Menu
Multiple agencies celebrated for June Fern Cliff Rescue
On the surface, a ceremony Thursday morning at the Putnam County EMS headquarters was about a rescue that happened on one day earlier this summer.
On Friday, June 23, a man was repelling at Fern Cliff Nature Preserve when he fell approximately 50 feet. A team of more than two dozen responders from at least eight different agencies came together to formulate a complex rescue plan and got him airlifted to Indianapolis, where he was able to get lifesaving care.
Thursday’s ceremony, overseen by Putnam County EMS Director (and one-time Putnam County Operation Life Director) Kraig Kinney was about all of them on that one day.
In a bigger sense, though, it’s about the journey on which Putnam County EMS has been since it was formed from the ashes of Operation Life at the start of 2020, and since the daunting moment when Chief Kelly Russ and Deputy Chief Anthony Taylor took over the agency in the spring of that year, just about the time a global pandemic changed everything about how they did their jobs.
Not only did they have the challenge of COVID-19 to face, but with rebuilding fractured relationships that had declined in the years leading up to the changeover from Operation Life to Putnam County EMS.
“I want to commend the leadership of Chief Russ and Deputy Chief Taylor,” Kinney, who spent a decade at the helm of OL, said. “They really have captured the essence of Operation Life in Putnam EMS — the core of good patient care, the morale is good. I think the teamwork, too, is good to be back to connecting with all of the emergency service providers, whether it’s law enforcement or fire. All of that is living on, and that’s why we’re here today, to recognize these individuals.”
So it was that commendations were presented to 28 responders from eight different agencies, as well as the State EMS Director’s Award to Taylor, who as the first medical responder on the scene, performed a chest tube procedure to stabilize the patient for transport from the scene.
“I want the focus to be on teamwork,” Kinney said, “but with that there was extraordinary patient care that was delivered. Anthony Taylor did a practice that we don’t do often in the field, which was a thoracostomy — a chest tube — two of them put in to stabilize the patient. Without that, given where they were and without access to flyout and transfer to a hospital, there would not have been ventilation and there would not have been any type of sufficient airway management.
Taylor later described the procedure as something he had never done before and something he doesn’t necessarily want to do again. However, the second award he received from Kinney was about more than a single call.
“The recognition that we are giving today is someone who’s played a big role in Putnam EMS once it transitioned from Operation Life and has been integral to education, training, quality patient care, engagement of the staff — all aspects of bringing together strong leadership for the organization,” Kinney said.
Asked to give a speech by an admiring crowd of fellow responders, Taylor reflected on a lot of what the last few years has thrown at him.
“Three-and-a-half years ago, if you had ever said I’d be working out here (in Putnam County), I would have said, ‘No,’” Taylor said. “And I also never said I would have been intubating somebody in the middle of a forest, under a cliff. But I would not give back a second of what this place has given to me. This run is a perfect example of getting to see what every branch of what the public safety family can do.
“This agency started from very rough spots at the start of Covid,” he continued, “and I could not be happier with the people we have working for us and the care that they deliver and the teamwork that exists between fire, EMS and law enforcement. And I can never forget my 911 center, which is very near and dear to my heart.
“So, thank you very much and thank you for the opportunity to work with all of you.”
Teamwork was the key on this particular day, as Taylor and Madison Township Fire Chief Lee Price were the first two responders to make the arduous hike and descent to the patient’s location. Meanwhile, others followed them and still others made entry to the park from a rear location — the path by which the patient was eventually taken out.
Kinney emphasized how, in EMS, teamwork is always key, not just between EMTs and paramedics, but also between the different branches of the first responder family.
“Most times you’re going to get a first response, which may be law enforcement, it may be the fire service going out. And everyone is practicing emergency medical services to get that patient stabilized,” Kinney said. “In this response, we had a larger team, so we have a large group of people that we’re recognizing, but they all came together. I think that’s the key, and we had a very positive outcome. Even if the outcome wasn’t as positive as it was, I think this is a key demonstration of what can happen when you have good leadership and good teamwork and everybody can come together to achieve the common goal.”
Each member of that team was recognized, including:
• From Putnam County EMS: Taylor, Kyle Flanagan, Ashley Green and Quentin Humbarger.
• From Putnam County Dispatch: Debra Simmons and Kim Koch.
• From Putnam County Sheriff’s Office: Dwight Simmons and Kyle Lee
• From DNR Law Enforcement: Patrick Labhart.
• From Greencastle Fire Department: Rob Frank, Kenny Shepherd, Brandon Watson, Paul Hinton and Matt Wolff.
• Madison Township Volunteer Fire Department: Lee Price
• From Roachdale Fire Department: Mike Poole, Greg Asher, Hunter Kiplinger, Dean Lepine, Heath Kerns, Diane Poole and Brian Poole
• From Bellmore Fire Department: Jason Games, Dale Fivecoat, Charles Moon, Kyle Gordon, Jayson Taylor and Dustin Pruett.
In thinking back over the spirit of the old Operation Life and how it cooperated with other local agencies, Kinney even recalled a specific run in which someone fell from a cliff at the DePauw Nature Park more than 20 years ago.
“We had one that was a little easier, where they fell in the DePauw Nature Park, and we had to get down into that,” Kinney said. “When I was reading the details of this response, it was far more challenging. We had a little bit of an easier way in. We had a bit of a hike, but in this there was a challenging hike to reach that critical patient — a 20-minute walk through uneven terrain and trying to keep your balance trying to go down and take equipment then access the patient and eventually stabilizing and removing the patient. That took a team, and that is where you have a group of individuals who were dedicated.”
He later concluded, “This was an extraordinary run. It was extraordinarily well managed, and resulted in a very positive outcome.”
Though not specifically honored on Thursday, Russ was also instrumental in it coming together, as she and Taylor have been setting the tone for more than three years, and she organized getting commendations for everyone involved.
The chief had the last word before everyone returned to their work days.
“This agency was very rough in 2020,” Russ said. “There was a lot of stuff to try and fix. But I definitely think that with the teamwork between all the agencies we just kind of came together brought back the spirit of what used to be Operation Life. It’s done great things for the agency and the county.”