Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 21, 1994 TAG: 9404210138
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JONATHAN HUNLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But when they get dressed up at night, jump into their vehicles and head down the highway, they are not going to a party, ball game or movie. They are going to the scene of an accident or maybe a domestic dispute.
The Patrick Henry High School seniors are certified basic emergency medical technicians, which means they can be in charge of a patient and give oxygen but cannot administer drugs. The two volunteer rescue squad members took a 110-hour course to earn this distinction.
Talmadge, son of Roger and Charlotte Talmadge of Roanoke, volunteers with Roanoke Emergency Medical Services Inc., reporting to Station 2 on Day Avenue.
Talmadge joined the crew because he had heard about the experiences of others and wanted to do something that required being responsible.
"It's thrilling - being involved and making [a patient's] life easier," he said.
Many young people become members because they like the excitement of sirens and ambulance rides, but "the ones that are down here for the wrong reasons don't stay long," said Kenneth Harper, operations officer for Roanoke Emergency Medical Services Inc.
Talmadge has been on the crew several months and plans to continue with rescue work through college. He wants to become a special trauma surgeon - one who deals with life-threatening medical problems - because of his experiences.
Talmadge said he recalls only one night when the squad had fewer than four calls, a lot of which are car wrecks.
"We don't have regular wrecks," he said. "We usually get two or three calls in a spurt."
Talmadge said patients he has encountered have not been wary of accepting his help because he is younger than most EMTs.
"You try to be very professional. I try to explain to them that I may look young, but I am 18 and I have had training. I try to talk to the patients and soothe them," he said, because "you don't treat the injuries; you treat the patient."
School work is important to the squad, too. When Talmadge is on duty on a school night, he has to leave his shift at 11 p.m.
"We keep a watch on their grade-point averages; if it goes below a "C," then they have to take a quarter off," Harper said.
Unlike the Roanoke squad, where members can start on the regular crew at 16, Cave Spring Rescue Squad Inc. has a junior crew.
Rohn Brown, recruitment and retention coordinator for the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services, said 2,238 Virginia residents between the ages of 16 and 20 are certified volunteers. The Salem Rescue Squad has seven or eight such members. Garry Lautenschlager, deputy chief of the Salem Rescue Squad and a former junior member, said older members are receptive to having younger people on the squad.
"We welcome students with the idea that that is where the leadership [of the squad] will be [in the future]."
Keenum, son of Gail Maxey of Roanoke County, has served on the Cave Spring crew since July 1993. The junior crew, for those 16 to 21, is structured the same as the senior crew. A senior crew adviser is there to handle rules, but the crew of about 15 members basically runs itself, he said.
Like Talmadge, Keenum wants to enter the medical field either as a doctor or a paid paramedic.
"I like helping people in that way," he said.
Keenum also said the worst calls he has been on have been those where someone's heart stops and those where there are wrecks.
However, he said he has not experienced a lot of stress in his time with the squad.
"It is a high-pressure job, but you don't have time to get stressed out," he said.
On weekends, Keenum works a 24-hour shift. Sleeping, he said, was "hard to adjust to, at first."
"You don't want to go to sleep, because you don't know when [a call] will come," he said.
Keenum said the emergency medical technician class, where he learned basic life support, basic air control and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, would be good for anyone, even if they don't join a rescue squad.
"I would feel helpless if I walked up to an accident and couldn't help," he said.
Talmadge and Keenum said they would give the same advice regarding accidents: a lot of situations can be prevented with the proper procedures.
As far as drinking and driving, Talmadge said "you made the decision [to drink and drive], and the decision was bad" because "generally, the drunk driver lives, and the innocent people die."
Both students also said they have never feared for their own lives when they were on call.
"We usually try to make sure the police are there [in case there is a problem]," said Talmadge.
by CNB