It`s All About Kids

Jane Walter, an LPN/EMT from Jasper, GA, is very proud of her daughter, Lisa Valadie. So proud, in fact, that she nominated her for a very special award. EMS Magazine staff agreed with Lisa's mom and recently named Lisa the 20th Annual EMS Magazine/Braun Industries EMT/Paramedic of the Year.

Lisa has been a paramedic since 1989, and is obviously not slouching her way through life. Her passion for EMS, and particularly for pediatric health and safety, makes her an excellent paramedic who is definitely making her presence known in Clinton, MS, where she is employed by American Medical Response.

Following is a list of some of Lisa's accomplishments:

• She is a certified child passenger safety technician instructor, who teaches how to use car seats correctly.
• She organizes and participates in car seat checks across the state and created a Child Safety Tipline for people looking for information about car seat and booster seat use. In addition to her full-time job as a paramedic, Lisa is the Injury Prevention Coordinator for Rankin County's board of supervisors--a position made possible by a Safe Communities grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It was this grant that made it possible for her to create the tipline.
• She is on the board of directors for Mississippi Safekids.
• Lisa teaches firefighters, ED staff and coworkers how to assess car seats for misuse at crashes and what injuries they might find from such misuse.
• Lisa contacted the Mississippi State Fire Academy to do a video on how to safely transport children and how to secure a car seat in an ambulance.
• In 2004, she was a major force in acquiring a rollover simulator for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The device, named Rover, is a Ranger pickup truck skewered on a pole. At the flip of a switch, Rover rotates over and over, often ejecting and crushing the adult and child manikins that have been placed unrestrained in the cab. Lisa travels around the state with Rover, teaching the importance of seat belt use. She will demonstrate the simulator at EMS EXPO in New Orleans, LA, August 25–27.
• Lisa recently designed and has a patent pending on PediNet--a pediatric strapping system that properly secures a child to a long board. The PediNet was profiled in EMS Magazine's March 2004 issue, earning high praise from veteran paramedic Thom Dick.
• She has organized Summer Safety Expo for the past four years, where children from five area schools are invited to learn how to stay safe and make smart choices.
• Lisa designed Safetyville--a miniature, portable safety village, sponsored by local businesses, that she takes to schools for safety training.
• She was named winner of the Outstanding Leadership Award for Excellence in Injury Prevention for 2005 by EPIC (Eliminating Preventable Injuries of Children) Medics, a nonprofit organization of paramedics, firefighters, EMTs and others dedicated to eliminating or reducing preventable childhood injuries.

Although Lisa is modest about her accomplishments, she was extremely pleased with this award.

"This is such an honor," she says. "I hope it will motivate other people to get involved in injury prevention, because it's so important. Responsibility is a big word to use, but I feel it's our job to stop some of these unintentional injuries that we see every day."

Lisa will be recognized at EMS EXPO at the opening keynote ceremony on August 25 in New Orleans, LA, where she will receive a $1,000 savings bond from Braun and prizes from EMS Magazine, including conference registration. For information on next year's award and EMS-EXPO, visit www.emsmagazine.com.