TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — National Emergency Management Services week is a reminder of what people working in the field face each day. Often helping people who are having their worst days.
Chuck Swain has been a transport paramedic at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare for 33 years. He chose to be a paramedic back when TMH was still providing ambulance services to Leon County.
"My mother was a registered nurse here at the hospital and I randomly chose paramedic on career day in high school," said Swain.
The first half of his career he got to work alongside paramedics who would come treat his mom who was an insulin dependent diabetic.
"I got to go to all these places in Tallahassee that I would normally not get to go into and it's sort of a miniature version same thing here at the hospital, I get to go to all these departments and see how they operate see what kind of care the patients get and then I'm involved in all the patients care, it's really unique and interesting," Swain said.
Justin Kennett, director of operations for Bixler Trauma and Emergency Center says, EMS teams can often identify the type of emergency a patient is having before they get to the hospital.
"They are the first ones on scene to recognize a stroke alert, so those patients will get faster care brought in by EMS then a lot of times coming in on their own," said Kennett.
And while the job can be difficult at times for these emergency workers it is so rewarding.
"You can have all kinds of unexpected tragedy and heartache, and it's a little different version but it's the same thing here when these families or their loved one is dealing with a significant healthcare issue," said Swain.
"Everyday is different, It can be exciting, it can be sad, it can cause anxiety, but the people that do it do it because they care and do it because they want to see the community grow and the community flourish," said Kennett.
TMH has EMS positions available, for people who are interested you can go to the TMH career page on their website.
