Local emergency medical personnel are being recognized for their commitment every day to the people who live in their communities.
“Rising to the Challenge” is this year’s theme for National EMS Week. This is the 47th year communities across the country are honoring their emergency medical practitioners.
In Augusta-Richmond County, approximately 68% of all emergency responses are medical related.
“I have been impressed by the work and advancement our firefighter/EMTs accomplish each and every day,” said Augusta Fire Chief/EMA Director Antonio Burden in a news release. “I commend them and our local healthcare providers for saving lives and fostering a positive relationship that makes a difference for citizens of Richmond County.”
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Staff at Doctors Hospital fired up the grills, set up the banquet tables and had a picnic for their emergency crews on May 17.
“They come in; they help us make sure that patients get treatment timely. For somebody that’s having a heart attack or a stroke or somebody that has been in a car wreck, they are just a vital part of everything that we do and making sure that our healthcare system works the way it should,” said Sherry Robbins, assistant chief nursing officer at Doctors Hospital.
The hospital also presented awards to a crew that worked in the field along with staff supporting them.
A Phoenix coin was presented to a crew for a successful resuscitation and the patient survived to discharge neurologically intact. This year the team honored was paramedic Autumn Bradford, EMTs Gabriel Bussey and Haley Houck, and 911 call taker Almonde Rivera, all employed by Gold Cross Ambulance Service, along with Columbia County Firefighters Lewis Stevens and Dalton Long.
A second award was presented to individuals that had been nominated by the staff at Doctors Hospital.
Recognized were Gold Cross employees paramedic Sumner Mooney and EMTs Thomas Lattimore and Brittney Jordan.
The Paramedic of the Year award was presented to Michelle Lazenby, who works at Doctors Hospital.
Lazenby said she was speechless after being nominated by her peers but said her job as a paramedic is what she was born to do.
“It’s tough, but it’s rewarding. We have a great team here at Doctors and that makes all the difference,” she said, adding the past two years have been a struggle, but a great team makes the struggle a bit easier.
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When the awards ceremony ended music filled the air, beginning with a Tina Turner song that said it all.
“You’re simply the best.”
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
