayton police located Kline at a hotel and made the arrest. Harrison police then transferred Kline to the Hamilton
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County Sheriff’s Department where he awaits his trial before Grand Jury on Monday, May 12. Kline, Colerain Township, who robbed the S&L Friday, April 25, remained at large a week. According to Lt. Wilson of the Harrison Police Department, Kline passed a menacing
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note to the clerk, demanding money. No weapons have been recovered and it is not likely that Kline ever revealed one. The amount of money Kline stole has not been revealed.. Kline was previously charged with assault and theft in 2011 but was found not guilty for both charges. Michael Kline
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