Matt Bevin, Kentucky’s governor, has been riling the dander of many people as of late with his proposed pension reform plan. Under the plan, public employees – including teachers, police offers, firefighters, road department employees, many EMS providers, and much more – would be moved from the current pension plan to a defined-contribution plan that…
Tag: #EMS
We Don’t Get to Choose Who Receives Compassion
If you didn’t know, I’m a former paramedic. During my time on the ambulance, I responded to my share of overdose calls and I also expressed by share of frustration over them. Part of the reason was that I was simply following the example of my peers – I was expected to deride and offhandedly…
Paramedics are taught not to risk their lives after mass shootings. Rightly so.
I became a paramedic to provide medical care out of a hospital setting to the sick and injured. I, for the most part, enjoyed my career and I was able to even save a few lives along the way. One of the things I discovered early on in my career was that a large part…
A Tale of Two States
I am a transplant to Kentucky, having just moved here in June. One of the things I have found myself doing often is comparing how each state differs in its traditions, customs and certainly in their government. I want to offer you the same opportunity. As you may have seen in a previous post, I…
An Open Letter to the Kentucky General Assembly about EMS Death Benefits
This letter is also being emailed to my state Senator and Representative. If you would like to use this letter as a template for your own, please feel free to modify it however you wish. I encourage you to contact your elected officials and encourage them to support line duty death benefits for EMS providers…
Powell County EMS Devotional January, 2016
If you don’t know, one of the hats I wear is chaplain of Powell County EMS located in Stanton, KY (this is where Shiloh, the church I serve, is located). Every month I’m writing a devotional to share with the crews. This is the one I wrote for January; I shared it with a few…
An Open Letter to Houston County, TN Commissioner George Jeram
Dear Mr. Jeram, I have been following with great interest the ongoing saga involving Houston County EMS and the mandate that you helped to craft which prevents them from effectively doing their job. This policy, while you may have intended it well, endangers patients and can very possibly cause great harm to them. The policy…
Officer Down: Michael Walters, Pearl (Mississippi) Police Department
This morning three investigators – officers with the Pearl Police Department – were attempting to do something they do day in and day out: Serve a warrant. This warrant was for the arrest of a suspect charged with sexual battery of a minor and possession of child porn. The suspect hid in a bathtub and…