SAESA’s emergency medical services save lives, and here’s how they manage it (SAESA, Part 2)

Below is second of a two-part series. Part 1, “SAESA’s firefighters, it’s all about helping community” appeared in last month’s February edition of SCN

by Patrice Johnson

A few years ago, local resident Diane Rockall dialed 911. Her husband, Art, needed an ambulance. This past New Year’s Day, she lay on the floor of her home in need of emergency medical services for herself. In both instances, EMS first responders from the Stockbridge Area Emergency Services Authority, SAESA, arrived at her side in mere minutes.

“Staff were friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable,” Rockall recalls. “I give them five stars for performance.”

SAESA’s fire and ambulance services have a reputation for fast, effective responsiveness. This is no small accomplishment, considering that it serves four rural townships—Waterloo, White Oak, Stockbridge, and Bunkerhill—that encompass 156 square miles with a population of more than 6,300. With the nearest hospital more than a half hour away, access to prompt, quality medical care can make the difference between life and death.

Thankfully, the volunteers and staff in SAESA’s Ambulance Department are keenly aware that time is of the essence. Their skilled diagnoses and treatments have saved more than a few lives.

Russell Stowe, SAESA’s fire chief, said, “Residents are real fortunate to have emergency services to the level that we have here in a rural area, especially on the EMS side. If you had to wait for an ambulance from somewhere else, you might have to wait, on a good day, a half hour to an hour, maybe more, and that’s assuming they have a unit available to send.”

Call. Don’t Wait. John Beck, SAESA’s general manager, encouraged residents not to hesitate to ring 911 for an ambulance. Too often, he warned, people in distress delay asking for help because they don’t wish to inconvenience SAESA personnel, or they hold off to see if their symptoms improve.

“If something feels out of place, call for an evaluation,” Beck insisted. “You’re not disturbing us. We’re going out to do our jobs. We train for years to be able to do this. It’s so important to let us do our jobs.”

Beck, clearly passionate about the work SAESA does, suggested readers think of a medical event as they would a fire. “If you smell smoke, you would deal with it right away.”

In Rockall’s case on Jan. 1, SAESA’s ambulance arrived in time. Still, the former board member of the Stockbridge Community News admits to experiencing fear. “Leaving my home on a gurney in only my nightgown was frightening and cold. The speedy trip to Jackson on icy, snow-covered roads was frightening, and having a needle injected during the trip was downright scary.”

Beck said SAESA is often dispatched to address high-stress situations involving heart attacks or strokes. “The big thing with EMS is, if you have chest pain, don’t blow it off as indigestion. Let us come and check you out.” He pointed out that SAESA volunteers are equipped with the same monitors a person would find in cardiologists’ offices.

John Beck, SAESA General Manager and lead officer of the Ambulance Department, discusses EMS services. Photo credit: Patrice Johnson

“If you’re unsure. Call us,” Beck said. “You have a window of opportunity. We’ve done fantastic things with strokes. But if you wait too long, then there’s no reversing the ill effects.” He added, “I don’t want to dog on men, but we are notorious for waiting too long.”

Women may suffer “silent heart attacks,” Beck said and explained that their symptoms may feel less pronounced or vary widely. According to the Mayo Clinic website, women may experience chest pressure, a jaw ache, or shortness of breath. They may suffer abdominal pain or discomfort in one or both arms. Heartburn, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or fainting—all can be symptoms of an approaching heart attack. The victim may even just feel unusual or have unexplained fatigue, possibly for days.

Effects of COVID-19. When asked how the COVID-19 virus has affected SAESA, Beck’s face fell. “Last April was absolutely devastating to the ambulance world because we weren’t transporting anybody,” he said. “We ran more DOAs [dead on arrivals] that month than I can ever remember, and I’ve been doing this for 30 years. People were terrified. They didn’t want to go into the hospital where all that COVID was, so instead, they stayed home and died.”

As he considered SAESA’s most recent experience with the pandemic, Beck said, “In the last two months, we’ve responded to an absolutely overwhelming number of COVID calls. Our big hit was November, December, and January. It feels like we’re starting to taper off a bit now.”

What motivates an EMS provider? Beck paused to consider the question. “You’re making an impact on somebody’s life, and hopefully, it’s a positive impact.”

He concedes that often EMS situations are depressing. “We assist so many people in leaving this world that when we are privileged to deliver a baby and bring someone into this world, it’s a shot in the arm for the whole department.”

Volunteer Steve Gipe delivered a baby—on his own birthday, no less.

“It was so exciting that I didn’t even realize I had delivered Baby Henry until I was driving home.”

“Every ambulance run is meaningful,” Beck said, “even those runs with negative outcomes because the actions of SAESA volunteers provide meaningful comfort and support to the survivors.”

Readiness. SAESA maintains three ambulances. Those in its paid, full-time Advanced Life Support Units are licensed paramedics, specialists, and basic emergency medical technicians. They are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Thanks to a centralized dispatch system, both fire and medical emergency services participate in an automatic mutual aid agreement with neighboring areas. In addition, SAESA’s EMS utilizes “the closest car concept.” Since all the vehicles are on GPS trackers, Huron Valley simply dispatches whatever ambulance can reach the caller fastest.

“If a call comes in from Henrietta Township, and Stockbridge is the closest,” Beck explained, “central dispatch will tone Stockbridge.”

Of SAESA’s 42 volunteers and staff, 16 are state-certified to work in EMS. Seven are cross-certified in both ambulance and fire.

“Cross-training is encouraged in order to be more efficient,” Beck said.

“All the volunteers help each other as needed,” Stowe added.

Evolution of EMS. Fifty years ago, families experiencing a medical emergency telephoned their local physician. Funeral homes were responsible for providing transport services to the hospital or funeral home.

Beck credited William Caskey, the now-deceased director of the Caskey Funeral Home, for initiating EMS on a volunteer basis here in Stockbridge.

“Bill was making five to seven calls a day,” Beck explained, “and in the ’70’s, EMS services were just emerging.” People took note of dramatic increases in survivability with faster treatment. A game-changer came with the deployment of “survival boxes” that enabled trained, emergency-response professionals to diagnose and treat heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, wounds and other life-threatening conditions.

The value of subscribing. The website SAESA.org states, “If you or any family member living with you needs Emergency Ambulance Service, there will be no additional cost beyond the subscription fee for those residing in the four service areas. After you provide your insurance information, we will accept your insurance, Medicare or Medicaid payment as full payment.” The cost for a one-year household subscription is $35 ($30 for senior citizens). A downloadable subscription form is available.

To volunteer. Beck, who grew up in Stockbridge, admits, “I wasn’t always the model child.” He started as a local volunteer, he said, and worked in other communities to make a living. “When the opportunity came up that I could come back here and become a full-time employee, it was a great day for me, just to give back to the community.”

Beck said his entire family lives in the area. “It feels good to be in my hometown, to be there for your family and to know they have good EMS and fire services. It definitely does matter.”

To volunteer, simply pick up and complete an application for review. Training to become an emergency medical technician is not funded by SAESA and requires one year of training and two additional years to become a paramedic.

“It’s intense,” Beck said.

Future Plans. In 2018, SAESA purchased and renovated what was a vacant car dealership. Now, the fastidiously maintained and efficiently organized facility at 1009 S. Clinton St., Stockbridge, houses the fire and ambulance departments under one roof. Beck would like to see the facility offer an EMS training center in the future.

SAESA Ambulance Department: Front row, left to right: Irene Wagar, Randy Griffith, Ginny Depew, Kris Dingman. Back row, left to right: Jared Kaminski, John Beck, Erik Youngblood, Brent Stowe, Jacob Hudson, Heather Valley, Kimberly Lott, Justin Thomas. Not Pictured: Ron Hodder, Mike Biehn, Tamy Braman, Steve Gipe, Stacy Mattson, and John Waters.

Typical heart attack symptoms

• Chest discomfort or pain. This discomfort or pain can feel like a tight ache, pressure, fullness, or squeezing in your chest lasting more than a few minutes. This discomfort may come and go.
• Upper body pain. Pain or discomfort may spread beyond your chest to your shoulders, arms, back, neck, teeth, or jaw. You may have upper-body pain with no chest discomfort.
• Stomach pain. Pain may extend downward into your abdominal area and may feel like heartburn.
• Shortness of breath. You may pant for breath or try to take in deep breaths. This often occurs before you develop chest discomfort or you may not experience any chest discomfort.
• You may feel a sense of doom or feel as if you’re having a panic attack for no apparent reason.
• In addition to feeling chest pressure, you may feel dizzy or feel like you might pass out.
• You may suddenly break into a sweat with cold, clammy skin.
• Nausea and vomiting. You may feel sick to your stomach or vomit.
• Heart palpitations. You may feel as if your heart is skipping beats, or you may just be very aware that your heart is beating.

Source: Mayoclinic.org

Women may experience different symptoms

Women may have all, many, a few, or none of the typical heart attack symptoms. Pain, pressure, or discomfort in the chest are still common symptoms of a heart attack in women. However, many women have heart attack symptoms without chest pain. These may include:

• Pain in the neck, back, shoulders, or jaw
• Shortness of breath
• Abdominal pain or heartburn
• Pain in one or both arms
• Nausea or vomiting
• Dizziness or fainting
• Unusual or unexplained fatigue, possibly for days

Source: Mayoclinic.org