Thank a medic this week

You’ve probably encountered this in your work. Maybe the boss comes in with a box of donuts for secretary’s day. Or maybe you brought a bouquet of flowers to the nurse in your life on Nurse’s Day.

This week, we all get a chance to be the proverbial boss. But in exchange for donuts, we can just express our gratitude. It’s National EMS Week, and we think we all have reason to thank a medic.

Indeed, among all the other lifesavers we’d like to give a shout-out to, how about Jalan and Suesan Van Nice, a husband-wife team who has been running with Butte Ambulance since 2003. We tell their story in the news pages of today’s Frontiersman.

If you want to express your gratitude in person, the borough will give you the chance next weekend, while also spreading a little bit of lifesaving knowledge. A community barbecue is scheduled for Saturday, May 24, at station 6-1 (the big fire station on Swanson Avenue in downtown Wasilla). Mat-Su Regional Medical Center is footing the bill for the burgers, hot dogs and fixings.

And that life-saving knowledge? Borough EMS will provide hands-only CPR training to anyone interested. The borough says it’s a quick training that could help save someone’s life.

Mat-Su Borough Director of Emergency Services Dennis Brodigan gave a good example of why we should thank a medic at a budget hearing May 1.

He pointed out that EMTs nationally average a 29 percent survival rate with cardiac patients. Cardiac patients assisted by borough EMTs, conversely, have a 66.7 percent survival rate.

We agree with Brodigan, who called that statistic “astounding.”

Borough EMS leaders are constantly improving the systems with quality control and training methods whenever possible. On-call responders must keep up to date on all their continuing education required by the borough and the state in order to remain compliant and renew their certifications and licenses.

Currently, the Mat-Su Borough has more than 500 on-call, part-time paid EMS, fire and rescue responders. Some of those responders — mostly those in the urban areas of Palmer and Wasilla —work regular shifts manning ambulances or fire stations. Others — the ones in rural departments like Butte or Willow — only work when they’re paged to respond.

Either way, responders will drop what they are doing to respond to a medical call or other emergency. Most have full time jobs and families to juggle on top of their commitment to their EMS professions.

Suesan Van Nice is one of those. She works at a school and gets summers off. But she doesn’t really. Summer’s a busy time for Butte.

So, please, if you get the chance, shake a medic’s hand this week. Say thanks. Whether you know it or not, a lot of your neighbors wouldn’t be here without them.