Reporter Rides Along with N.C. Paramedics
Nov. 14--A previous shift hands off their ambulance, and Hardister and Ricks are ready to respond at a moment's notice. Their pagers could go off at any time, and whatever they are doing comes to a halt during their 24-hour shift.
A reporter with The Dispatch recently spent eight hours with Hardister and Ricks during a ride-along. The partial shift with the duo started with Maj. Mark Robbins of Davidson County EMS briefing a reporter about the day-to-day operations and the two paramedics' involvement.
"They are given a report of the truck and everything, if anything is missing or anything is wrong," Robbins said, referring to the exchange between the paramedics going off duty and those coming on.
Robbins commented the shifts begin at 8 a.m. and continue into 8 a.m. the next day. After a 24-hour shift, paramedics have 48 hours off before they repeat the same cycle.
Davidson County EMS has 55 full-time employees with three shifts. The department has 10 ambulances between eight bases. Hardister and Hicks man one of the two ambulances out of Base 1, which is on North Main Street in Lexington.
"It is the busiest base we have," Robbins explained.
An ambulance out of Base 1 typically responds to between 10-15 calls during a shift, Robbins said. The major gave a quick tour of the EMS base, showing a reporter the paramedics' sleeping quarters and kitchen. Robbins also showed where the supervisor for the day's office is. For this shift, it's the office of Capt. James Tysinger, who serves in the role of Medic 1.
Meanwhile, Hardister and Ricks, early on in their shift, took part in training in case they respond to a call involving a possible Ebola patient. All of the paramedics at Davidson County EMS are receiving the training.
A tough but rewarding job
"Sometimes it can get pretty tough because your hours are long," Robbins said, referring to the job of a paramedic. "You've worked holidays. You've worked weekends. You've worked nights. You never know what you are going to go into and see. You see a lot of people at their worst."
Most paramedics enter the field because they want to help people, the major said. He adds that a number of paramedics retire with 30 years, but there are some whose career lasts 10 years.
Hardister, 24, has been with Davidson County EMS for about four-and-a-half years. She received her paramedic certification from Davidson County Community College.
Hardister's older brother, Bradley, is a firefighter with the Thomasville and Fair Grove fire departments. She decided to be a paramedic because of seeing her brother's field and also due to an accident in which her mother was transported by AirCare.
She said the good care for her mother sparked her interest in being a paramedic. The pre-hospital care is why her mother is living, she said.
"I definitely enjoy what I do," she said. "I enjoy teaching things to new employees and students. I do that as well. I am a preceptor here. That means students from the college and other schools around here are assigned a preceptor. They can contact us, come ride with us and get their clinical hours time on the truck."
Reflecting on her job, Hardister enjoys responding to the emergency calls. "Just all around, I just love what I do," she said.
Ricks, 34, has been with Davidson County EMS for 11 years. He received an associate's degree in emergency medicine from Guilford Technical Community College.
"I guess I just kind of fell into it," Ricks said of being a paramedic.
While pursuing a biology degree, Ricks was considering the idea of being a paramedic and figured it was something he enjoyed. Ricks has stayed with the career over the years because he enjoys the job.
But he admits the profession can be tough. The difficult times come when there are calls where he can't do anything to help a patient.
Odd calls occur
Ricks recalled a recent shift when he and Hardister were dispatched to Walmart for seizures. After arrival, he learned the woman was not suffering from a seizure, but her blood sugar was low.
Ricks and Hardister were on the scene for an hour. "We ended up assessing her, figuring out her blood sugar was low, and we sat down at McDonald's with her while she enjoyed a double cheeseburger with her family just to make sure she got it down and she was OK before we left," Ricks recalled.
When speaking about odd calls, Hardister said some people call for the help of paramedics when they need prescriptions filled. Other unusual calls can be lifting people out of bathrooms or other odd places.
"It goes through the 911 Center," Hardister said. "So it's some type of medical need. Every call is medical or someone needs help. We go out and respond to them. We try to treat everyone the same way and respect every one of them and help them in any way we possibly can."
Sometimes paramedics respond to a call and a person needs their blood pressure checked. Hardister said a person may ask the paramedic to get a soda out of the refrigerator. She said she says "sure" in an effort to be courteous to everybody.
Paramedics respond to calls
The shift started out slowly with the paramedics not having a call in the first hour and a half. But it picked up when paramedics were dispatched to a retirement community at 9:30 a.m. Staff at the center said a man may have been suffering from a stroke, but the paramedics discovered he was lethargic, and staff was concerned.
They transported him to Wake Forest Baptist Health -- Lexington Medical Center. While en route to the hospital, Ricks drove the ambulance, and Hardister remained in the back as she phoned in information regarding the elderly man's condition. The paramedics split the driving responsibilities each 12 hours.
Within minutes, they arrived at the hospital and unloaded the patient. They learned later on in the day the man was being transferred to Hospice.
Once the patient was under the care of the hospital, the paramedics left LMC and were back in service. While waiting on the next call, they decided to go to Food Lion on Winston Road to buy some items to make a soup for dinner. As they entered the store and put a couple of items in their buggy, they were dispatched to another call. The items were put back on the shelf.
The call was at the Davidson County Magistrate's Office regarding a woman who fell in the hallway. They learned she's battling cancer and was waiting on her adult son to finish in the courtroom.
The paramedics left the scene and made their way again to Food Lion, this time on U.S. Highway 64 West. They once again put food in their buggies but had to again place the items back on the shelf. This time the call was to another retirement community.
At this center, a woman had a medical issue, and they ended up transporting her to LMC as well. During their stay, the woman's roommate claimed she experienced a stroke the previous day, so Ricks and Hardister called on another ambulance to transport the roommate to the hospital.
A fourth call involved an elderly woman who needed lifting assistance when she fell at her Lexington home. Ricks and Hardister arrived to find a police officer had already reached the house. They helped the woman and left the scene shortly thereafter.
After these fast-paced calls, the paramedics were able to make it to Food Lion again on Winston Road. This time, they successfully made it through their shopping trip.
They returned to their base but were ready to respond at any moment.
Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com. Follow Darrick on Twitter: @DispatchDarrick
Copyright 2014 - The Dispatch, Lexington, N.C.
