Johnson prepared for duties as ambulance director


CJ Johnson
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

     Born and raised in Monticello, C.J. Johnson is giving back to his hometown as the new ambulance director.

     Johnson officially started his new gig on Jan. 2. He will manage the Monticello Ambulance Service while maintaining a part-time job as a nurse in the emergency department at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids.

     Johnson has been with the Monticello service for well over a decade now. He’s taken on several roles within the department as an ambulance driver, EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), paramedic, as well as volunteer roles. Johnson has worked both part-time and full-time for the department over the years.

     As for why he wanted to go after the director job, Johnson said a big part of it was serving his hometown.

     “Everyone is like family here,” he said. “I’ve always been interested in healthcare and wanted to take care of my hometown.”

     As for his continued role at Mercy, Johnson said the large patient count there would ultimately help him keep up his skills.

     When he started with Mercy 16 years ago, Johnson said their patient count was around 70 a day. Now, they see over 160 patients a day.

     He will also continue on as a paramedic in Monticello, going on calls.

     Johnson is also a veteran, having served his country in the Army.

     Taking on the director job also brings more added administration responsibilities. Johnson said he’d be spending more time in the office at the Public Safety Building. He will now have to take over scheduling of the volunteer EMTs and paramedics, as well as keeping the budget in order.

     “There are not a lot of places we can cut corners here,” he said of maintaining a tight budget. The ambulance department is a community service, not a department known for brining in a ton of revenue. Most of the revenue stems from billing of calls, either through the patient him/herself, insurance or Medicare. The ambulance department also receives funding from area townships.

     Johnson said he also plans to look at purchasing a new ambulance in the near future.

     With the city pursuing a painting project on the water tower off W. First Street, he said the department also has to look at removing radio equipment off that tower.

     “That equipment is functioning past its life expectancy,” he said.

     With that in mind, is new radio equipment needed or do they just place it on a temporary tower in the meantime?

     Johnson is also adding to his duties by meeting with the county’s E911 Service Board and Jones County EMS.

     Johnson’s educational background includes a diploma degree in paramedic science from Clinton Community College, an associate degree in nursing from Kirkwood Community College, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Mount Mercy. He also has training as a critical care paramedic, in HAZMAT, and in FF1 (Firefighter 1).

     The Monticello Ambulance Service maintains six full-time paramedics, including Johnson, and four part-time paramedics. They also have a dozen or more volunteer EMTs.

     “We have a very good service here compared to other towns our size,” shared Johnson. “We will continue the same level of service. A lot of people depend on us for emergency services.”

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