Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 27, 1994                   TAG: 9401270380
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

AFTER 10 YEARS, EMT'S WORK NOT JUST A JOB, IT'S AN ADDICTION

But, as she puts it, "the icing on the cake" came when she recently was named Virginia's Outstanding Emergency Medical Technician Instructor by then Gov. Douglas Wilder. The award was presented at the annual statewide Emergency Medical Services Symposium in Richmond.

As a licensed practical nurse working in a medical clinic, Mabry saw the same rescue personnel bringing in patients time after time. She believed there was a need she could help fill. She "felt there was something more out there for me," she recalls, "and [emergency medical services] was it. It's been an addiction ever since."

Mabry speaks openly, and often humorously, about her addiction. "I love it; it's awful; it's worse than drugs." But Mabry's addiction, rather than a drain, is a benefit to the people in her community and the Roanoke area.

How bad is her addiction? When Mabry and her family go on vacation, they visit rescue squads, trading stories and techniques. On a trip to New York, "she made us stop everywhere she saw a sign for fire and rescue and traded patches with the crews," her daughter, Anessa, said.

The Mount Pleasant resident estimates she has put "well over 400" emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, through the 110 hours of classroom and clinical training involved in the basic life-support course. If you train with Mabry, though, your education never ends. Aside from the hours required for periodic recertification, Mabry has a training meeting every month for the crew she captains. She regularly brings in new equipment, information on medicines and changes in the treatment of trauma.

"She's always drumming something in our heads," said Janet Doran, a crew member for eight years. "She continuously trains, and she won't let us get by without training."

One of Mabry's outstanding qualities as an instructor is that "she takes it out of the book," said Anessa, herself a former trainee. "She brings in slides, professionals from the emergency room, and does role playing. If she's taught you, she's going to make sure you can do it."

Mabry's husband, Lonnie, and daughter don't mind playing "the dummies" during the hands-on teaching scenarios Mabry and the crew create. Not only do they teach students to deal with trauma patients, but they also teach them to react to potentially dangerous or unusual situations.

For instance, what should an EMT do if, while putting a battered wife into an ambulance, the husband returns, swinging a baseball bat? Or, while treating a patient's gunshot wound, the attacker comes back, weapon in hand?

EMT students range in age from high-schoolers to senior citizens. Occupations also vary, from businessmen to mechanics. For many trainees, it has been years since they have had to read a textbook or study for a test.

"I try to keep the teaching at a level where everybody understands what we're talking about," Mabry said. "And I try to keep it as interesting as I can. If they start yawning, we go home."

Yet, Mabry gets the job done and does it well. In his nomination letter, Robert Franklin Jr., regional training coordinator for the Western Virginia Emergency Medical Services Council, wrote, "Judy is one of the few elite instructors who is there for her students. She . . . dedicates many hours outside of class to tutor students. The reputation of the quality of her EMT programs is well known."

Like most teams that deal with saving lives, a special bond has developed within Mount Pleasant's squad. Mabry leads them in this way, as well.

"She's our rock, she really is," said Doran. "She's there for you in time of sorrow and happiness. When we've had bad calls, she's been there for us."

Doran also said Mabry works with trainees on weekends, preparing for the state exams necessary to receive EMT certification. She even accompanies them to the test and "paces the floor like an expectant father," wrote Linda Saunders, another squad member.

Mabry still has her full-time job at Roanoke Memorial Hospital. But that doesn't stop her from putting in "two to 80 hours" a week for the Mount Pleasant crew - teaching, running calls, taking classes, fund raising and attending related events. She also teaches cardiopulmonary resuscitation for the American Heart Association, trains police officers and firefighters, and visits schools, church groups, nursing homes and civic organizations, familiarizing them with emergency medical equipment and services.

Mabry primarily teaches at the Mount Pleasant station, where she served as chief for four years and has been captain for one, but she often has students from several other areas. Half of the Vinton and Clearbrook rescue squads were her students. The congratulatory roses sent to her from the Clearbrook crew attest to the members' pride in her accomplishment.

Mabry says she made an initial commitment to the squad for 10 years, the time required for lifetime membership. She wanted to become the first female lifetime member at Mount Pleasant. Although she says retirement is in her plans now that she has accomplished that goal, her daughter thinks otherwise. "She'll never quit; she loves it too much."

What makes it all worthwhile to Mabry is "seeing them do a good job out there, and knowing I had something to do with it." Like a proud parent running into one of her children, Mabry said, "I love it when I see one of my trainees who's moved up to higher levels and they say, `Hey, here comes Mom.' "