Lewis Co. Search & Rescue medical director’s letter describes ‘serious lapses’ in providing care

Lewis Co. Search & Rescue medical director’s letter describes ‘serious lapses’ in providing care

LOWVILLE, New York (WWNY) - 7 News has obtained the letter from Lewis County Search and Rescue’s medical director threatening to resign and detailing what he describes as serious problems within the organization.

Dr. Tim Mathis, in the letter, lists what he calls “serious lapses” in safely providing care, not answering 911 calls, and frequently being unavailable for life-threatening situations. He also says concerns have been raised about compliance with narcotics regulations.

(The letter is posted at the bottom of this article.)

Mathis says if those issues are not fixed, he will resign on August 19. Search and rescue cannot continue to operate without a medical director.

Operations chief calls accusations false

Josh Levesque, chief of operations for Lewis County Search and Rescue, said the accusations are 100% false.

“We’re not doing anything different. This is to make us look bad,” Levesque said.

Levesque said the letter caught him off guard, and he questioned the timing of its release.

“All of a sudden, the night that Tim Hunt, John Morrisey, and Bob McKenzie are going to come to our board meeting, they are seen over having a conversation with Dr. Mathis. Days later, this comes out. What’s that look like?” he said.

Hunt is Lewis County’s manager. McKenzie is the county’s emergency management director. Morrisey deals with enforcement and regulation for the state health department.

County manager responds

Hunt denied speaking to Dr. Mathis and said he is taking the letter seriously.

“The one thing that our residents need and demand is a quality service and they know an ambulance is going to show up when they call them,” Hunt said.

County seeks to take over operations

The letter comes as Lewis County has sought to take over control of search and rescue’s operations. County officials say the takeover is necessary due to perceived flaws in the current system. If the county assumes control, Levesque would need to step down.

Hunt said several county legislators disagree with Levesque’s leadership, including District 1 Legislator Herb Frost, who represents the Harrisville area.

“It seems to me that they chase money instead of patient care — taking care of the patients of Lewis County,” Frost said.

Harrisville coverage dispute

Harrisville’s community-based EMS service ended more than a year ago, with search and rescue helping to cover the area.

Natural Bridge EMS is closer to Harrisville — eight minutes away compared to a 40-minute drive for search and rescue — and there has been disagreement about which agency should respond.

Levesque argued that search and rescue is more capable of responding to emergencies in Harrisville than Natural Bridge.

“You’re sending a BLS provider, a basic provider into Harrisville when you could be sending a paramedic,” he said.

Interim medical director starts

In his letter, Mathis said he might reconsider his resignation if several conditions are met, including receiving patient care reports, pharmacy communications and other paperwork. Levesque said he will provide the requested material.

Mathis is still on the job, but a new interim medical director started Wednesday, ensuring search and rescue can continue operating.

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