The Honourable Steven L. Point, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, presented 20 BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) employees with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Exemplary Service honours during special ceremony at BC’s historic Government House in Victoria the end of last month.
Two Kamloops-based emergency responders have received awards from B.C. Ambulance Service. Although based in Kamloops, they both cover areas that include the North Thompson Valley.
Emergency medical dispatcher Terra Vallely won an executive director’s Commendation Award for her professionalism and excellent patient care during a challenging 9-1-1 call.
When the BCAS dispatch centre received a call to assist a patient who was in cardiac arrest following a mountain bike accident, Vallely, a dispatcher-in-training, stayed on the phone for over an hour and provided life-saving dispatch CPR instructions while first responders and BCAS paramedics were en-route. The patient was revived on scene because of Terra’s skill and patience. For someone who was very new to the job and in training, her abilities to provide assistance under pressure were extraordinary.
“As a training dispatcher at the time, Terra’s professionalism was remarkable,” said Stephen Clinton, BCAS executive director dispatch operations.
BCAS call takers and dispatchers provide valuable first aid instructions, including how to provide CPR, to 9-1-1 callers and bystanders to assist the patient while the ambulance is en-route. These skilled communicators assess each call that they receive to ensure that patients with critical illnesses or injuries receive the fastest ambulance response.
A critical care paramedic and unit chief won two BCAS employee recognition awards.
Unit Chief Randy MacLeod was honored with the Innovation Award for his long-standing commitment to the BCAS Critical Care Program, and the executive director’s Commendation Award for exceptional patient care.
MacLeod has been a leading force in the ongoing development of the Kamloops-based Critical Care Transport Team and has put numerous hours into the improvement of health care for acutely ill or injured patients.
In July, a BCAS paramedic’s husband went missing on the Shuswap. Once it got dark, the search for him was to resume in the morning. After being contacted by the paramedic’s family, MacLeod dropped everything to begin his own search. He and a family friend took a private boat and began searching the banks of Seymour Arm. After three hours, he located the man and immediately began emergency treatment. The man survived and was reunited with his family and puppy, which MacLeod looked after while he was in hospital.
Barriere Ambulance Unit Chief Tim Hoffman was one of sixteen employees to receive their 30 year service bars during the event. Recognition bars are awarded for each 10 years of service, past 20 years. One employee received his 40 year bar.