DARLINGTON — Racking up the meetings this month, the Lafayette County EMS Committee had another one this past Friday, deciding to make Jed Schultz the interim Director of the agency, with Kathryn Chase being named Interim Assistant Director.

With the naming of Schultz in the interim seat, Shawn Phillips, who had been the only director the agency ever knew, is now gone — he had pledged to help until a replacement had been found.

Bob Boyle, chair of the EMS Committee, explained that both Chase and Schultz have been with Lafayette County EMS for a few years each, so they both know the organization, and the staff know them.

“They are both well-known,” Boyle said Monday afternoon. “We are happy with the two people we hired,” Boyle said of the EMS Committee.

With the two in place in the interim leadership posts, the committee can now focus on hiring permanent replacements for Phillips and Jami Boss, who had been the Assistant Director. Boss resigned from her leadership role July 26 to focus on being an EMT with the organization, while Phillips resigned July 29 after a full staff meeting.

Phillips had been originally hired in March 2021 as a full-time director of the new organization, which was created to take over EMS duties in the greater Darlington area after the dissolution of Rural Medical Service. Phillips resigned from the job two years later, but had been made, at first, interim director, before being named part-time director in June 2023.

Boss had been assistant director since September 2023.

With Schultz, Boyle noted he has all the needed certifications to be director, and has been working with state regulators in a seamless transition of leadership to keep the service continuing without any bump, bringing continued stability to the service.

The pair are expected to have the interim roles for at least a month. The EMS committee has set a date of Sept. 7 to close the door on people applying for the jobs on a permanent basis, and will begin interviews next month.

“It looks like we have some direction,” Boyle said of the timeline.