by Doug Smith, CEO

EMS Week is a celebration of the work and efforts of all involved in the world of EMS. For me, it is also an opportunity to be very grateful for EMS on a personal level. Many of you may not know that my first “Save” in EMS was my oldest son David Smith (who also happens to be our Director of Customer Service). It was over 30 years ago when we were building a house and his little 1 ½ year-old fingers were able to find the pop-out of an outlet box and choke. We were 10-15 minutes away from a phone and then an ambulance that would have been another 20 to 30 minutes. He was already blue and unable to take in any air. As a result of the CPR class I had been “Forced to take” I was able to clear his airway and we have a David today.

It was a result of this event that was my calling into EMS and I thank God and EMS everyday for coming into my life and allowing me the opportunity to have an oldest son. As a result of that event I have dedicated my life to EMS in an attempt to pay it back what I owe it. It has helped me through many other difficult situations in my life (e.g. successfully running a code on my Dad when he was in the hospital) that I realize that I will always be in her debt.

It is with this passion we serve EMS and those involved, as I personally know that you do not know when you will be called to duty or who that person may be. So we commit to working together to prepare our collective students for the worst call they could ever image so as to be prepared and confident. I hope you all had a wonderful EMS week.