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2004 Paramedic of the Year
The Paramedic
of the Year award is for outstanding Advanced Life Support care provided by
a Paramedic in Skagit County. This year's winner was Darryl Schuetz, whose
years of service and dedication to his profession have not gone unnoticed
and through whom many patients have benefited by his wisdom, compassion and
expert care. Darryl works for Anacortes Fire Department, which provides
service for the western region of Skagit County. The award was presented by
Anacortes Fire Department's Assistant Chief Dan Harju.
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2004 Responder of the Year
The
Responder of the Year award is for outstanding care provided by an EMT,
EMT-IV Tech, First Responder or Fire Fighter in Skagit County. Scott
Bates was this year's recipient for nearly 13 years of loyal service.
As a volunteer at Hamilton Fire Department, Scott is always there when
the department needs him. He is constantly seeking new knowledge and
training that would be beneficial. He is pleasant to the public, as
well as with his fellow firemen. Hamilton Fire Department is a family
endeavor for Scott. His father was on the fire department and is now
the mayor. His brother is the Assistant Chief and his sister just
joined the department within the last few months. His uncle is the
Fire Chief. Being a volunteer can be a demanding job and even with his
young family at home, he still finds the time to answer the call
whether it be day or night or under extreme conditions. Scott is a
trained Firefighter. He received his EMT training by successfully
completing Skagit EMS Council’s EMT course and today we recognize the
loyal service that he has been provided with that training.
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2004 E.M.S. Educator
The E.M.S.
(Emergency Medical Services) Educator award is for providing outstanding
continuing emergency medical education to the EMS Providers of Skagit
County. Laurie Bethke was this year's winner for her selfless devotion
to quality education and her commitment to her students. Laurie’s superb
instruction shows clearly her expertise in the topic of Pediatric Care
and is presented in an easily understandable and very enjoyable manner.
Laurie Bethke is often a key component of Skagit County’s EMT Course,
but is also a capable instructor for PALS & ACLS. Laurie is currently a
Flight Nurse working with Airlift Northwest. She has worked in the past
at both United General Hospital and Skagit Valley Hospital as an
emergency room nurse. Prior to 1990, she was a Pediatric Emergency Nurse
at a major children’s hospital in Kansas City for approximately nine
years. Her husband, Dr. Rick Bethke, is an emergency room doctor at
Island Hospital. Laurie is a tremendous asset to the Skagit County EMS
system.
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2004 Commission Service Award
The
Commission Service award is for giving exemplary volunteer service to the
EMS Commission. Dennis Boe was this year's winner for his devotion in
assisting the EMS Commission and the citizens of Skagit County in having a
state of the art EMS system. Dennis Boe is currently the Vice President
and Skagit County Real Estate Loan Manager at People's Bank in Mount
Vernon. Dennis has given many hours in striving to make the right choices
with Skagit County EMS Commission, even under pressure. His conviction
towards integrity is valuable. This, combined with his financial skills
and attention to details, has made him an invaluable resource to Skagit
County’s EMS system. Dennis Boe represents the consumer and general public
on the Commission and sits on Skagit County EMS Commission's Executive
Board as Secretary.
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2004 Good Samaritan Award
The Good
Samaritan Award is for a member of the general public who acted admirably
to aid a peer in need. This aptly describes Brenda Thostenson. During a
period when the local emergency responders in LaConner were being called
day and night for numerous neighborhood citizen assists, Brenda took it
upon herself to contact neighbors in need and volunteer her time and
service. In one example, over the course of several weeks Brenda responded
day and night to a neighbor who was in severe pain due to complication
from hip surgery. During the neighbor’s convalescing period Brenda
assisted the neighbor not only in pain management but also assisted the
neighbor in getting in and out of bed, assisting them to the bathroom and
ensuring that medications were taken on time. This patient is now on the
road to recovery, however Brenda continues to care and assist by taking
the neighbor shopping and checking in on her. Brenda has earned the
earnest respect, admiration and appreciation of the emergency responders
in her area, particularly Fire District #13.
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2004 Ellen Morgan CPR Award
The Ellen
Morgan CPR Award is reserved for individuals who have actually saved a life
using CPR skills. This award was established to honor Ellen Morgan, who was
present at the ceremony and instrumental in the initial establishing and
development of Skagit County’s CPR program as a regional faculty member and
an Instructor Trainer of the American Heart Association.
On April 25th of this
year, Amy Morrison, Tim Alvord, Ashley Alvord and Joey Raitz were new fire
recruits returning to Cedardale Fire Department from fire training at the
North Bend Fire Academy. As high school students at Mount Vernon High
School, they had just recently completed the Public CPR training which is
sponsored and taught by Skagit County EMS Commission. The Fire Department
was toned out and these new recruits went along with Firefighters Keith
Raitz and Jerry Friend. When they arrived to find a man in cardiac arrest,
they became active in the process of providing CPR. These high school
students were able to provide the necessary blood flow and oxygen to the
patient until Paramedics arrived on scene and used a defibrillator to treat
the man. By using electricity, personnel were able to bring the patient back
from the dead.
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2004: Special Recognition
As Dr.
Ron Richeson has announced that he will retire from the position of
Medical Program Director at the end of the year, he was also recognized
by those present. In 1977, Dr. Richeson, as the Chairman of the
Emergency Department at Skagit Valley Hospital, wrote a letter to a
doctor involved on the state boards for Emergency Medicine. He stated a
desire to have Advanced Life Support service in Skagit County and to
have a course training Paramedics. In the response from the doctor
chairing that Board, the doctor explained in great detail how Skagit
County was not large enough to support a system with Paramedics, let
alone intermediate level EMT’s. He went on to explain that training such
personnel would not be very feasible. Dr. Richeson worked against the
odds to prove that this was not true and showed valuable foresight to
pursue what has now become the standard in pre-hospital care. Skagit
County has had the privilege and benefit of this ALS service, thanks to
the foresight of Dr. Richeson. Since the beginning, many have
appreciated the kind heart and clear direction of Dr. Ron Richeson while
he has been at the helm as Medical Program Director.
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