Cape Girardeau man goes from IT to EMT

When Tim Bleichroth of Cape Girardeau decided to make a career change nearly three years ago, he left a job in the information technology sector he had held for more than 15 years. Bleichroth left his job as an IT manager to be an emergency medical technician with Cape County Private Ambulance Service simply because it's something he always aspired to accomplish. While managing a staff was motivating, he said he finds the challenge of needing to manage a situation and treat individuals in the midst of an emergency far more challenging.

Q: When did you become an EMT and what interested you about the profession?

A: I changed careers about two and a half years ago. I used to work for a company called Element 74. I was director for web services for them. EMS had always been one of those things I wanted to do. The kids were all kind of grown, so I was able to go to school and start doing this full time.

Q: What's a typical day like?

A: A typical day for an EMT ... there really is no typical day. You never know what you're going to get and that's part of what I like about the job. ... You hear the telephone ring, but until you really get on scene you don't know what you have.

Q: Can you tell me about the first call you went on?

A: One of the first calls [was a car accident]. I was still a new employee and I was still going through my three-day orientation. There were three of us on the truck, another EMT, a paramedic and myself. It was a late call, it was right around my shift ending. There were multiple patients. I can remember the paramedic saying "You take that one." It was my first time thinking "I have to do my job." It's almost like watching a movie. It takes a few seconds to realize it's real.

Q: What are some of the good things about being an EMT?

A: I wasn't working with a crew one day, but a call came in and it was a woman in labor and we actually got to the house and we delivered the baby. That was probably the highlight of my day. We kind of went around saying "This is what we should name him," things like that. We had a good time with that.

Q: Not every call has a good outcome. How do you deal with the difficult situations?

A: I don't think you ever really get over your first really bad call. One in particular still bothers me. I know there's nothing I could have done about it.

Q: Tell me about the call.

A: The call ... was just an individual who had abdominal pain. What made it different is it was me and another EMT that went out on this particular call and when we got on scene he was in pain. When he stood up he just passed out. He ended up having an abdominal aortic aneurysm. There's nothing anybody can do with that. He stopped breathing, stopped everything and all of a sudden you just jump into action. I wasn't prepared for it that particular day. But it's part of the learning process, too. You can't be prepared for [everything], because you never know what's going to happen.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in your career?

A: For me, getting my paramedic [license] is where I want to go. I've wanted to be a paramedic, I like being on an ambulance, I like being out on the streets. I think once I become a paramedic that'll open up a lot more doors. You're much more advanced in your training.

ehevern@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent Address:

1458 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO