By Robert Mills
The Lowell Sun
BOSTON — A 911 dispatcher for Billerica police, two Townsend ambulance employees and 36 Trinity EMS employees are among more than 200 emergency medical technicians who will have their licenses suspended by the state for obtaining falsified certifications.
The Department of Public Health released a list of the 207 EMTs caught up in the certification scandal yesterday in response to public records requests filed by The Sun and other news organizations.
The scandal stems from an investigation that revealed that a Lexington firefighter, Mark Culleton of Billerica, who trained other EMTs, had falsified hundreds of records to give EMTs certifications even though they had not completed required courses and refresher courses.
Culleton ran a state-certified EMT training company, Life Saving Maneuvers of Billerica, but has already surrendered his certifications to ever do such work again, according to the DPH report.
Leo Nault, an employee of Trinity Ambulance, was also implicated in the scheme and had his certification suspended for life. He was fired by Trinity after his involvement came to light.
State officials have said there have been no reports that any patients received inappropriate care from the EMTs who failed to get proper certifications.
Most of those involved in the scandal received certification suspensions of 45 days or nine months, depending on whether they actually used the falsified certifications they had received.
EMTs are required by state regulations to keep those certifications with them or in the ambulance at all times when they are working.
State officials have said the companies and municipalities that employed the EMTs were in no way involved.
The Department of Public Health referred its investigation to Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office for potential prosecution, according to the report released yesterday.
Christopher Dick, director of marketing for Trinity EMS, said the 36 Trinity employees, all but four of whom received nine-month suspensions, will have to earn their jobs back once the suspensions are complete.
“I can’t guarantee they’ll all be back,” Dick said. “We’ll be replacing them, and in nine months we might not have room for them.”
Dick said the company, aware that some type of action was coming from the state, began preparing. Trinity had already suspended the employees on its own and required them to take training courses before returning to work.
He said company officials have been calling leaders in all 11 municipalities the company serves, including Lowell, Chelmsford, Haverhill, Groveland, Boxford and six towns in New Hampshire, to assure them that it will not affect service.
Trinity was also recently awarded a contract to begin providing ambulance service in Tyngsboro, and as a result had recently hired 17 new EMTs and paramedics. Eight more still need to be hired.
“We have 250 employees and over 180 EMTs and paramedics, part time and full time, who love to pick up shifts,” Dick said.
Billerica Police Chief Daniel Rosa released a statement via the department’s website that took pains to point out that no one from the Billerica Ambulance Service was implicated in the scandal.
Billerica dispatcher Donald Hancock had his certification suspended for nine months, according to the DPH report released yesterday.
Rosa said police are conducting an internal investigation into Hancock.
“This is a job that we take very seriously and strive to provide the best service for the town as possible,” Rosa said in a statement that invites residents to contact him or Town Manger John Curran with any questions.
In Townsend, Christopher Cotter, who the Townsend Fire Department and EMS website lists as the ambulance service’s advanced life-support coordinator and infection-control officer, had his certification suspended for nine months, as will EMT Jeffrey Rupple.
“The public will see no change,” Townsend Fire Chief Donald Klein said. “I have enough EMTs and paramedics that the impact will be very minimal.”
Townsend employs more than 40 paramedics and EMTs, according to the Fire-EMS website.
Interim Town Administrator Andrew Sheehan said no decisions have been made on whether Cotter and Rupple will also face disciplinary action from the town.
“We haven’t decided on anything or ruled anything out,” Sheehan said. “The chief, the Board of Selectmen and I will work on that jointly.”
Cotter and Rupple also work for Trinity EMS.
Dick, Trinity’s marketing director, said the company has also responded by tightening training requirements for its employees, offering more internal training and creating a small list of state-verified outside trainers the company will recognize.
“If someone works for Trinity or wants to work for Trinity and they have an EMT card not signed by someone on our six- to eight-person short list, they’ll have to do a refresher course with us, or they won’t be able to work with us,” Dick said.
He said many of the Trinity employees now suspended were longtime and very skilled EMTs.
“A lot of good men and women who had been with us for a long time will lose their jobs,” Dick said. “They just didn’t do the right thing. They got enticed by a guy to do something quickly.”
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