June 2013
| Business World Magazine | 93
we’re going to turn it into something which
can be used,” says Red.
Since paramedics routinely have to earn
continuing education units, Red sees an op-
portunity for staff to more rapidly partici-
pate in training, even while they’re on stand-
by duty. He says the center will also allow
for training to no longer be a two-year long
process, but something that can be achieved
in a matter of months. He envisions the cen-
ter will be helpful to those working within
a sixty-mile radius, which includes some
who provide service in volunteer fire and
EMS departments. Red says these applicable
people won’t be charged a fee for training
– a fact for which some have given him rib-
bing. “They say, ‘Are you nuts? You can make
money on that,’ but we don’t feel it is right
to charge them. They’re volunteers and af-
ter all, if we can help them become better at
what they do, why wouldn’t we want to help
them? They may very well be taking care of
someone in our family one day. Wouldn’t we
want them to have the best training to pro-
vide the best service possible?” asks Red.
Red says he and the entire composite of
“TeamSEMS” take their job very seriously,
and take great pleasure in the ability to serve,
despite the fact that some days are not so
pleasurable. Red says it is challenging when
one does the best he can, providing the full
measure of care within his capability and
resources, but the time or situation-in-hand
doesn’t allow for a patient to return home
safely. “It is one of the most difficult things
about the job, but we have a great support
system, everybody is treated like family and
they deal with things the best that they can,”
says Red. “Everybody’s got a job to do, in the
field or in the office, they know if they’re not
doing their best, someone is going to suffer
down the line. Ours is a kind of business that
doesn’t allow for mistakes. If you mess-up,
people can die. It’s not like we’re serving cold
hamburgers here.”
