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2011
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Sandy Neyen
Sandy Neyen is the Clinical Coordinator for the paramedic
training program at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta.
Though hers is a part time position, her commitment is full
time. Sandy has primary responsibility for delivery of the
paramedic program, through teaching, scheduling, planning and
advocacy for her program and her students. Sandy has done
mountains of work toward the accreditation of the institution,
has built a class schedule to accommodate the new curriculum and
modified it to wrap around the electronic unit examinations that
the
college has purchased. The college has new facilities, including
a shared health sciences lab space. Sandy was part of the team
that developed the concept of a shared space with nursing,
respiratory care, nursing assistants, and dental students. Sandy
takes her students' successes and failures as her own. She holds
them to the highest academic, affective, and performance
standards and makes sure that they all have the tools to get
there. She has brought several external programs into the
paramedic program at NICC. Paramedic graduates leave the college
with eligibility for National Registry testing for certification
and course completion credentials in Advanced Cardiac Life
Support, Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support, Pediatric Advanced
Life Support, and Geriatric training for Emergency Medical
Services. This summer, she organized and delivered a National
Registry Paramedic Practical examination on the Peosta Campus,
which was the college’s first. Every detail was covered and a
large number of students went through flawlessly. This was so
successful that it will be repeated annually. Sandy's drive to
do this was for the benefit of her students, to allow them easy
access to a practical examination on familiar turf, taking away
two stressors and distractors. Her classroom delivery is precise
and thorough. Her office demeanor is pleasant and detailed. Her
students make great employees, with several serving the local
area in various capacities at Dubuque Fire and other high
performance services. Sandy is a modest leader in her field,
totally committed to the success of her students and her
training program.
Part Time Instructor of the Year
Dave Tice
Dave has been a vital part of EMS in the North Iowa area. He has
taught hundreds of students throughout his career. Tice has
chaired the Floyd County EMS Association since the organizations
inception. He has worked tirelessly to be the voice of EMS at
the local level and lobbying for a better system across the
State. The hours of creativity that he has volunteered have
fueled yearly disaster drills in Floyd County and throughout the
region. His "can do attitude" will be missed as he is retiring
from a career of service - well done!
Friend of EMS
Tom Hendricks
"Taco" Tom Hendricks has been an inspirational supporter of EMS
in Muscatine for well over ten years, in addition to his ongoing
support of the community as a whole. As the owner of Taco
John's, Mr. Hendricks has provided corporate support for the
Muscatine County EMS Association EMS day over the past decade,
as well as providing financial and in-kind support of the area's
EMTs and emergency responders any time he is asked. Many
disaster drills and training sessions have utilized the
graciousness of Taco Tom to help subsidize the cost of training
so that more responders could take part. Mr. Hendricks has been
an ardent supporter of emergency responders in their goal of
providing public service, most notably by assisting in the
annual MDA boot drive managed and staffed by Muscatine and area
fire fighters, EMTs and paramedics. Tom is an integral part of
the Muscatine community and always goes above and beyond in
support of worthy causes - not just emergency responder support.
An example of this was a recent block party in Muscatine where
Taco Tom gave away over 750 tacos. He also is an annual
supporter of such causes as "Coat Connections" in order to
gather winter coats for the community. Taco John's also is the
driving force behind and annual youth golf tournament. Taco Tom
Hendricks is an ardent supporter of EMS in and around Muscatine
as well as an integral part of the community.
Dispatcher of the Year
Lori Connell
Lori first started her career as a dispatcher with the Muscatine
County Sheriff’s Office. She came to us with an impressive
background in EMS and volunteer fire department experience. She
had also spent time working in hospice with cancer patients. Her
empathy and caring were obvious from the very beginning. Lori
and I immediately found that we had many things in common and we
became friends pretty quickly. I helped to train Lori and when
she decided to leave and continue her career with the Iowa City
Police Department, I was sad, but incredibly happy for her.
Shortly after Lori started, she was dispatching during an
officer involved shooting that eventually became an incredibly
difficult situation involving the parents of the victim.
Although it was the first major situation Lori was involved in,
it certainly would not be the last.
Eventually, I followed Lori to Iowa City. Ironically enough,
while I trained Lori at MCSO, she trained me at ICPD. She was
incredibly knowledgeable and patient with me. I will never
forget the day that I stood in the stairwell in tears, unsure if
I could handle the job in a much larger city with a much bigger
call volume. She came to me and took me by the shoulders. She
looked me in the eye and very sternly said “You CAN do this. I
KNOW you can. You’re a good dispatcher, Kat, you just need to
understand that there is a lot to learn here and you aren’t
going to get it immediately. Give it time.” She gave me a huge
hug that I’ve come to know very well over the years. I did give
it time, and I am forever grateful to her for that conversation.
While there is not nearly enough time or space to talk about all
of the situations Lori has been involved with, I would be remiss
if I did not mention the tornado on April 13, 2006 in Iowa City.
Lori was on her way home from work on the day that the tornado
struck and when she realized what was happening, she risked her
own life to turn around and drive back to Iowa City from her
home in West Liberty. She eventually spent many, many hours
working during the tornado that devastated downtown Iowa City.
She and several other dispatchers were ultimately recognized
during the following APCO conference for their professional and
skilled handling of that event.
Again, there is not enough time to really express how valuable
Lori has been to the community that she serves. She is
professional, empathetic and dedicated. When Iowa City chose to
become involved in a joint dispatch center with Johnson County,
North Liberty and Coralville, Lori was promoted to Lead
Dispatcher. It is a position she deserves and it’s a position
she excels at.
Lori is not only a fantastic and deserving dispatcher of this
award, but she is also my best friend. Her character and
dedication extend to her family and friends and we all feel very
blessed to have her in our lives.
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Lonnie Ondracek
Lonnie's contribution to Blairstown EMS as a volunteer has been
outstanding. In his almost 10 year of service, he exhibits
professionalism that one wish were characteristic of all EMS
providers.
Lonnie prides himself on providing excellent patient care and
maintains his skills to achieve this. Whether it is attending
conferences, continuing education classes or practicing all
skills throughout the year to remain proficient and learn new
techniques to improve his patient care. Lonnie has been involved
in many complex, traumatic EMS calls and his professionalism and
empathy shines through with the patients and the families whose
lives he touches.
Besides being amazing with patient care, Lonnie does so much for
our service: filling in for other crew members shifts, even
though he already covers more than his share of our schedule,
being the one willing to write the patient care report, and
spring/fall maintenance at the shed just to name a few. Lonnie
works hard and takes pride in keeping our rig looking great,
from cleaning it up for parades and activities to touching up
the paint from chips and normal use. He is always the first to
take the initiative and does whatever needs to be done.
His own wife, Connie, recruited Lonnie in 2002. She was an EMT-B
for several years before talking Lonnie into driving the
ambulance for our crew. He had apparently had some issues
dealing with the sight of blood when their kids were younger and
he was not sure EMS would be his "cup of tea". Shortly after
becoming a driver the crew had a 'pretty messy' call and Lonnie
was just fine with it. Not long after he decided to take the EMT
class himself and has been invaluable ever since. He and Connie
are regulars at community events, CEH classes, volunteering with
meals on wheels, and are just all around wonderful community
members who are always the first to help someone out in a time
of need.
Many crewmembers of the Blairstown Ambulance have consistently
commented that we do not know what we would do without Lonnie.
He gives 150% to our service professionally and personally and
we feel that he is everything 'The Volunteer of the Year'
represents.
Career Individual EMS Provider
Roger Wernimont
Dubuque Fire Department consists of 89 personnel, any of which I
feel could deserve nomination for career EMS provider. 64 are
Iowa-Paramedics or Paramedic Specialists. When I asked for
recommendations on who to nominate for this award, one name was
all I received. That name was Roger Wernimont. Roger has been
with the Dubuque Fire Department since 1993 and was promoted to
Medical Officer in 1995. In 2007 he was promoted to Captain on
Medic 551, where he serves currently, quietly going about his
daily duties always willing to take on more than his share of
the work. Roger is the person you want taking care of your
family. If you were to have a family member in need of
pre-hospital emergency medical care, Roger is the one that you
would want to care for your loved one. Not only are his care and
interpersonal skills impeccable, he is a fantastic teacher.
There is not a person that rides with him that does not learn
from him, yet Roger will be the first to say he learns from
them. Roger remains calm under pressure and is a perfect example
of how we should all respond to emergencies.
Volunteer EMS Service
Stuart Rescue Unit
The Volunteers of the Stuart Rescue Unit in Stuart, Iowa deserve
to be recognized for the many hours of time given to the
community in a variety of ways. On a daily basis, they enhance
the quality of life in our City.
They strive to provide public information and education through
public service announcements and educating the community about
healthcare issues including teaching public CPR, First Aid and
AED classes. They continuously teach the public about the EMS
System and how it works, from early recognition of warning signs
to arriving at the hospital, to all the key players involved
within the system. They work with all ages of citizens from the
very young to the elderly. They work closely with other
departments in the city, providing education and back-up. The
have coordinated the “File of Life” program at the local
assisted living facility and have 100% participation. They are
active with the schools, recently holding a poster contest for
K-2 students, with trophies being presented for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
places in each class. The middle school students were given CPR
Anytime kits which allowed interactive training with the
students. All high school students were trained in CPR. They
have installed AED’s in all district school buildings and teach
CPR/AED to the school staff. Most recently they coordinated a
community project to build a new, first in the nation, WAAS
certified landing zone for MercyOne helicopter, which will
further increase their effectiveness of EMS delivery in the
immediate Stuart area. In closing, this hard working and
dedicated staff takes pride in their volunteer role and provide
great care and compassion in the service they provide.
Career Service
MEDIC EMS
Since 1982 MEDIC has provided the citizens of Scott County a
high level of service with an emphasis on quality improvement
and innovative delivery of care. In 1996, MEDIC was recognized
by IEMSA as the career provider of the year, but since that time
they have achieved so much more.
With a service area of over 300,000 residents, MEDIC EMS
responds to 75 calls each day, totaling 27,000 calls in 2010.
MEDIC EMS operates with 18 ambulances and 4 supervisor/disaster
vehicles, working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Over 90
Paramedics and 50 EMT’s make up the two person crews, which
respond to calls at an ALS level. MEDIC received a 5 year
accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance
Services (CAAS) for its compliance with national standards of
excellence in 1996 and has been reaccredited every 3 years
since. Although accreditation is a common practice in many
domains, it is very new to the ambulance service industry. MEDIC
became on the 52nd ambulance service in the county to
successfully complete the voluntary review process, which
included completion of a comprehensive application and on-site
review by national experts in the field of EMS. With this
achievement, MEDIC became the first CAAS accredited ambulance
service in Iowa and Illinois.
In 2011, the MEDIC EMS dispatch center (MED-COM) was recognized
as an Accredited Center for Excellence (ACE) by the
National/International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED/IAED),
for its compliance with international standards of dispatch
excellence. MED-COM became only the 150th dispatch center in the
world to successfully complete the voluntary review process.
Coupled with this, MED-COM relocated this past spring to the new
Scott Emergency Communications Center (SECC) to provide
Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) for all EMS calls for service
in Scott County.
MEDIC EMS began Critical Care transports in 2007 to respond to
the needs of the community for a higher level of ambulance
transport. In November 2009, they added a customized ambulance
to its fleet to offer bariatric patient transports and has
offered this great resource to many patients across Iowa and
Illinois. In 2010 MEDIC implemented hypothermia treatment for
cardiac arrest patients. In July of 2010 they treated and
transported the first cardiac arrest patient who received this
treatment, responded favorably, and was later released from the
hospital. In 2011 MEDIC in a partnership with Davenport Fire
Department, received two Lucas 2 automatic CPR devices for its
rural LeClaire and Eldridge ADM (Alternative Delivery Model)
stations.
MEDIC EMS is strongly committed to the evolving needs of the
community. They provide many programs that enhance the quality
of life in the Eastern Iowa, Western Illinois areas. Mikey Medic
program, Eldridge ADM Permanent Care Seat Fit Station, and Bike
Medic are just a few examples.
MEDIC has been a key player in the development and operation of
the EMS Quality Management Committee that operates under the
direction of the EMS Physician’s Advisory Board (PAB). Their
accreditation and achievements set the bar high for other
agencies in our EMS system.
Hall of Fame
Randy Bever
On August 26, 2011 at approximately 19:00 Life Net 2-2 out of
St. Joseph, Missouri, went down while en route to Liberty,
Missouri, all four souls on board were killed. On board that
flight were Flight Nurse Randy Bever, Flight Medic Chris Frakes,
Pilot James Freudenberg and patient. Life Net 2-2 frequently
serviced southwest Iowa as a back-up aircraft and Randy was well
known and respected by all.
Randy Bever joined the Missouri Army National Guard where he
completed his basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina,
serving as a specialist with the Headquarters Battery 1/129th
Field Artillery for six years as a combat medic.
Randy worked at numerous ambulance districts throughout
northwest Missouri as a paramedic and served as a Supervisor at
Gold Cross. Randy also served as an air crew member for Life Net
Air Medical Services where he became a Chief Flight Nurse and
Base Supervisor in 2000 at the St. Joseph, Missouri Rosecrans
Airbase.
He also taught classes for the American Heart Association,
mentored numerous paramedic and nursing students and other
health professionals. He was a member of the Emergency Nurses
Association, Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association, and
the Missouri Emergency Medical Association. He was always
willing to share his knowledge.
Randy gave his all to those in need and saved countless lives in
doing so. Randy was well known for making people feel welcome,
even during the worst of times. He performed his duty by choice,
knowing it had risk, but he bravely took to the sky in order to
save lives. He died a true hero, and his sacrifice will not and
should not be forgotten.
Hall of Fame
Jeff Dumermuth
In 2008 Jeff helped create a partnership between West Des Moines
EMS and Iowa Health systems to improve upon overall healthcare
in central Iowa. This venture combined private hospital
interests with a government EMS system to form a partnership
that may be a one of a kind in the nation.
It started out as providing a “back-up” to an existing service
to provide specialty transports. When the hospitals considered
starting their own ambulance service, Jeff saw a rare
opportunity to create a partnership where both sides win. He
explained to the hospitals that West Des Moines has the
expertise, leadership and experience with operating a high
quality EMS service. And the Iowa EMS Alliance was born. He is
credited with having this vision, and creating the partnership,
but he is quick to say he is only “the face of this project” and
gives credit to all the people who helped make the vision a
reality.
In today’s difficult economy, this outside the box thinking
saved the city of West Des Moines over $200,000 in the first
year. This occurred because each “agency” is still responsible
for the cost of operation, but they share the administration
costs. This is what make the public/private partnership a
benefit to the taxpayers.
Jeff was recognized earlier this year at the JEMS EMS Today
Conference in Baltimore where he was a recipient of the EMS 10
award for being a top innovator in ems. The state of Iowa, the
citizens of West Des Moines, and IEMSA should feel honored that
“one of our own” received this award. Jeff’s years of
dedication to IEMSA and to EMS in general makes him deserving of
this years award.
To Top
2010
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Rhonda Healey
Part Time Instructor of the Year
Jason Griffin
Friend of EMS
Dr. Carlos Falcon
Dispatcher of the Year
Vanessa Figueroa
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Jane Hagen
Career Individual EMS Provider
Wendy Baker
Volunteer EMS Service
Carroll County EMS Association
Career Service
Paramount Emergency Medical
Hall of Fame
Connie & Warren Lewis
Terry Leicher
To Top
2009
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
John Jorgensen
Part Time Instructor of the Year
Michael Aguilar
Friend of EMS
Judith Giertz
Dispatcher of the Year New for
2009
Donna Bogs
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Lisa Wilcox
Career Individual EMS Provider
Andy Summitt
Volunteer EMS Service
Bi-County Ambulance
Career Service
Siouxland Paramedics
Hall of Fame
Mark Gruber
James Cook
To Top
200 8
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Chuck Gipson
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Clifford Greedy, EMT-Intermediate
Friend
of EMS
Betty Wallace
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Dan Collins
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Jamie Temple
Volunteer EMS Service
Parkersburg Ambulance Service
Career
Service
Sartori Paramedics
Hall
of Fame
Brett Henderson
Richard K. Jennings
Charles Owen
Al Hunter
Ken Vanlandingham
Rick Moore
To Top
2007
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Ladonna Crilly
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Clifford Adcock
Friend
of EMS
Jackie Scadden
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Brian Arnold
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Brian Jacobsen
Volunteer EMS Service
Morning Sun Community Ambulance
Career
Service
Mason City Fire Department
Hall
of Fame
Charles Nehl
Dr. William Moothart
Bruce Thomas
Kathy Dolan
Mildres Lucas
Mark Postma
To Top
2006
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
George Vannatta
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Jim Steffen
Friend
of EMS
EMSLRC
ABATE
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Mindy Brittan
Volunteer EMS Service
Blairstown EMS
Career
Service
Clive Fire Department
Hall
of Fame
John Heller
Ray Jones
To Top
2005
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Dan Glandon
Friend
of EMS
Rita Pierson
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Mike DeSpain
Career
Individual EMS Provider
David Wilson
Volunteer EMS Service
Wapello Ambulance Service
Career
Service
Area Ambulance Service
Hall
of Fame
Jim Carthey
Jerry Kahler
Larry Rossman
To Top
2004
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Kerry Gramenz
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Dave Staner
Friend
of EMS
Ellie Cadam
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Dick Bullard
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Scott Gavin
Volunteer EMS Service
Palo Alto County Ambulance
Career
Service
Heartland EMS Service of Dubuque
Hall
of Fame
Mark Frese
To Top
2003
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Brad Madsen
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Dennis Morlan
Friend
of EMS
Jerry Youngquist
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Tim Richmond
Career
Individual EMS Provider
John Hill
Volunteer EMS Service
Lockridge Emergency Response Unit
Career
Service
Spencer Hospital Ambulance Service
Hall
of Fame
Patrick Scollard
Edward W. Riley
LeRoy Jorgensen
To Top
2002
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Judy Rurup
Friend
of EMS
Gerald Brown
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
David Kleis
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Gerald Ewers
Volunteer EMS Service
Humboldt Cty Mem. Hosp. Ambulance
Service
Career
Service
Muscatine Fire Dept. EMS
To Top
2001
Friend
of EMS
Gerry Sloniker
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Karla Anderson
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Gary Ireland
Volunteer EMS Service
Denver Ambulance Service
Career
Service
Sioux Valley Mem. Hosp. Ambulance
Service
To Top
2000
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Dave Boesen
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Captain David M. Edgar
Volunteer EMS Service
Humboldt Cty EMS
Career
Service
Monroe Cty EMS
To Top
1999
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Connie Knutsen
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Maureen Boots
Friend
of EMS
Doris Rindels
Volunteer EMS Service
Walcott Vol. Fire Dept.
Career
Service
Henry Cty Ambulance Service
Hall
of Fame
Glen Kersch
To Top
1998
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Rosemary Adam
Friend
of EMS
Scott Cty Regional Authority
Riverboat Development Authority
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Lawrence Benda
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Kevin Lange
Volunteer EMS Service
Estherville Ambulance Service
Career
Service
West Des Moines EMS
Hall
of Fame
Frances Bohlken
Donald Bekker
Emogene Sargenfrey
To Top
1997
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Mike Hartley
Friend
of EMS
Harlan Police Dept.
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Jon Swanson
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Thomas Summitt
Volunteer EMS Service
Sioux Center Ambulance
Career
Service
Dickenson Cty. Mem. Hospital MICS
Hall
of Fame
Larry Speed
Roger Hayes
Leo Thiele
Volunteer Instructor
Jeff Mitchell
To Top
199 6
Full
Time Instructor of the Year
Jeff Messerole
Friend
of EMS
Gary Ireland
Volunteer Individual EMS Provider
Dennis Frisch
Career
Individual EMS Provider
Frank Prowant
Volunteer EMS Service
Epworth Fire Dept. & Rescue
Service
Hall
of Fame
Joe Vanderheiden
Marilyn DeSalvo
EMT-D
Volunteer Service
Sentral Ambulance Service
Paramedic
Service
Medic EMS
EMT-I
Volunteer Service
Adair Fire & Rescue
To Top
1995
Full Time Instructor of the Year
Craig Keough
Part
Time Instructor of the Year
Evelyn Wolfe
Friend
of EMS
Dr. Dana Schaffer
Paramedic
Service
Story Cty Mobile
Intensive Care Unit
First
Responder of the Year
Duane Carpenter
Paramedic of the Year
Tim Trosky
EMT-I
of the Year
John Copper
First
Responder Service of the Year
Lewis Township Vol. FD
EMT
A/D Individual of the Year
Jeri Nielsen
To Top
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