By Kathe Tanner
The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, California)
Being an emergency medical technician is life-saving, high-stress, high-speed, exciting work. It can even be good exercise.
But glamorous?
Kate Bounds, an EMT with Cambria Community Healthcare District, could add that adjective to her occupation’s attributes if she wins a Glamour magazine contest.
The “Moving Forward” awards emphasize that glamour isn’t limited to cheek-dusting eyelashes, lots of bling and dresses that could masquerade as wide belts.
The contest “showcases Glamour’s enduring commitment to honoring and empowering women nationwide,” according to Publisher William Wackermann.
According to the contest Web site, contestants need “a mix of courage, hope, instinct and vision” and to have “left their mark on us by exemplifying America’s driving spirit.”
Bounds, 38-year-old mother of five, entered the contest in May, submitting a 100-word essay telling about her EMT work, the cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes she teaches and more.
“The next thing I knew,” she said, Glamour magazine was “flying me to New York for the photo shoot” in mid-June.
She’s one of six still competing in three categories. Bounds and film producer Adriana Garza are the two finalists in the “Driving Forces” category for educators, athletes, community leaders and mentors.
The other two categories are for “Forward Thinkers” and “Mountain Movers.”
Winners will be selected by online voters and a panel of judges. Contest co-sponsor Toyota will give a new car to each of the three winners, who will also be featured in the December issue and honored at an awards ceremony in New York and at celebrations in their hometowns.
No longer a rarity
Bounds’ Cambria boss Don Melendy said that in 1971, having women staffers was unusual, and it was “very rare for them to actually drive the ambulance.”
Now the district has three full-time and five part-time female EMTs and one female paramedic.
Bounds coordinates the district’s public health education program, helps provide medical coverage for the youth football league, is enrolled in Cuesta College’s new paramedic program, works part time for San Luis Ambulance and is a wife, mother and soon-to-be grandmother.
She and her husband, Gene Bounds, have five children: Brandon, 21; Air Force member Kaelynn, 20; Stefanie, 18; Alyssa, 16; and Raechel, 12.
Bounds said an EMT not only provides emergency medical care, but also helps guide people through one of the worst times of their lives, when they or loved ones are seriously ill, injured or dying.
“This career can be emotionally taxing, physically draining and financially lacking,” she explained. “However, the satisfaction I get from the look of relief on a patient’s face when we take charge of the situation makes the long hours and hard work worthwhile.”
And then there were those tall, spike-heeled Manolo Blahnik shoes the stylists made the 5-foot-tall Bounds wear during the Glamour photo session in New York.
She told the photographer, “I might, might be able to stand up in those shoes. Then they asked me to move! I said, ‘You don’t understand. That’s not going to happen. I’ll fall on my face.’ ”
Bounds stayed in a posh Soho hotel, saw lots of celebrities and endured daylong ministrations of a five-person styling team.
“It was great fun,” she said of her contest adventure, the photo session and her brief whirlwind as a fashion model. “But it’s not me.”
Kate Bounds
Born: New Jersey, 1968
Family: Married, five children
Pets: Cats AnnaBella and Miso Soup
College: Long Beach City College, Cal Poly and Cuesta College, AA degrees in general studies/pre-nursing
Alter ego: Tigger. “He is my twin. I tend to bound around the station house.”
How she chills out: “Exploring the coast with my family. We are working our way through the ‘Day Hikes on the Central Coast’ book.”
Perk of her job: “I get to spend time in the back of the ambulance with fascinating people!”
Favorite movie: “Dogma”