A Pennsylvania community is mourning the loss of a flight paramedic who died December 7, shortly after his retirement from a 45-year EMS career.
Lehigh Valley Health Network MedEvac Flight Paramedic Don Shambo, 63, retired in November after 30 years with MedEvac and nearly a half-century of service as a first responder.
Shambo had been diagnosed with cancer prior to his retirement and died after “a short battle with illness” and weeks in intensive care, said MedEvac Director Bryan Evans.
A statement from Suburban EMS reads, “Don has been a pillar of the both MedEvac and the entire EMS Community in the Lehigh Valley for decades. Don started his career in EMS as a teenager 45 years ago when he joined the Whitehall Fire Department, then becoming an EMT at the Whitehall Emergency Squad. Don became a paramedic in 1980 and actively served many communities across the Lehigh Valley. Don worked for LVHN MedEvac for over 30 years as a Flight Paramedic retiring last month. Don is a past president of the Lehigh County Ambulance Association.”
What can we say about a woman who has dedicated her career to her community and EMS? — A LOT!!
Laura has been in EMS for a very long time. She has never been GIVEN anything. She has worked hard and long hours to achieve her position of Paramedic Lieutenant for Rockland Paramedics/Rockland Mobile Care.
A long standing and respected member of her community, Laura has been a volunteer EMT for both of the local EMS agencies in her hometown and worked her way into being a Paramedic at the station in her home town; it goes without saying that once promoted to Lt., she is pretty much running the Paramedic station in her hometown.
Laura is an avid Motorcyclist, an amazing grandmother, a skilled and talented Paramedic and most of all an amazing friend.
When COVID-19 made its grand entrance, Laura was found working her usual three shifts at her medic station, Medic-1 and while others were exhausted and needing down time, or they were just afraid to deal with COVID-19, Laura began doing an additional 10 hours at her volunteer agency.
A Paramedic with great clinical skills, she is detail oriented, and truly cares about her patients — COVID-19 has been very challenging and it sometimes challenges our decision making skills. Laura is a trooper, wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) on EVERY call, showing concern for her patients, her partner and the BLS (Basic Life Support) crew before anything else — ALWAYS!!
Laura takes on EVERY call with the knowledge that SHE IS A GREAT PROVIDER giving her utmost at every call, one at a time, and although COVID-19 may have beaten her on occasion, it’s going to have to TRY VERY HARD to break her!!
Our community is fortunate to have an amazing Frontline Pre- Hospital Emergency Medical Provider in charge of the Paramedic station and who works so harmoniously with the local volunteer EMS agencies.
NEW OPERATIONS MANAGER JOINS
AMERICAN MEDICAL RESPONSE’S KANSAS TEAM
Mickey Huber brings 33 years
of experience to the role
American Medical Response (AMR) announced the appointment of Mickey Huber, a veteran emergency medical service (EMS) leader, as Operations Manager in Topeka and Shawnee County, Kan. Huber assumed his new position on April 20, 2020.
Huber has nearly 33 years of experience in the emergency medical services (EMS) field, including 18 years in leadership positions. He was the assistant chief of operations at Butte County EMS in Chico, Calif., when the Camp Fire erupted in November 2018. The California EMS Authority presented Huber with a medal of valor last year in recognition of the courage and resolve he demonstrated during the fire response, risking his own life to save residents and his colleagues.
In 2002, Huber joined a California-based federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team as a paramedic and was promoted to deputy team commander in 2006. He deployed with the team in response to disasters in American Samoa and along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Huber is also a law enforcement instructor and officer who served in variety of reserve capacities.
“AMR is a healthy, mission-driven organization. Our operation in Kansas, in particular, has achieved strong results. Only the best-of-the-best achieves a perfect score from the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services, like our AMR Kansas team did just seven months ago,” said Huber. “I appreciate the opportunity to share the best practices I’ve learned during my career in support of this team, our patients, and my new community.”
Huber earned his paramedic certification in 1998. He has completed several National Fire Academy and Emergency Management Institute training courses. Huber is on track to complete a bachelor’s degree in EMS administration from Columbia Southern University in 2021. He now resides in the city of Topeka.
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About American Medical Response (AMR)
American Medical Response, Inc., America’s leading provider of medical transportation, provides services in 40 states and the District of Columbia. More than 28,000 AMR paramedics, EMTs, RNs and other professionals work together to transport more than 4.8 million patients nationwide each year in critical, emergency and non-emergency situations. AMR also provides fire services through Rural Metro Fire Department, http://www.ruralmetrofire.com. For more information about AMR, visit http://www.amr.net and follow American Medical Response on Facebook @AMR_Social on Twitter and Instagram.
“I read the book ‘Hyphema’ in one stretch. Very well researched and well written. The element of suspense was maintained throughout. I liked it very much. Great work.” ~ NS (5/11/2016)
“This is my first book by this author and I would read another one of her stories.
This is Matt, Sudah and Raja’s story. Matt is white and his wife is Pakistani. Matt is a paramedic. Sudah is a stay-at-home mum who takes care of their son, Aden, but she wants to finish her education.
The story is told mainly from Matt’s perspective and you can feel the love he has for his wife. Sudah appears to love her husband. She is a Muslim and very traditional in the way she treats Matt. She is very subservient to him although he does not require this from her.
Sudah asks her husband if her cousin can come from Pakistani and live in their home with them so she can go back to school. Matt knows in his heart this is a mistake but because he loves his wife he says yes. Raja brings trouble to their happy marriage.
In the meantime there is a deranged man seeking revenge against Matt. Every harassing activity perpetrated against Matt and his family makes everyone believe these events are happening because Sudah is a Pakistani and a Muslim; but nothing could be further from the truth.
I read the book in one sitting; it was a page turner and I had to discover what happened in the end. I found the story to be an emotional roller-coaster ride because I did not believe that Sudah’s love for Matt was as deep and as unconditional as Matt’s love was for her. Even though there is a happy ending, I could not enjoy it because I thought Matt had been short changed by Sudah’s lack of trust in him. She believed Raja over her husband who had never given her any cause to ever doubt him. I was cheering for team Matt.
What would have made this book a better read for me was to hear the story from Sudah’s perspective, as well, because it was very difficult to understand her reasoning at times.
“InHyphema, author Chelle Cordero meets headlong a number of real problems facing her characters. She doesn’t sugar-coat cultural differences and prejudice. The series of incidents and the deaths faced by Matt and Sudah cause them to face these problems and gives the love story a depth well-done.” —Janet Lane Walters
“Ms. Cordero tackles such amazingly current topics-hate, prejudice, fear of the different, with such enjoyable, suspenseful, and well-researched background, that this reader will be following her closely to see what she writes next. Each medical scene resonates with reality, and each chapter flows into the next with a flutter in the pit of the stomach for what is coming, as well as what has been.” —Brian Davidson
“Isat down to read Hyphema late one night. I thought I would start it, read for about thirty minutes and then go to sleep; instead, I stayed up till almost four in the morning reading it. Immediately immersed in the story, the tension never let up enough for me to even consider putting it down and coming back to it later.
Matt is an air ambulance EMT, a flight medic. He has just moved his son, and his Pakistani wife, to a small town in North Carolina from New York so he could have this job. The job is his dream job and Sudah, his wife, couldn’t be more supportive. She is patient, caring and so obviously in love with Matt and their son that it just spills over onto the page. She’s the kind of person I’d like to have for a neighbor, but not everyone, even within the circle of Matt’s work buddies and their wives feel that way, but Sudah handles the anger and prejudice with grace and softly spoken words meant to soften hearts and break down the walls of misunderstanding.
On one particularly heartbreaking call, Matt and his team are dispatched to a motor vehicle accident involving an SUV that had rolled over. The mother was unconscious, trapped in the car and her toddler son was bloody, unresponsive and pinned in the back in his car seat. To get to him they had to get the mother out.
Knowing there was no time to wait for fire trucks and ambulances Matt and his team pry open the car door and get the mother out, but when they get to the little boy, they realize he is dead. Wanting to be able to tell the mother when she regains consciousness that they had done everything possible to save her son, Matt opens IVs wide and begins CPR on the boys still warm body, handing the CPR off to an EMT on board Matt goes to work on the mother, trying to stabilize her condition. Even though the team does everything they can the little boy is pronounced DOA at the hospital. His devastated father comes into the ER and discovers that his son is dead when he wasn’t even supposed to be with his wife, her sister was supposed to be babysitting. Overcome with grief he screams how he’ll make everyone pay.
Life for Sudah is difficult at times, even though she is a happy person with an optimistic attitude. People won’t talk to her and sometimes call her names. Her own parents will not even recognize her marriage because it is a Muslim/Christian marriage. This is extremely hard on Sudah because she loves and misses her parents, but it becomes especially hard when they refuse to even accept a picture of their grandson because they view him as illegitimate.
Sudah becomes the victim of apparent hate crimes; a rock is thrown through their window when she is home alone with a message that appears to relate to 9/11 on it. Another note is found taped to the house after the family had been away, every time they report the incidents and every time they police act as though there is simply little to nothing to do. After one particularly frightening incident the police even threaten to arrest Matt for filing a false report because they think he is making it up to make the police look bad – a task they are managing quite well on their own.
Matt and Sudah face obstacles that severely test their relationship and their marriage. I do not want to go into anymore of the specifics here, but while Matt and Sudah’s relationship plays an important role in the book, the story is much more of an extremely well written thriller and I definitely recommend reading it.” — Tracy Riva
“ChelleCordero tackles a difficult subject this time in her latest release HYPHEMA: bleeding in the eye caused by trauma. A mystery thriller with love, prejudice, and first responders makes HYPHEMA a must read in this climate where compassion and understanding will lead toward peace.
Writing from years of experience as a first responder, Ms Cordero paints an accurate, thrilling story of the lives of flight medics in North Carolina.
Matt Garratti brings his wife, Pakistani born Sudah and their baby son to begin a new life. Before long, Matt wonders if he is bringing his family into a nightmare from which they may never wake.” — Charmaine Gordon
With the death of Bridge and their unborn child, Jacob left Idaho and moved home to Oklahoma. His life spiraled out of control and he sought out to comfort his pain in ways he never imagined possible. The fire that burned deep inside of him to utilize his paramedic skills helping people, extinguished. Each time he looked in the mirror he didn’t recognize the man that stared back at him. His mere existence depended on the crutch he grew to depend on.
Will he find his way back to the man he used to be, a man that his father was proud of, or would he continue to destroy himself?
Jacob Myers is back!
With every bit of the intensity as the first two novels in the series and more! The author connects the world of EMS with mind boggling, emotion gripping roller-coaster of suspense, human character, and action.
The reader will sift through every emotion Jacob does as he finds his way back into the profession of a paramedic and what comes next is mind blowing!!
This book will have you at page one, and with page turning suspense with an jaw dropping ending that you would never guess!
I highly recommend this series to anyone in the medical field, and everyone who is not.
I have read all three books back to back and the series flows with such high intensity I can only hope there will be a book four.
Jerrid Edgington has delivered another novel that will not disappoint and of such brilliant talent!!
The fourth book in the series, The Reaper Returns, will be released in 2015.
Author Jerrid Edgington is a Paramedic at Le Flore County EMS in Poteau Oklahoma. He has been in EMS for 17 years with 15 years of that as a Paramedic.
Deputy Sheriff Commander Jake Carson has his hands full… investigation of a brutal multiple homicide, a troubled son and a vindictive ex-wife. He meets young, free-spirited paramedic Julie Jennings. When Julie becomes the subject of an obsession, it puts both of them in danger…
For Matt and Julie, their tour of duty had started out like many others. There had been a call to a minor motor vehicle accident, another for chest pains and one more for a cancer patient who needed to go to the hospital for treatment. Many of the upstate New York communities had contracted with Paramedic services to complement the existing ambulance corps and provide emergency medical response. Whether paid or unpaid, the certified corps always responded with Emergency Medical Technicians who were capable of handling most emergencies. When the Paramedics were dispatched as well, IV drugs and additional hands could often help make critical differences when necessary.
This call had gone out over the radio for a burn victim, so none of the responding police, fire fighters, volunteer ambulance crew nor paramedics were prepared for what they found when they reached this isolated tool shed. From the outside, the grayed wood had seemed serene enough, and the one small window had been caked over with dirt. She didn’t think that she would have given the shed a second glance under normal circumstances. But this was far from normal. No one had anticipated the horror scene inside.
Hi! I managed to get Matt Garatti off of the Hyphema pages long enough to answer some questions that I thought would interest our readers, but, ssh… he doesn’t know that I am the one asking questions — he thought he was making time for some famous journalist. I hope you enjoy getting to know more about him.
What is the name of the book where we would meet you? What genre is it?
My story is in Hyphema; a hyphema is blood in the front chamber of the eye usually from an injury and the story’s title comes from a line in the book. English is my wife’s second language and she has trouble with some common American idioms; at one point she refers to the expression “an eye for an eye” and she comments that makes for bloody eyes. I actually was introduced in the book Final Sin, another Chelle Cordero novel. Both books are EMS-based thrillers.
What do you think of the author? You can tell us the truth.
Once you get past her ego, you realize she is very passionate about what she does. I have to say as one of her characters, she really loves us, we can feel that and I’m sure the readers can, too.
Tell us a little about yourself. How would you describe your appearance? Give us enough detail to get a clear idea of how you look.
I think I am sort of average, my wife thinks I am “handsome in my uniform” — I’m a flight paramedic so I wear a uniform every working day. I’m pretty fit, I have to be considering my line of work, and I’m trim, again I have to be as a flight medic. Other than that I have dark hair, I keep it cropped pretty short, I stand about five-eleven, and I’ve been told I look a little like that actor Justin Chambers… I think he’s on some TV medical show, I don’t see it.
What character are you in the book? Are you the hero, the best friend, the side kick, the hero/heroine’s child or someone else?
In Hyphema I’m the hero, in Final Sin I’m the best friend.
Who was your best friend in Final Sin? What brought you together as friends?
I was best friends with Julie Jennings, the female lead character in Final Sin. Julie and I were paramedic partners and we rode together for our job. When you spend a lot of time with someone in a job like that you learn to depend on each other while you work to save lives. It’s very high stress and your partner is the one who understands because they are there right alongside you. There’ve been a lot of jokes about your EMS partner being the equivalent of a work spouse.
Is there a specific reason why you’re in the story? Don’t give us any story spoilers, but you can share some teasers if you want.
By the end of Final Sin I had met and married my wife, Sudah. I was also looking for some kind of career advancement. When Hyphema opens, we’ve just moved to North Carolina and I have a job as a flight medic. Like the tagline indicates, I worry that I brought my family to a new place where we deal with unexpected prejudice and possible danger.
What time period do you live in?
It’s pretty much contemporary, that’s the kind of stories that Chelle writes, although I have a really ironic story about that. My wife was born in Pakistan and she’s a practicing Muslim; we run into quite a bit of prejudice because of 9/11. There’s a scene where my buddy’s wife yells at Sudah that the Pakistanis are hiding Osama Bin Laden; ironically the e-book came out the week before Bin Laden was finally found… in Pakistan.
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in New York State, central New York to be exact.
Do you live in the same place now?
Nope. Sudah and I, and our son Aden, moved to North Carolina. We’re a bit inland from the Outer Banks. It’s a really nice area and I love to take them exploring.
What special skills or abilities do you have?
I’m a paramedic turned flight medic. Being a paramedic is never boring. I enjoy the excitement and I meet a lot of people in my work. I’m there for them when they need help; I use the skills I’ve been taught to save lives, offer reassurance and sometimes just offer comfort. I admit, I feel good when I get to help someone.
Are you happy with the story?
Yes I am. Chelle was a NYS Emergency Medical Technician for almost 30-years so she is really familiar with the type of things EMS responders do. The story is all very realistic. The way she deals with the cultural differences and prejudice is really down to earth and significant.
Do you have some ideas that the author should consider about the story? You can share them with us. We’re all friends here.
I know that Chelle is busy writing some other stories with other characters, they’re pretty good also, but I would love to see another EMS story. Maybe Julie and Jake could come down from New York and I could get to work with Julie again. That would be fun.
Tell us about your past. Can you share one really good experience and/or one really bad experience? I know that bad experience can be tough, but it would tell us more about what you’ve been through.
Well the bad part of my past, I used to not be able to talk about it, was that my father abandoned us when I was just a little kid. I was always afraid that I was going to grow up and be like him. I was really scared of having a family. When Sudah first told me that she was pregnant with our son I was really scared, but she showed me that I could be a good dad. She helped me to see that there is a difference in fathering a child biologically and being a dad who really loves his kid.
Who is the most important person in your life?
I’d have to say that my wife is the most important person. She really has opened up a whole new world to me. She taught me how to love, I know that probably sounds sappy, but, she has made me very happy.
What do you see in your future?
I love working as a flight medic, I dreamt of doing this kind of work ever since I rode in an ambulance for the first time. I also like the company I’m working for. Eventually I’d like it if Sudah and I had another child or two. I just want to provide for my family and watch our children grow with my wife.
Do you like being a character in a book?
You know, I really don’t think of myself as just a character in a book. My life, my job and my family feel real to me. When Chelle created each of us in her mind she didn’t just give us lives for the beginning and end of the manuscript — she came up with real histories for each of us. I feel like I existed long before Hyphema’s epilogue, even long before I first appeared in Final Sin.
If someone ever decides to make a movie based on your story, who should play you in the movie and why?
I guess we could give that actor Justin Chambers a crack at it, after all people think he and I resemble each other anyway, and I’ve seen a show or two he’s been in and he’s not too bad an actor either.
3 Signs It’s Time to Call 9-1-1 Software Developer & Paramedic Reviews Biological
Warnings Many Sadly Ignore
Each year, about 600,000 Americans – one in four — in the United States die from heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Of the 715,000 Americans who have a heart attack each year, about 525,000 are first-timers, says the CDC, and those individuals may not know what’s happening. Sadly, many people do not get to the hospital on time, says paramedic Dale Hemstalk.
“If someone is having a heart attack, for example, they should get to the hospital without delay upon the initial onset of symptoms,” says Hemstalk, who is also a software developer with Forté Holdings, Inc., a provider of health-care software that works closely with paramedics, emergency medical technicians and firefighters to speed delivery of medical services. The company’s newest software, iPCR, (www.ipcrems.com), takes electronic patient-care reporting in the field to new levels of portability and affordability.
“We live in an age in which we should be taking greater advantage of our technology for health purposes – but you have to call for help first!” Hemstalk says.
He shares warning signs that it’s time dial 9-1-1.
• Symptoms for a heart attack: Men and women frequently report different symptoms. Men tend to have the “classic” signs, such as pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest that goes away and comes back; pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms; chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
For women, symptoms tend to be back or jaw pain; difficulty breathing; nausea or dizziness; unexplainable anxiety or fatigue; mild flu-like symptoms; palpitations, cold sweats or dizziness. Triggers tend to be different between the sexes, too. In women, it’s often stress; in men, it’s physical exertion.
• Symptoms for a stroke: There are clear, telltale characteristics of a stroke, including sagging on one side of the face, an arm that’s drifting down and garbled speech. But there are also more subtle signs from the onset, such as sudden numbness of one side of the body, including an arm, leg and part of the face; sudden confusion, trouble speaking and understanding; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden loss of balance; sudden headache for no apparent reason. Risk factors include diabetes, tobacco use, hypertension, heart disease, a previous stroke, irregular heartbeat, obesity, high cholesterol and heavy alcohol use.
• Symptoms for heart failure: This is not the same as a heart attack, which occurs when a vessel supplying the heart muscle with oxygen and nutrients becomes completely blocked. Heart failure is a chronic condition where the heart can’t pump properly, which may be due to fluid in the lungs. Warning signs include shortness of breath, fatigue, swollen ankles, chest congestion and an overall limitation on activities. Just one of these symptoms may not be cause for alarm; but more than one certainly is. Risk factors include various heart problems, serious viral infections, drug or alcohol abuse, severe lung disease and chemotherapy.
“At no point should anyone be discouraged from calling 911; the bottom line is, if you feel it’s an emergency and you need to call 911, call 911!” Hemstalk says. “There are many reasons to seek assistance from emergency responders, and they are not limited to those that I’ve mentioned.”
About Dale Hemstalk
A United States Air Force Veteran and Career Firefighter Paramedic, Hemstalk has been providing emergency care for over 20 years. During his tenure in EMS, Hemstalk has been an educator, Paramedic Preceptor and Field Training Officer. Working for government agencies and private companies alike, Hemstalk relies on his experiences to help design product features that improve efficiency, speed and accuracy while keeping the field provider’s needs his highest priority. Joining Forte Holdings’ team was a natural progression combining his love of the Emergency Medical Services industry and new technology along with his commitment to providing the best possible documentation on each and every call for service. To stay current in the industry, Hemstalk remains active in EMS, is still a full time Firefighter/Paramedic and continues his passion for treating those in need.
Mickey Huber brings 33 years
A Potpourri of Promos, Book Talk, Entertainment & Articles of Interest from Chelle Cordero 