CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston County EMS Chief Don Lundy was placed on paid administrative leave following the release of a self-published book.
County Spokesman Shawn Smetana said the county is investigating an internal human resources matter.
“Because this inquiry involves personnel matters, we will not have further comment at this time,” Smetana told the Charleston City Paper.
Lundy’s book “Paramedic of the Heart: True Stories of Lives Changed,” was published July 7. It has drawn criticism for how Lundy describes four of his employees, whose names are not given. An excerpt reads:
“They are life-sucking, energy draining bags of annoying hell. And, for their own misgivings, everyone around them must suffer.”
The product description reads:
From shootings to birthing babies, Don Lundy has seen much of what it means to take care of people. Follow him as he starts in 1974 as a dispatcher for a private ambulance service, obtains his EMT and Paramedic license and eventually the role of Chief of The Charleston County EMS in South Carolina.
The patients he bonds with, the humanity he witnesses, the kindness shown to one another, as well as the damage caused to each other, is shown in these chapters. Personal stories about trials and tribulations, either from Don’s viewpoint or that of his patients, helps you to understand what it is to be a paramedic.
For those who have just started in an EMS profession, this is a must read to learn the history and know from where we came.
For those interested in the science, the excitement, the humanity of how EMS professionals take care of patients every day, you will feel the joy, the life, the cries and the laughs of what we call, The EMS Life!