To be a part of a team that will become your second family requires the successful completion of emergency medical technician courses, dedication and perhaps most importantly -- compassion.

Many times, the appreciation received by this family that faces life and death, tragedy, heartache is the satisfaction a life is saved during a crisis.

Sunday saw the kick-off of National EMS Week, a celebration to "honor the courage, skill and dedication of EMS providers not only in South Carolina but nationwide," said Alonzo Smith, director of the SC DHEC Division of Emergency Services.

The theme of this year's EMS Week, "EMS: There When You Need Us," focuses on the commitment and dedication of the 750,000 EMS providers nationwide who provide the essential community service every day.

Locally, free blood pressure clinics were conducted in the Orangeburg area on Monday, and on Tuesday outdoor activities such as a ball game and an awards ceremony marked the Orangeburg County celebrations.

To become a family member a basic course must be completed and augmented by six months of experience before the EMT Basic can enter an intermediate course. Eventually, with the required supplemental classes, the EMT candidate can move on to the paramedic course. An EMS paramedic will spend nearly three years in school.

That level of professionalism was demonstrated during an EMS ride-along this T&D staff writer experienced. While the required monthly in-service courses were being offered, a call was received of a woman suffering from symptoms of cardiac arrest.

En route from Orangeburg to Bowman, several drivers ahead of the ambulance apparently did not see a need to let the emergency vehicle pass. Before turning off, one vehicle on Charleston Highway reached speeds of nearly 80 mph to stay ahead of the ambulance.

Despite the traffic, the woman was reached by EMS in less than 20 minutes.

During the entire trip to The Regional Medical Center, as EMT rushed the ambulance back through traffic, paramedic Randy Henniger talked to the woman continuously. The woman's heart rate fell continuously as Henniger spoke reassuringly to the her, explaining what he was doing, what the hospital personnel would do.

"You're so nice to me," the woman told Henniger.

"Well, when I'm in your shoes, I hope somebody will be nice to me," Henniger said.

The woman's heart rate was normal by the time the hospital was reached. She was wheeled into the facility, where hospital personnel took over her care.

The 50 Orangeburg County EMS personnel are currently on course to make 12,000 calls this year, more than any previous year.

LeAnn McCaskill, an intermediate EMT, said that to stand in the gap between a person in need of medical care and the hospital means that individual is depending on EMS personnel for everything.

"We're X-ray, we're doctors, we're nurses, we're everybody in one to that patient," she said.

To maintain their certification, the EMS family members must complete at least 48 hours of refresher courses within a three-year period.

"We get more than that, but that's just the minimum we have to have," paramedic Pam Holbert said. "There's a certain amount of courses required."

Those courses range in topic from communication with a patient to medical updates that will allow the professionalism demonstrated with the woman in Bowman.

However, a professional job that is done well doesn't always mean each emergency call will go smoothly. Sometimes, the fact remains that nothing could be done for that person who suffered cardiac arrest or other fatal illness.

The EMS personnel stand on the front line of medical help. But they also stand on the front line of emotional support.

"How do you tell the wife that he's gone?" paramedic Ray Gibson asked. "And when the 3- or 4-year-old child comes down the stairs, how do you tell her?"

National EMS Week ends today.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5516.

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