First Responders Day — Perry County ambulance crews always ready to serve

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — A second family.

That's how paramedics of the Perry County Memorial Hospital Ambulance Service describe their team members, and that makes sense because the crews not only work long hours together — they live with each other at the station during their 48-hour shifts.

"It's just like being at home," director Jenni France said. "They cook dinner together. They watch TV together. When the tones rock, they jump up and go."

The crews are on duty 24 hours a day during their shifts, answering whatever calls come in and squeezing in education and training wherever possible.

Paramedic Jesse Martin said such an arrangement might seem unusual but it works well.

"We have a kitchen, bedrooms. It's just that our garage has ambulances in it instead of my Jeep," he noted.

The family-like atmosphere is not only important because of all the hours the crews spend with each other, it's critical to the work. Crew leader Todd Ransom said the service's 13 full-time and 15 part-time paramedics and emergency medical technicians are of one mind in the field.

"It's like, I will say, 'I ...' and they are handing me what I need," he explained.

No typical day

France said the crews respond to a variety of situations, including calls for medical assistance, vehicle crashes and farm and industrial accidents.

"We seem to have a lot of trauma up here," she said.

She praised the service's team as dedicated and skilled.

"They are awesome. They do what is expected of them. They do the extra training. They go the extra mile," she said. "They are out in the community, and that is the most rewarding part to me — us being able to take care of our community."

Most of the service's staff have completed paramedic school, an intensive training regimen that spans 18 months. Ransom, a 30-year paramedic veteran, said the program is akin to military training.

"They get us to the point where in the middle of the night, at 3 a.m., muscle memory takes over. You are that trained," he said. "You are not guessing at 3 a.m. You know your stuff."

Martin, a Perryville native who has been working in the field for seven years, agreed, though he said from the start he knew he had found his calling.

"Paramedic school is the worst year and a half of your life. Your entire life is that for a year and a half," he said.

Ransom, Martin and paramedic Jennifer Ruehling, also a native of the area, explained that good days are really good and bad days are really bad.

What's a bad day?

"Usually, anytime it's a child or pediatric full arrest. Those are bad, or motor vehicle accidents when you have someone that is young that's seriously injured. Those are always hard," Ruehling, a five-year paramedic, noted. "That's especially true if family shows up at the scene. You are trying to do your job, but you are also trying to comfort the family. Those are the worst days. It makes it easier when you have a reliable partner. Someone you trust."

Ransom agreed.

"We all have kids. Working on kids is bad, but it's one of those things we train on a lot," he said, adding that the crews debrief after such situations and have regional resources to call upon after particularly sensitive incidents. "We see everything from Grandma fell over to stuff I won't even describe. You just never know what you are going to see."

One aspect of serving a small community, the crew noted, is responding to calls in which they know the victim.

"That's our worst day, and it's our best day," Ransom said. "Sometimes, it's good because we know the people to get in contact with. So, it's relative in that way."

What's a good day?

"I've delivered two babies. That's the best part — bringing in life instead of watching it go. Those are amazing days," Ransom offered. "My best day is when I don't have to experience any loss of life or serious injuries.

Ransom said helping treat and calm children is also rewarding.

"The best, though, is when you have somebody come back who you didn't think was going to make it, but then they come back to you later and thank you," he said.

Martin said the close-knit crews help each other cope with the stresses of the work. He noted that being able to remain detached from the emotional nature of treating patients is important.

"You have to have that personality where you are going to see some things, and you can't let it affect you," he explained.

When asked what character traits help make a good paramedic, Martin pointed to several.

"You need to be driven, focused and detail-oriented but not too detail-oriented. You need to be able to assess things well, rapidly, but not get caught up on things," he said. "You need to be able to work under pressure, sleep deprivation. Some people are very creatures of habit. You can't do that in this job because your habit is whatever the job throws at you."

The ambulance crews work alongside personnel from other agencies — law enforcement and fire departments, for example. Martin said good working relationships with those folks helps everyone do their job better.

"For me and Jen, one of her cousins is a deputy here. There are multiple officers I went to high school with," he said. "If you have good working relationships with them, they will have your back. They are there to help you. They are folks who don't have to be there, especially the fire departments here. They are all volunteers. They don't have to be there but still choose to serve."

The unpredictable nature of the job is one of its novelties, Ransom said.

"My job changes every day. I don't have the same thing every day. The only same thing I have is my fellow crew, but my day can go from, 'Hey, we ran a couple calls' to, 'Hey, we didn't see base; we didn't sleep.' Being a paramedic is a lot of stress. I'm sitting here doing nothing, and the next thing you know, I'm going 90 to nothing, working to save somebody."

Proving the point, moments later, two calls for medical assistance came in, prompting Ransom, Martin and Ruehling to respond.