CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Agencies on the frontline of fighting COVID-19 are not immune to the struggles financially that have hit many in West Virginia.
Joe Lynch, the executive director of the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority (KCEAA) recently appeared on 580-LIVE on 580-WCHS and said they have lost $1.5 million in revenue since the pandemic hit in March.
He said that all the county agencies are rallying together to get through the situation.
“The county commission helps us, the metro system helps us, the health department helps us. Our relationship with Charleston and the Charleston Fire Department, it’s all one team. It’s going to be OK at the end of this, we just have to get through it,” Lynch said.
Lynch added that the KCEAA spent nearly a half-million in the past two months in expenses for COVID-19.
He called all their workers “the true heroes of the pandemic” citing continued work ethic despite the circumstances.
“We weren’t sure when this first happened whether we were going to have a mass exodus and lose personnel and a difficult time staffing ambulances but each one of our employees has stepped up,” he said.