Copyright 2006 Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
By KIM RINGf
Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts)
WARE, Mass. — Emergency medical technicians don’t just drop off their patients in the emergency room at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital and then drive away.
Many times they spend time working alongside doctors, trying to save lives or simply comforting their patients.
This week, the hospital honored more than 60 EMTs and paramedics who, officials said, “go above and beyond.”
EMTs from Hardwick, Ware, West Brookfield, Warren, North Brookfield, East Brookfield, Brookfield and towns in Western Massachusetts were treated to a special dinner at the hospital.
They were praised by Dr. Roger LaFleur, an emergency room doctor, and Christine F. Shirtcliff, the hospital’s executive vice president.
“This is one of the rare times EMTs get appreciated,” Dr. LaFleur said.
In his years at the hospital, the doctor has come to know most area EMTs and paramedics by name.
He said he has seen their gentle ways with patients and their dedication to making people well.
Sometimes, a patient is too sick to be treated at the local hospital and requires a transfer to a Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. EMTs are called in, often in the middle of the night, to take those patients away.
He recalled jumping into the ambulance on one such transfer with a patient suffering from a serious heart condition. The EMT driving the ambulance hit a huge pothole that the doctor believes affected the patient’s heart rhythm, which eventually got better.
Ms. Shirtcliff said she understands that emergency medical staff often must decide, especially in disasters, whether to stay with their families or come in and try to help others.
She said the EMTs are dedicated, attending disaster drills a couple of times each year.
She said they will be asked to participate in more practice runs as time goes on.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, she said, one Gulf Coast hospital official told the story of a sea turtle swimming through their facility. While Baystate Mary Lane has prepared for crises, she wondered how a disaster of that size would be managed.
“I’m not really sure we’re ready to take on the media,” she said.
Among those receiving praises at the Wednesday night event were retired firefighter EMTs Roger and Paul Pariseau, fixtures on the Ware Fire Department for years.
Dr. LaFleur recalled the brothers bringing patients in and then promising to go back and lock their homes or arrange for care of their pets.
He said that type of care, which he says is more often found in small towns, helps patients to heal, because they know that they don’t have to worry about things at home and can stay at the hospital until they are well.