Jasper EMS Director Alleges Harassment By County Manager

Less than a week after the Jasper County Commission came out of a closed session and agreed to have the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) director be supervised by Assistant County Manager and Chief Financial Officer Lorri Smith, the director, Jeff Bratcher, appears to be without a job.

Mr. Bratcher talked to this newspaper reporter about the “hostile work environment” that he has been forced to work in for more than a year that led up to the change in the chain of command two weeks ago, and his dismissal from his job last week.

Mr. Bratcher said the commissioners agreed last November that he should report to Mrs. Smith not to County Manager Greg Wood, but that action was not taken publicly until the March 5 meeting. (The commission goes into closed session at almost every meeting, usually to discuss personnel. Typically, the commission takes no action when it comes out. By law, they cannot vote while they are in closed session.)

The March 5 action came after Mr. Bratcher was put on administrative leave with pay by Mrs. Smith on March 1, on the advice of legal counsel. The administrative leave was to last until Mr. Bratcher had a meeting with the county attorney and the chairman and vice-chairman of the board, according to the letter received by Mr. Bratcher.

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After the leave began on March 1, Mrs. Smith called and e-mailed him to return to work on Monday, March 5. That was meeting day for the commissioners, and they voted in open meeting to have him report to Mrs. Smith and fall under her direction rather than Mr. Wood’s. He met with Mrs. Smith Monday morning, but did not return to work.

He told this reporter that he was waiting on his meeting.

Then he received notice in the mail Friday, March 9, that, “In connection with your resignation from county employment, enclosed please find…..”

Mr. Bratcher said he did not resign.

The commissioners received notice that he did not report for work for three consecutive days which the personnel policy says the county treats as a resignation. Mr. Bratcher maintains he was on administrative leave until meeting with the attorney, board chairman and vice-chair.

Jasper County Fire Chief Jarrett Slocumb has been named interim director of EMS, so residents will not see a change in service. Jasper Fire Services have fallen under the direction of Mr. Bratcher for two years, so now it is just a change in roles. Mr. Slocumb had already been in charge of day-to-day operations of EMS. He assured all that they will see no change in the service.

On March 5, Mrs. Smith told Mr. Bratcher that the commission took action in open meeting and he was to report to her, and there was nothing else to resolve. Mr. Bratcher told her he was not coming back until Mr. Wood was gone, she said.

The action leading up to the change in chain of command has been documented by Mr. Bratcher, who maintains that County Manager Greg Wood has harassed him unmercifully for more than a year, and that he has violated several Equal Employment Opportunity Commission policies.

The problems began, said Mr. Bratcher, when he was teaching an EMT-I course, and Mr. Wood’s wife, Lory, and daughter, Ashley, wanted to take the class. Mr. Bratcher said there was room in the class, so he said sure.

Mr. Bratcher said that the first night of the class, Mr. Wood came in and was introduced to the students.

“His first interaction with the class began with a very inappropriate joke in reference to how EMS personnel should safely resuscitate a patient with HIV/AIDS.”

Mr. Bracher said he could not believe the lack of professionalism exhibited when Mr. Wood spoke to his class. He said he expressed his disappointment to Mr. Wood the next day, and, “our relationship as County Manager and EMS Director would never be the same.”

Mr. Bratcher said that during the class Mrs. Wood often challenged what he said while teaching. Another student in the class interviewed for this story corroborated that account.

In addition, while Lory and Ashley Wood were riding as EMT students with Station 1 and Station 3, they would report all that happened to the county manager, and if something was not to their liking, he would confront Mr. Bratcher.

In one incidence, Mr. Wood instructed Mr. Bratcher to terminate one of his most senior paramedics because the paramedic had allegedly poked a patient in the eyeball, upsetting Ashley Wood. Furthermore, according to Mr. Bratcher, Mr. Wood wanted to press assault and battery charges on the employee.

“The following evening of EMT school, Lory Wood told me that this paramedic was going to be fired and that was that,” said Mr. Bratcher. In addition, Mr. Wood wanted to know if that paramedic worked anywhere else so Mr. Wood could contact his superiors there.

Upon investigation, Mr. Bratcher learned that the paramedic was performing a neurological exam on the patient. The paramedic had to meet with Mr. Wood face to face in his office and take the curriculum from the Mosby Paramedic Textbook to clear his actions.

“Shortly after graduation of the EMT class, I advised all third rides to cease because their training was complete,” said Mr. Bratcher.

“Greg [Wood] called me to his office and asked me why Lory and Ashley would not be allowed to ride the ambulance. I explained that they were no longer EMT students and therefore they would fall into a 1st Responder status which means they are to respond to emergency calls in their zone unless requested or summoned otherwise.”

Mr. Bratcher said they continued to ride the ambulances, and proceeded to ask Fire Chief Jarrett Slocumb what uniforms they were allowed to wear. He advised them to wear the Jasper county volunteer uniform.

“Lory purchased Duty Uniform shirts for her and Ashley that were identical to the paid EMS staff,” said Mr. Bratcher. “The general public would not be able to discern between 1st Responder/Fire/EMS. They were told that they were not allowed to wear these uniforms due to the liability associated with paid EMTs and volunteer EMTs.”

Mr. Bratcher reported that the following months became “very challenging to say the least….Greg began asking me weekly to resign my position….He expressed to me that he was under pressure from his wife to implement changes at the fire and EMS level to satisfy her concerns.

“It was becoming extremely stressful trying to please Greg and Lory as well as meeting the needs of my EMS personnel,” said Mr. Bratcher.

After an incident last November, previously reported in The Monticello News, Mr. Wood said in a commission meeting that Mr. Bratcher had been reprimanded.

“I was very upset and angry that Greg had lied to the BOC about me being counseled and that a reprimand had been placed into my file. It was completely untrue. Never, not even once has Greg placed anything into my file that was positive or negative.”

Mr. Bratcher went on to say, “I have never been reprimanded in my entire professional career. I served as a combat medic with the USMC overseas. I have always been ethical and honest.”

After that incident, Mr. Bratcher said Mr. Wood contacted a former EMS employee who had been terminated. “He sent e-mails and text messages telling this individual to tell anyone who would listen in Jasper County that I was inadequate as an EMS director.”

“[County Attorney] Jim Alexander, [then Chairman] Charles Hill, Greg Wood, Lorri Smith and I met in the Courthouse. Greg Wood admitted to the Chairman and the county attorney that he had contacted the former Jasper County EMS employee in reference to Jeff Bratcher. He admitted that he was untruthful to the BOC and the citizens in relation to me receiving a reprimand or counseling….

(The News contacted said former employee to confirm conversations between he and Mr. Wood about Mr. Bratcher.)

“I was asked during the meeting about the entire situation. I told Charles, Jim and Lorri that all I wanted was to be left alone to perform my duties without any outside interference from Greg or Lory Wood,” said Mr. Bratcher.

“Attorney Jim Alexander and Charles Hill assured me that I would not have any further communication or dealings with Greg Wood. I was placed under the supervision of the Assistant County Manager Lori Smith.”

According to Mr. Bratcher this action took place in November. It did not take place at a public meeting.

Mr. Bratcher alleges that three months later, Mr. Wood began checking up on him to be sure that he was at work, and he questioned Mr. Bratcher’s work attendance. In addition, he said that Lory Wood sent an e-mail that was intended to be anonymous apparently, as it was signed by a “Concerned Jasper County 1st Responder.” The e-mail detailed the shortcomings of EMS Director Jeff Bratcher. There was an attachment on the e-mail, however, that revealed that Mrs. Wood was the sender.

As Mr. Bratcher was documenting his complaint, he closed by saying that he was close to resigning after that, but he secured legal counsel. He said he was advised against returning to work because of the harassment and hostile work environment that has been created by the county manager Greg Wood. He maintains that if he continued to work for Jasper County, Mr. and Mrs. Wood would destroy him.

This reporter read several e-mails from Mr. Wood to Mr. Bratcher, provided by Mr. Bratcher. An open records request submitted to Greg Wood on Monday, March 12, for all e-mails between he and Mr. Bratcher had received no response as of late Tuesday afternoon.

(Editor’s Note: Numerous people were interviewed for this story in an effort to substantiate or negate Mr. Bratcher’s report. Because of the mention of several private meetings, and the fact that the commissioners go into closed session so often, it is unclear how much each commissioner knows. Mr. Bratcher documented more incidents than space allows here.)