Celebrating Vermont’s EMS Teams

Every member of the Vermont EMS community has one thing in common, whether they are a seasoned Critical Care Paramedic on a busy ambulance or a small-town first responder who might get called out twice a month—they all once wondered, “What would it be like to do that?”

When you think about Emergency Medical Services in Vermont, what comes to mind? Is it a shiny ambulance, urging traffic aside with a noisy siren and flashing lights? Is it a pair of confident EMTs in crisp uniforms, making someone’s worst day a little better with only the contents of a medical bag?  Or is it your neighbors, Joe and Lisa, driving off into a middle-of-the-night snowstorm with a red light flickering atop their pick-up truck, headed toward a feverish child or injured driver they’ve never met, and for no pay whatsoever?  All of these describe the Vermont EMS system, but it is also so much more. Every member of the Vermont EMS community has one thing in common, whether they are a seasoned Critical Care Paramedic on a busy ambulance or a small-town first responder who might get called out twice a month—they all once wondered, “What would it be like to do that?” 

Those who have been in EMS for a long time may remember when rescue squads were staffed only by volunteers who got up from their desk, their bed, their dinner table, or their backhoe whenever their pager went off. In many parts of Vermont, that is still the case.  In the earliest days, EMS treatments were basic but effective for stabilizing most injuries and illnesses, but great emphasis was placed on rapidly moving the patient to the hospital.   Over time, more and more of the emergency room’s resources made their way into ambulances and first responders’ medical bags, so that interventions once only possible at the hospital could instead take place in living rooms and along the roadway.  EMS is no longer just a response to a 911 call or a means to transport patients from one health care facility to another. In a movement called Mobile Integrated Healthcare, today’s ambulances are portable emergency rooms and doctors’ offices.  If you received a COVID vaccination or test at a community clinic, it was probably administered by someone in EMS. If you received a home visit after a medical procedure that spared you from returning to the hospital for a check-up, chances are that was EMS, too.  At its core, Vermont EMS is still a group of volunteers helping their neighbors, but it has also become a healthcare profession with growing career opportunities.   

When a person calls 911, they may never have been more vulnerable, and they cannot choose who comes to their aid. In almost every case, the EMS responder is a stranger, yet when they enter the house, the patient willingly places their trust in them. This is the power of the EMS uniform, whether it’s the crisp white shirt or a barn coat with an EMT patch sewn crooked on the shoulder. People who choose to be EMS clinicians are not just caring; they are unfailingly dedicated to earning the patient’s trust every time they respond. 

The heart and soul of Vermont EMS are the 3,000-plus people who decided one day to see how they could help their friends and neighbors. They dipped their toe in the water with a CPR class or perhaps set a path straight to the highest levels of EMS. No matter the path they chose they all started at the beginning, and so can you. Is EMS for you?  It’s challenging work, and it’s rewarding, and there is plenty of room in this profession for those who want to make a difference: whether it’s to deliver patient care in stimulating situations, rotate tires, serve on a board, balance the books, or drive the ambulance.  You can devote just one day a week or make it your entire career. 

If you would like to celebrate EMS Week by getting involved in EMS, here is a link to the Vermont EMS website with more information about joining this extraordinary group of people.