A publication of the Arkansas EMT Association

You have completed 80 to 100 hours a week for the past 6 months. Spring is rapidly approaching and you can taste the trout that you will catch along your favorite fishing hole. Your wife and children await with anxious wrist watches waiting on that final end of shift report to be completed and your vehicle to pull up in the driveway. And then… VACATION!!!

Remember the days with no cell phones? These were days when we actually had home phones and we used them. These were days when no caller ID was available to see if it was the office calling. These were the days when we actually used time clocks instead of all the modern up to date equipment, such as a telephone, to clock in and out. A blackberry was something we ate and canned for preserves, not something we talked on and typed on. Email was non-existent, unless you were extremely wealthy and could afford a $2,000 deck of cards to play solitaire with. Read the full article

In October I challenged my crew members to take on several PR projects for the Holiday Season.

The first one was to help local Law Enforcement throughout White County. Due to limited funds avaliable in each department, several law enforcement officers were without bullet-proof vests, or some of those who had them were outdated. I put together a team for that project, and they met — actually exceded our goal. We waited tables at the local Pizza Pro and gathered sponsors, and we were able to furnish 30 new vests for local law enforcement! Read the full article

Awarded prestigious Rocco V. Morando Lifetime Achievement Award

The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) has presented its 2008 Rocco V. Morando Lifetime Achievement Award, which is sponsored by the National Registry of EMTs, to Kenneth J. Bouvier of New Orleans, La.

Bouvier received his award at the NAEMT General Membership Meeting and Awards Presentation on October 14, 2008, in Las Vegas.

Beginning his EMS career in 1974 at the Westwego, La., and Volunteer Fire Department where he still finds time to volunteer, Bouvier currently serves as the fire chief for Monsanto Company in Luling, La., and is the administrative liaison for New Orleans EMS. Read the full article

Click below to view the agenda for the next board meeting of the Arkansas EMT Association scheduled for Jan. 15, 2009.

AEMTA Board Meeting Agenda - 01.15.09

Steven Huffline (left) receives Award for Excellence.

The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) has named Steven Ray Huffine of Hardy, Ark., as its 2008 recipient of the Asmund S. Laerdal Award for Excellence — EMT-Paramedic of the Year. This award, which recognizes a paramedic who has made a significant contribution to the EMS community, is sponsored by Laerdal Medical Corp.

Huffine received his award at the NAEMT General Membership Meeting and Awards Presentation on October 14, 2008, in Las Vegas. Huffine is a flight paramedic with Air Evac Lifeteam in Vilonia, Ark. He has worked as
an EMS practitioner since 1988.

“Steve knows all our protocols and can always be counted on to follow those protocols to the letter,” wrote Air Evac Lifeteam Medical Director Timothy W. Collicott, MD, in his recommendation letter. “When a protocol just doesn’t cover the situation, he has an uncanny ability to work through the situation and deliver excellent patient care.” Huffine’s former EMS partner, Kenneth W. Luff II, EMT-A, stated, “If I could define
mentor, his name would be the first in mind. Steven is literally a walking, talking, interactive, perfect paramedic!”

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The National Association of EMTs (NAEMT) installed its 2008 - 2009 Board of Directors, including officers and new directors, during its General Membership Meeting in Las Vegas on October 14, 2008.

The NAEMT Board of Directors is responsible for the general management and oversight of the affairs of the association. Each of the members of the Board, including the officers, is elected by the active members of the association.

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Kim Hall receives EMT of the Year Award

The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) has presented its 2008 Robert E. Motley EMT of the Year Award to Kim Hall, EMT-B, of Center Ridge, Ark. This award, which recognizes an EMT who has made a significant contribution to the EMS community, is sponsored by JEMS Communications.

Hall received her award at the NAEMT General Membership Meeting and Awards Presentation on October 14 in Las Vegas. Hall is the EMS training officer-elect for the Center Ridge Volunteer Fire Department.
She has been an EMS practitioner for the last five years. “Every patient is treated as if they were a part of her family,” wrote Laura Guthrie of the Arkansas EMT Association in her nomination letter. “She is easily able to relay facts to the medical professionals she interacts with each day. Due to her expansive knowledge and
ability to answer each an every question to those that she interacts with, she is quite respected within the medical community as well as the community in which she lives and works.”

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