{"id":5081,"date":"2018-12-17T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-17T15:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=5081"},"modified":"2022-04-22T14:35:01","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T19:35:01","slug":"paramedic-never-know-what-walking-into","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/paramedic-never-know-what-walking-into\/","title":{"rendered":"As a paramedic, \u2018you never know what you\u2019re going to walk into\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Making a difference for his community and the people he cares for are what\u2019s most important to Howard Marsh, an EMT-paramedic with OSF PRO Ambulance<\/a> in Champaign, Illinois.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see people at their worse,\u201d Howard said. \u201cWe go in their homes and make contact with them and their families. We deal with the stress of the loved ones. There are times you might be consoling the loved ones of a deceased person. You have to be sympathetic to people. You never know what you\u2019re going to walk into.\u201d<\/p>\n

A career journey<\/h2>\n
\"Howard

From left to right: Howard Marsh, Paramedic, alongside Joyce Willskey, Emergency Medical Dispatcher, and Todd Jones, Lead Paramedic. All three Mission Partners have been with OSF PRO Ambulance since the very beginning.<\/p><\/div>\n

Howard, 64, began his career journey by helping organize a volunteer rescue squad in his hometown, St. Joseph, Illinois<\/a>, located between Urbana and Danville.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother was in a really bad car wreck \u2013 he was hit by a drunk driver,\u201d he said. \u201cHe stayed out on a country road and waited forever for an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that experience, \u201cwe decided St. Joe needed a rescue squad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Howard took his first EMT class at Parkland College<\/a> in Champaign in 1981 where he received EMT I-basic certification. From there, he and others got the rescue squad established.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ended up begging and getting a little bit of equipment and then we got a budget,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Taking the next step<\/h2>\n

After working at IGA for 18 years, Howard decided a full-time career as an EMT was his calling.<\/p>\n

In 1987, PRO Ambulance<\/a>, which became OSF PRO Ambulance in 2018, began operations, servicing OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana, Illinois. It is a member of the East Central Illinois EMS System,<\/a> the largest EMS system in East Central Illinois.<\/p>\n

OSF PRO Ambulance is an Illinois Department of Public Health<\/a> licensed provider at the Advanced Life Support (ALS) level. It is staffed by skilled paramedics who provide patients with critical, life-saving care \u2013 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.<\/p>\n

Howard was hired at OSF PRO in 1987 and went on to get his EMT-paramedic certification at Parkland and other training through the Illinois Fire Service Institute.<\/p>\n

Mentoring others<\/h2>\n

Since becoming an EMT-paramedic, Howard has served as a mentor and has taught EMT classes at Parkland.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody can read a book. It\u2019s the hands-on training people need to know and learn,\u201d he said. \u201cI tell people that before they take an EMT class, do a ride-along and see what you like to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

He admits it takes a certain type of person to stay in the career he has chosen.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get to meet a lot of interesting people. You have to have a good sense of humor. You have to have a good bedside manner, too,\u201d Howard said. \u201cYou can be the best paramedic, but if you\u2019re not very cordial or nice, they\u2019re not going to remember the care you provided. I teach everyone to treat every patient like family, like you\u2019d want your family to be treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being an EMT is a very gratifying job, Howard said. He especially appreciates being part of a larger emergency medical services<\/a> family that includes firefighters and first responders from throughout the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have good days, you have bad days. It\u2019s not for the weak,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of calls you go on don\u2019t have very good outcomes. But you try to remember the good calls. I still go home and rethink what happened and what differently I could have done.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext thing you know, you\u2019re back in the rig and on to the next call.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn about EMT opportunities at OSF HealthCare, visit osfcareers.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making a difference for his community and the people he cares for are what\u2019s most important to Howard Marsh, an EMT-paramedic with OSF PRO Ambulance in Champaign, Illinois. \u201cWe see people at their worse,\u201d Howard said. \u201cWe go in their homes and make contact with them and their families. We deal with the stress of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":5130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[894,430],"coauthors":[688],"class_list":["post-5081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers","tag-ems","tag-paramedic"],"yoast_head":"\nAs a paramedic, \u2018you never know what you\u2019re going to walk into\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Making a difference for his community and the people he cares for are what\u2019s most important to Howard Marsh, an EMT-paramedic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/paramedic-never-know-what-walking-into\/\" \/>\n<meta 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