Whether it’s being a calming presence in a stressful time, the steady force at the helm of an ambulance, or the person at an accident scene administering CPR and bringing pulses back, emergency medical services (EMS) staff play a pivotal role in their communities.
“I absolutely adore what I do – I have every respect for people who do office jobs, but that’s not me,” said Ashley Keogh, the supervisor of operations for Prairie EMS (St. Paul division). Whatever the situation she has responded to in her past 11 years as a paramedic, it’s meant a lot to Keogh to be there for people receiving medical assistance, “knowing that I was there when they needed me, to make that little bit of difference.”
EMS Week, which runs from May 24 to 31, is an opportunity to educate people on the role first responders play in communities, says Keogh, since she believes it is an occupation that is not as well understood or that receives as much attention as policing or firefighting, partly because it is a newer profession as well.
“Some people think we just load you in the ambulance and drive you to the hospital,” she said, noting people may not all be aware there are three levels of training for first responders, from EMRs to EMTs to EMS. Paramedics are also involved in life-saving measures, for instance, with programs such as the vital heart program, a protocol that runs throughout northern Alberta and which Prairie EMS is working to bring to St. Paul as well.
When paramedics show up on scene to a call involving heart distress, they can administer an electrocardiogram (ECG) and transmit results via fax to a cardiologist in the city. Depending on doctors’ advice, paramedics can push medication to break up the clot while they’re still in the person’s home, before transporting him/her to hospital, says Keogh.
Keogh has seen other cases which shows how pivotal an EMS can play in saving lives.
“I was working in Edmonton when there was a gentleman that was buried alive in gravel . . . I don’t really know how it happened,” she recalled. When she and the other paramedic with her arrived on the scene, firefighters had cleared some of the debris out of the way so that his head was visible and were in the midst of administering CPR.
“We had to create a surgical airway because his mouth was full of dirt,” Keogh recalled. People may have seen movies where actors cut a hole in a person’s throat and insert in a pen to create an airway, she says, adding, “Basically we did that, but we did it properly. He went from not breathing and not having a pulse, to getting a pulse back.” Although he did succumb to his injuries a few days later, Keogh notes she and the other paramedic were able to give him a chance at surviving.
She was also there when the Racette School crash happened, back in 2012. At the time, Keogh was based in Two Hills, and was among the paramedics called to the scene. Accident scenes can leave an impression on paramedics, but with kids involved, “it ups the ante,” she noted.
Even in those traumatic and stressful conditions, paramedics get to work without a moment’s pause. “We’ve had a lot of exposure so it just becomes kind of second nature. Your training takes over and you do what you have to do,” she said. “It’s not until after that you realize a call has affected you.”
In the past year, she has seen more news about post-traumatic stress and suicide among first responders, which emphasizes the fact that first responders should take advantage of the counseling and support which they have available.
“It’s really put it in the forefront of people’s mind, you need to take care of yourself, you need to take the time to talk to someone.”
Keogh says EMS Week is not, to her, about giving credit to EMS staff, but about making people aware of what it is they do, and bringing more exposure to the profession, particularly since there’s a shortage of paramedics in the province.
To that end, St. Paul Ambulance is hosting an EMS Week barbecue, which takes place on May 29. Everyone is invited to come by and treat themselves to a burger and pop, to take part in a bit of fun, such as throwing pies at paramedics, and checking out the ambulances that will be on display, with all proceeds from the event going to the Columbus House of Hope.
