Richland County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Jim Southward is in Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus.

Southward was found Tuesday morning lying face down and unresponsive on the living room floor in his Bellville home.

Commissioner Ed Olson says Southward didn't show up for a morning appointment, and when he didn't answer his phone, Olson called Bellville Police to check on him.

Southward suffered a stroke, the left side of his body is paralyzed, and he was to undergo surgery.