Friday May 5, 2006 PR 06-04: Sussex County EMS (SCEMS), Sussex County Paramedic Association and Sussex County Volunteer Ambulance Association held their annual EMS Banquet on Friday May 5, at the Baywoods Clubhouse in Millsboro, Delaware.

During the banquet a number of awards were given for professionalism and achievement, including awards for Shift Excellence, EMT, EMS Nurse, EMS Physician, Emergency Communications Specialist, and Paramedic of the Year. As part of this year’s event, we also celebrated fifteenth anniversary of Paramedic service in Sussex County and Sussex County EMS.

14th District Representative Pete Schwartzkopf was the guest speaker for the evening. Representative Schwarzkopf’s knowledge of and familiarity with police, fire and EMS services has made him one of our strongest advocates in the legislature.

The following awards were presented:

Paramedic of the Year – Stuart Hensley
Member, SCEMS Paramedic Competition Team
Chairman, Public Information Education and Relations Committee

Field Excellence – Fred Haas
Hazardous Materials Medical Response Team Leader
Field Training Officer

Administrative Excellence – Robert Stuart
Deputy Director
Interim Director 2000 – 2001
Chief Financial Officer

Field Training Officer – Joseph Hopple
Member, SCEMS Paramedic Competition Team
Public Information Officer
Field Training Officer
Hazardous Materials Medical Response Team Duty Officer

Emergency Communication Specialist of the Year – Chris Moore
Certified Emergency Medical Dispatcher

EMS Physician of the Year – Dr. Monte Spangler, M.D.
Chairman, Milford Memorial Hospital Emergency Department Physicians
Former EMS Medical Director
Former Volunteer Firefighter, Leipsic Fire Department

EMS Nurse of the Year - Fran Needham
Director of Emergency and Ambulatory Care, Beebe Medical Center

Shift Excellence Awards

Each year one paramedic from each of the four shifts is selected for shift excellence by their Supervisor for outstanding dedication by improving their clinical skills or outstanding achievement during their participation or leadership in departmental projects or activities.

Lars Granholm, A-Shift
Past Chairman, Phoenix Committee
Member, Lewes Volunteer Fire Department

John Jacobs, B-Shift
Field Training Officer

Lorri Bradley, C-Shift
Special Events Team member
Public Information Education and Relations Committee Member
Chart Review Committee Member
Member, Laurel Fire Department

Danny Tilghman, D-Shift
Paramedic of the Year, 2004
Safety Committee Chairman

Basic Life Support Awards

Each SCEMS Selects an EMT from each of the seven Paramedic Districts to be honored as EMT of the Year for consistently displaying a high level of professionalism and dedication to excellence.

Milford/Lincoln Area – Mike Love
Member, Carlisle Fire Company
Delaware Safe Kids Coalition coordinator
Former Paramedic, Kent County EMS

Laurel/Delmar Area – Harold “Mac” Mcteer
Member, Laurel Fire Department

Georgetown/Millsboro/Gumboro Area – Bob Jones
Member, Delmar Fire Department
Paid EMT, Gumboro Fire Department

Lewes/Rehoboth Area - Lucas Powell
Member, Bethany Beach Fire Department

Millville/Roxanna Area - Sean Humphries
Member, Georgetown American Legion Ambulance

Long Neck Area - Travis Woodyard
Member, Mid-Sussex Volunteer Rescue Squad
Paramedic, Sussex County EMS

Seaford/Bridgeville Area – Sarah Murray
Member, Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department

SPECIAL AWARDS

The following awards were presented for exemplary service and heroism

Valor Award
On September 23rd, 2005, while attending a football game at Sussex Technical High School, Sussex County Paramedics Glenn Marshall and Mark Sheridan, along with Laurel Volunteer Firefighters Todd Smith and Jason Boyce, and Blades Volunteer Firefighter Dustin Hamilton, responded while off-duty to a crash involving a small car had been struck from behind by a full size pickup truck, causing the smaller car to catch fire. The driver was able to get out of the vehicle, however, three young women remained trapped. Without regard for their own safety, Paramedics Marshall and Sheridan and Firefighters Hamilton, Smith and Boyce entered the car, and were able to remove all three remaining passengers prior to the arrival of fire and EMS resources, thus preventing any further injury to the victims of the crash.

Department Achievement Award
Stuart Hensley, Holly Donovan, Robert Mauch and Joseph Hopple, Members of the SCEMS Paramedic Competition Team, were presented with the Department Achievement Award for their excellence in clinical expertise and teamwork, as evidenced by their Gold and Silver medal performances at the JEMS Games International Paramedic Competition in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Their outstanding demonstration of knowledge and ability in these international competitions has brought great credit and recognition to Sussex County EMS and to themselves as leaders in emergency medical services excellence.

Certificate of Recognition
The following individuals were recognized as the original ten paramedics of Sussex County EMS:
Bill Stevenson
Patrick Shay
Ashley Lanman
Clark Hendrixon
Mariann Bitner
Lee Foxwell*
Karen Phillips*
John Kinsley*
Frank Shade
Kirk Miller*
*currently employed as paramedics with SCEMS

Certificate of Recognition
The following individuals were recognized as members of the first paramedic training class for Sussex County EMS:
Ann Tait*
Thomas Jefferson*
Robert Stuart*
Clifton Neidig*
Jay Myers*
Wayne Naumann*
Brent Hudson*
George Torbert
Sean Gilligan
Robert Kerns
Jennie McCabe-Severs*
Don Dempsey (posthumous)
*currently employed as paramedics with SCEMS

Certificate of Recognition - Chuck Snyder
Chuck Snyder produces many of the high-quality emergency scene photographs seen in publications throughout Delmarva. His incredible talent enhances our image to the public in countless newspaper articles and features. In addition to photographing emergency action, Chuck has helped us greatly by providing photos of our annual banquets and the 9/11 Ceremonies that we have done for the past 5 years. In addition, he has worked with us to produce portrait photographs of all our paramedics.

Chuck’s service to the community includes not only his photographic contributions, but service as Chief, 1st and 2nd Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief and currently as Safety Officer with the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Department, and the leader of the new Sussex County Technical Rescue Team.

Certificate of Recognition - Robert Stickels
This coming November, Sussex County will lose one of its greatest assets, and Sussex County EMS will lose one of its biggest fans. Since becoming Deputy County Administrator in January of 1988 and subsequently taking over as County Administrator in June of that same year, Mr. Stickels has been one of our staunchest supporters. As a member of the Delaware EMS Oversight Council, he advocated for resources that would allow us to continually enhance and improve our services as our community continued to grow. As the chief architect of our County’s budget, he has always ensured that we received all the resources the County could afford, allowing us to grow from one response unit to eight response and two field supervisory units during his tenure. Robert Stickels has helped establish and maintain a reputation for excellence within Sussex County EMS that is unmatched in the State, and in the Nation.

Mrs. Janice Stickels was also honored for her support of Robert as he worked to support our department.

Sussex County Volunteer Ambulance Association Awards

Fire Chief of the Year – Chief Dennis Swain, Georgetown
Chief Swain was nominated by an EMT who writes “I witnessed Chief Swain in command of the heroic rescue of a mother and young son trapped in a burning car, energized by downed power lines”. Chief Swain led his crew in the successful life saving rescue of the trapped citizens. Chief Swain also responds to help citizens in all forms of medical emergencies assisting the Georgetown Ambulance Service on a day to day basis.

Ambulance Captain of the Year – Captain Paul Baker, Millsboro
Paul Baker was nominated by an R.N. at a local nursing home frequented by the Millsboro Ambulance. The nurse writes that Paul and his crew always treat there patients with “respect, genuine care, and concern”. He always treats these special patients with a personal touch and high quality. For leading a quality EMS service, Paul Baker shows what is best about Sussex County EMS providers.

EMT of the Year – Barbara Walls, Roxana
Barbara has been a career EMT with Selbyville Fire Company for the last 6 years. She has also volunteered for the Roxana Fire Company, covering call one night a week. She is known for her excellent care and patient rapport. In her spare time, Barbara also teaches CPR classes for the fire department, and the community.

Paramedic(s) of the Year – Jay Shine and Mark Murphy
“Whenever we need them for any reason they have always been there”. This statement sums up the nomination of this Paramedic team from C-shift at SCEMS. This “Dynamic Duo” of Medic 103 is described as approaching their job with extreme professionalism and caring manners at all times. Their team work with BLS is what makes Jay and Mark an integral part of the Sussex County prehospital care team.