Paramedics Discover the Entrepreneurial Spirit

In recent months, EMS World has explored how long a typical paramedic can keep working at this strenuous, stressful job, what is the ceiling for such a career, what are the biggest reasons for prematurely leaving the field—and what are some alternative pathways some paramedics have sought to find satisfying, meaningful work off the ambulance crew. Another option is to launch a business of their own. We spoke to several budding or established entrepreneurs about the opportunities they have found, the skills they needed to learn, and how these interests have reshaped the trajectories of their careers.

Jake Palmer, a paramedic with Austin-Travis County, Texas, EMS for the past eight years, is passionate about his work.

“I love being a paramedic. I love helping people. Anytime we can be there for someone on their worst day and turn things around, it is one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life,” he says.

But the work takes its toll—both physically, from lifting gurneys and completing 24-hour or night shifts, and emotionally, from all the emergency situations a paramedic confronts. And his agency’s current pension policy specifies 30 years of service and 62 years of age in order to cash out. For Palmer, that retirement is now 35 years distant.

“People see this huge mountain in front of them that they have to climb, where they put a strain on their families, on their bodies, putting other things in their lives on hold for their job,” he says.

Palmer started to look for alternatives and other potential sources of income or fallback plans and noticed that he had a passion not only for traveling but also for planning his vacations.

“I’ve always been kind of a nerd about aviation and trains and theme parks. I’ve always just loved planning them for myself—how different airports work, how different transfer fees work, how to get from Point A to Point B in less stressful ways,” he says. “So I asked myself: why don’t I try to see if I can make that a job—helping other people with their travel plans?”

Palmer has partnered as an independent contractor with a travel agency called Looking Glass Travel, an authorized Disney Destination and Universal theme parks travel agency. He also helps his clients book cruises and tours to other countries.

The new business, only a few months old, has required quickly amassing a lot of information, with courses offered by the travel companies. “But it’s been a blast. Starting this business has really been eye-opening.”

Filling a Niche

Eric Bauer, a 32-year EMS professional and co-founder of FlightBridgeED, a Bowling Green, KY-based company offering education for advanced critical care transport medicine certifications, says he was always drawn to starting a business. Even as a kid, he had a paper route and a backyard bike repair business. He once owned a construction company and was working on a business degree.

But he started FlightBridgeED to fill a niche and an unmet need he saw, originally just by recording informational podcasts.

“Honestly, it was never meant to be a business,” he says. “We were the first podcast in the world that focused on critical care transport medicine, taking evidence-based practice and translating it for the flight nurse or the paramedic on the street.”

The company grew slowly from 2013 until taking off in 2017, when he realized he needed to give up his clinical position and go part-time as a flight paramedic. He and his partners sold the business in 2020 but he’s still on board as its President/CEO. His clinical days are now over, and he doesn’t miss them, although he maintains his licensure for EMS consulting work.

For Chris Cole, a paramedic in Cleveland, TN, his entrepreneurial pursuit was sparked by seeing a need for intravenous fluid administration for people who might otherwise end up a low priority waiting for an IV in the emergency department. He launched Cleveland IV Hydration in 2021 as a friendly, freestanding, drop-in IV hydration, vitamin infusion therapy, and general wellness clinic.

“I’ve seen the concept for years,” says Cole. “With my background in ambulance work, this was second nature for me.” He estimates that in 18 years in EMS he has probably done 40,000 intravenous infusions.

“I like using my license to help people. I feel I can accomplish more here in the clinic with people who are interested enough in their health to make better life choices.”

Cole still does 24-hour paramedic shifts, with three days off in between, for Hamilton County EMS. He needs to keep his paramedic license current since he does most of the IV company’s actual clinical procedures, although a few months ago they hired the first nurse to do IV placements on the days Cole is on an ambulance shift.

Paramedics with a good idea need to know there are options out there.

“My advice is first do some soul searching. Find something you are truly interested in doing.” Do the research and make sure it’s something that’s needed. “I enjoy this work. I’m good at it. My clients appreciate it,” he says.

Future plans include expanding the wellness counseling side of the business, helping to point clients to lifestyle changes, with more focus on mind-body connections and partnering with physical trainers and dieticians. “Eventually, down the road, when this program can be replicated, I’d like to offer opportunities to other paramedics who maybe couldn’t afford the costs of a standard franchise or partnership but could do it with some alternate financing.”

A Start-up Personality

Kris Kaull, a paramedic in Bozeman, MT, has held various EMS positions for more than three decades. Starting as an EMT at age 19, then a firefighter and paramedic, which he did while finishing a tech-focused college degree in secondary education, he looked for ways to combine these two worlds of technology and medical care, working in IT by day and in the back of an ambulance at night.

On a fluke, Kaull acquired the domain name Paramedic.com when he was in paramedic school and searching for study aids. From its “webmaster” and “online forum” days, Paramedic.com grew and eventually became the backbone of users for what is now EMS1. Then he fell into running the EMS service in Bozeman for American Medical Response because the position was vacant. “Those few years became a crash course in running a healthcare business,” he says. Later, he became part-owner of a private fire department and EMS service on rural Montana’s 18,000-acre Philip Morris Ranch.

Kaull was also one of the first team members at Pulsara, a software and communication system that connects ambulance crews with emergency department staff and other key players in the delivery of integrated emergency care. “Pulsara is redefining how we communicate,” he says, describing it in simplest terms as a HIPAA-compliant What’s App, with a communication channel overlaying and integrating clinical data, real-time video and photos—with a demonstrated decrease in treatment times.

What makes this EMS Renaissance man tick. “I’m super curious,” he replies. “Some people can work for the same company for decades, building strong, deep relationships. I tend to be more of a startup person—and I’m not as comfortable in a large institution. I’m also a storyteller and I love connecting with people where they are at.”

There are many great ideas that have yet to come to fruition. “People act on their ideas either because they’re fearless and don’t care about failing, or because they reach out and find mentors.” Mentorship is key, says Kaull, who had mentors to show him the ropes, especially when he was first starting out in EMS and others were telling him he didn’t fit in. One mentor encouraged and sponsored him to start speaking at national EMS conferences. Another mentor helped nurture his leadership abilities.

Forms of Mentorship

What’s interesting is how mentorship can take a lot of different forms, Kaull says.

“It could be a marriage counselor, it could be a sports coach, it could be a music teacher, it could be a friend who’s just been there, done that.”

Mentoring is about being able to be objective and see things from a new perspective because of one’s education, training, and experience.

“If it wasn’t for a couple of key mentors in our field that put their arm around me and walked alongside me, I probably wouldn’t be in this field today,” he says. “They saw a skill set, or something, in me that was different than others and they said, ‘Hey, I’m going to put you in this position because I think you could do well at it.’”

Kaull recently turned 50, with 30 years of service in EMS. He’s now focusing on giving back, coaching and helping others realize their full potential. “There are people who started in EMS who then left for engineering, or graphic design, or art, or computer animation, all these different areas,” he explains. “I feel like, wow, what if you were a paramedic and you were an engineer, artist or musician? How much broader and better would our industry be?”

He aims to make time to write more, speak nationally and walk alongside those with such diverse skills on their journeys. “When I’m teaching, or leading and mentoring others, or if I look at tangibly taking care of one person at a time as a flight paramedic, or if I’m helping to grow a nimble, agile tech company like Pulsara, those are the things that make me tick.”