SC medical center dedicates memorial to former medics

Four medics were remembered with their names and dates of service engraved on brick pavers in the memorial, located in the front of the EMS headquarters on the campus of Oconee Medical Center

September 08, 2011 05:11 AM

**Image Independent Mail**
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Department Honor Guards post colors in front of the new EMS memorial.

Anderson Independent-Mail

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. — In a small ceremony on Aug. 23, Oconee Medical Center’s Emergency Medical Services dedicated a newly constructed memorial to honor deceased medics who had 10 or more years of service with the department.

Four medics were remembered with their names and dates of service engraved on brick pavers in the memorial, located in the front of the EMS headquarters on the campus of Oconee Medical Center. Harley Chapman, Ray Corn, Slay Whitfield and Mike Wigington are the first medics to be honored in the memorial. Chapman’s wife placed his brick into the memorial and Chip Browning, Oconee Medical Center paramedic, installed the bricks of the other men as they were recognized.

Chapman was also honored for his dedication to helping keep the EMS vehicles in good repair - very often during his own free time. Medics lovingly named the EMS garage where the ambulances and vehicles are parked Chapman’s Mechanical Garage in his memory. Kent Whitten, director of emergency medical services, stated, “Not only do we miss Harley for what he did as a medic and for what he meant to us as a friend, but our fleet of vehicles was never in better shape than when he was here to take care of them.”

Special guest Senator Thomas Alexander presented the family of Chapman a commendation on behalf of the South Carolina Senate. He also presented both a United States flag and South Carolina state flag to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Department Honor Guard who raised the flags to commemorate the occasion.

Together Chapman, Corn, Whitfield and Wigington had 70 years of service with the Oconee Medical Center EMS.

“That’s what makes our EMS system special,” Whitten said. “You don’t see that kind of longevity and loyalty in other systems. We still have medics who have been with us for over 20 years. It speaks highly of the culture and camaraderie we have established among our group.”

Oconee Medical Center’s EMS is the county’s emergency medical service and is one of only a few hospital-operated emergency medical services in the state.

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