While nothing is etched in stone yet, a report on the Times-News Online revealed plans to conduct random alcohol and drug testing in addition to pre-hire drug testing to employees of the Sullivan County Emergency Medical Service in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
This will affect about a hundred employees composed of medically licensed or certified professionals such as paramedics and EMTs, as revealed by Sullivan County EMS Director Gary Mayes. The Sullivan County Commission has been asked to adopt the policy this month.
The policy is basically an expansion of a drug testing policy that has been in place in the county since 1994. The original policy covers only employees of the highway and sanitation departments of the county and mandated alcohol and drug testing for employees who held commercial driver’s licenses and needed to perform “safety sensitive functions.”
Mayes shared that the policy’s expansion to the employees of the County EMS serves to increase the safety of both the public and EMS employees. At this time, drug testing is only conducted if an accident occurs, according to Mayes.
What the new policy will call for is required pre-employment testing for all applicants for positions in the Sullivan County EMS as well as random drug testing for all EMS employees. The resolution has already been endorsed by the Executive Committee of the County Commission. Times-News shared that the Administrative Committee and the Budget Committee of the Sullivan County Commission will be discussing the issue this week, scheduled for Monday and Thursday nights respectively.
Tags: ems alcohol testing, ems drug testing, sullivan drug testing
