Take Time to Remember
Holiday Weekend
The first holiday weekend of what we consider to be the “summer season” is upon us. In the United States we take time to remember those who have given their all, their very lives, so we who remain can live in freedom.
We set aside this time to honor our military veterans among us and also to pause to think about those who fought and gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Our Own Heroes
Many individuals who have given their time in service to our great nation likewise serve in EMS. The skills our veterans learn when in battle many times return to our communities to contribute to local EMS organizations across our land.
Your EMS agency may have persons who right now are serving in active duty. Their presence is missed each and every week as you put together the duty roster with, once again, a hole where the name of your favorite colleague should be filled in.
The Pioneers of EMS
While we especially single out our veterans for recognition, we all know of those persons who are considered the Pioneers of EMS in our respective communities.
We ask that you take a minute to think about where EMS was just forty years ago and where it is today.
Such remarkable growth and knowledge we have gained about how to save lives in the field.
Our progress as a healthcare discipline is remarkable when you think about it.
From converted hearses with barely a scoop stretcher, crude oxygen delivery devices and a “cot”, we have evolved to the modern vehicles and equipment we all take for granted. On the backs of the pioneers who spearheaded modern EMS, we have risen to devise a system that continues to re-examine and re-create itself.
Take Time
Is there an EMS pioneer out there that you know about? If so, take time to visit with that person this weekend if time allows. Ask that person how things were in “the day.” Just the respect you will give to that person you choose will lift his/her spirits and remind that person how vital a role he/she has played in creating what EMS has become in the year 2016.
Sit down and trade some war stories. Invite a pioneer to visit your station or maybe even do a ride-along if your system allows. Enable those who came before you to take a first-hand peek into your world today in contrast to their world of yesterday.
Additionally, stop by the gravesite of a former partner, a former squad member or founding member of your EMS agency. Pay your respects to those who went before you and contributed to who you are today.
Remember a former instructor or a mentor that poured his/her knowledge into you and passed the torch to the next generation- you!
Say “Thank You!”
Be it a military veteran or EMS pioneer, this is the weekend to say “Thank You!”
Sure there will be plenty of time to have fun, grill a few hotdogs and hamburgers and spend time with family and friends. But let’s not lose sight of what this weekend is all about.
It’s a time to remember.
It’s a time to honor.
To those of you who will be pulling shifts this weekend, we say a HUGE THANK YOU! It’s not easy to pull holiday weekend duty. There will be those of you who are just about to sit down to enjoy that delicious picnic lunch when the pager trips and you’ll do that thing that you do, only to return to a cold hamburger and an empty picnic table.
It’s not easy to do, but remember the person’s life you just save or the comfort you provided to someone in need honors the very spirit that this weekend is intended for.
From all of us here in our billing office, we wish you a safe and happy holiday weekend.
Summer is just around the corner. Enjoy!!
