Wanda English Burnett, Editor

The Emergency Medical Service community is being honored for their service to communities across the nation. The national theme for the week May 18-24 is “Your Life is our Mission.” That statement rings true for local EMS personnel, according to Scott Huffman, EMS director for Ripley County.

Ripley County has a unique situation with its medical service, providing “chase” vehicles with qualified paramedics equipped with the latest life saving devices and training available to them. Huffman, along with others at the paramedic station are instructors and hold classes to train others on a consistent basis. They are in the process of teaching an Advanced EMT class, which will be completed this summer, giving county residents more advantages when they have a medical emergency.

The latest device that has been made available through the generosity of Margaret Mary Community Hospital to the county is the CPAP, Continuous Positive Air Pressure. “We are fortunate to have a hospital like MMCH,” Huffman told the Osgood Journal, adding, “we couldn’t have afforded them (two were purcahsed), our budget wouldn’t allow it.”

“The CPAP buys us time,” Huffman noted, saying time could mean a life. The device does just what its name implies, it supplies continuous positive air pressure into the lungs. This stops a life-threatening situation and reverses it, giving medical workers enough time to transport the patient to a hospital where more advanced medical care can be administered.

Huffman said all paramedics have been trained on using the device and it’s part of the equipment on board for a transport. “I can think of instances where this would have come in handy in the past,” he noted, adding, “it’s one more way to serve the public’s medical needs.”

Networking with a number of medical care providers, Huffman keeps a constant vigil for ways to improve the service that is right now superior to any rural county.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Pictured from left are: Don Bowman, Ripley County paramedic, Aaron Leffingwell, (wearing the CPAP mask) Ripley County paramedic, and Brian Pate, respiratory therapist at Margaret Mary Community Hospital and soon to be paramedic with the county, pending testing on May 17.