(From Seneca County Sheriff Fred Stevens)
With the upcoming April retirement of longtime County employee, Ken Majors, I thought it appropriate to have a story done on how his impact here at the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, albeit a short time in his overall County service, helped turn our medical program into what it is today.
Ken was instrumental in modernizing and improving every aspect of the medical office and deserves all the accolades. He assembled a great team in that beginning period and all of them were instrumental in making the necessary changes to move ahead.
-Sheriff Stevens
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New staff needed for jail medical department made better by Ken Majors
By Sheri Trusty, Public Relations / Community Engagement Coordinator
When Seneca County Sheriff Fredrick Stevens began his first term in 2021, he had a vision of a better, safer, and more efficient jail. He set out to improve the building and the procedures, and he created a foundation for that vision by surrounding himself with good people. Among them was Ken Majors, who was hired in 2022 as the RN Supervisor to head the jail’s medical department.
Majors embraced the sheriff’s vision, and, together, they transformed the medical department into a modern facility that offers efficient medical care in a safe environment that consistently meets the demands of state and federal requirements. But when he started, Majors and his staff of one cared for the medical needs of close to 200 inmates – including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inmates – utilizing antiquated equipment and procedures.
Majors brought years of medical experience to the position. He started his career as a firefighter/paramedic with Tiffin fire on April 1, 1995, while concurrently attending nursing school to become a registered nurse. His career brought him to Mercy St. Vincent Life Flight, where he eventually served as a regional supervisor, and he also served as the Seneca County EMS director from 2013 to 2022, where his impact is still felt today.
During his time as EMS director, Majors became a charter member of the Ohio EMS Chiefs Association.
“I got to know people at the state and served on the State Board of EMS,” Majors said. “I was on the Rural EMS Committee and the EMS Systems Development Committee. It was just me when I started, and I recruited people to join me.”
Majors procured a federal grant that funded an EMS study in Seneca County. That study created the opportunity for Majors to have a voice in early EMS system designs, which laid the foundation for current countywide EMS improvements.
“I’m very proud of what we designed,” he said.
When Majors joined the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office in 2022, his system design skills were invaluable as he and Sheriff Stevens sought to modernize the jail’s medical department.
“Sheriff Stevens had a vision to upgrade the department to streamline services and provide better care for inmates, and he asked me to redesign the program,” Majors said. “I can’t say enough about Sheriff Stevens. He listened to everything I said.”
The medical department’s improvements include new carpet, paint, cabinets, and a remodeled bathroom. New computers were purchased, and online procedures replaced paper documents. The improvements created an efficient environment that impressed inspectors from both Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections and ICE.
“We got rid of a lot of paper and embraced technology. We got all the things to run an office. We had to start over,” Majors said. “Since then, we’ve passed all of our inspections.”
New staff was added, and today, Majors works with a medical tech, an LPN, and a health services administrator, who is also a paramedic, but more staff is needed. Majors, who has served the county in various capacities for 30 years, will retire on April 4, and the sheriff is looking for support staff to help maintain the department’s high standards.
“We’re looking for healthcare providers, which can be an LPN, medical assistant, or paramedic,” Majors said.
Majors said the positions offer competitive pay and benefits, Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) benefits, and 12-hour shifts, which creates more time off. Anyone joining the medical department staff will work in a modern facility where they are well-cared for by the corrections officers as they care for the medical needs of the inmates.
“You are part of a family here. These people open their arms up and bring you in. You feel safe. These guys take care of us,” he said. “A lot of people don’t realize how talented the corrections officers are. They are the unsung heroes of the criminal justice world.”
When Majors retires next month, he can walk away knowing he helped create a medical department that will impact staff and inmates for years to come. As new employees are hired into the department, they will have the privilege of working in an environment where they can offer the best medical care possible to county inmates.
The medical department is hiring LPNs, med techs, EMT-Bs, paramedics, and medical assistants for fulltime and part-time positions. Starting pay is $25.07. For more information, contact Lt. Cunningham at wjcunningham@senecacountyohio.gov, visit www.senecacountyso.org, or pick up an application at the dispatch window of the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, located at 3040 S. State Route 100 in Tiffin.
