Daily Emergencies Never Become Routine For Medic

Trauma code red, possible heart attack, stroke, two-car motor vehicle accident - serious injury-extrication, en route. …

Phrases that are chilling to most people are the “talk of the trade” for Kootenai County paramedic John Hunt.

Day and night for 17 years, the 42-year-old Hunt has responded to the medical problems of Kootenai County. From sunny summer weather to the ugly, frozen days of January, Hunt’s weekly 40-hour shift generally is filled with attending to one medical emergency after another.

How does one become interested in a job that more often than not involves blood, broken bodies or human trauma?

“Gosh that goes back some years,” he said, pushing his empty coffee cup toward the center of the table.

“I was living in Post Falls when I read a notice in the paper about a basic emergency medical technician course being offered in Clark Fork,” he said. “I thought at the time that learning emergency medicine might be handy to know, should an emergency develop among family or friends. So I took the course.”

Once finished with learning the basics of emergency medicine, Hunt said he was offered a part-time position with Coeur d’Alene Ambulance - forerunner to Arrow Ambulance.

“The more I worked with the ambulance service, the more I enjoyed the work. Like I had found my niche.”

Over time, he said, he was offered a full-time position.

“Until that time, I’d worked full time as a welder making three times the money I was offered to go full time with the ambulance service.

“I just decided doing something I really liked was more important than the pay offered in another field.”

As his interest in emergency medicine broadened, Hunt said he signed up for classes in Salt Lake City to become a physician’s assistant.

“In fact, I was on my way to Utah,” he said, when he learned of a class being offered locally to train paramedics.

“It was the first - and last - class taught by a group of physicians, nurses and medical people at North Idaho College.

Hunt and one other graduate of the class were hired by the county and sent to Canyon County for advanced training and to serve their internships.

“The big day was Jan. 1, 1983,” Hunt said, “when the Kootenai County paramedic program became operational. I remember being on the very first medical response call.”

Why, after 20 years in emergency medicine, is he still interested in paramedic work?

“First, I really enjoy taking care of people,” he said.

And every emergency call is different - each interesting, important, rewarding in its own right, he said.

Often, he said, the “routine” calls “end up as a cardiac arrest, a stroke, even a gunshot or drowning. You have to be prepared for everything - and anything.”

A few cases, he said, stand out over the years.

“I remember one of my first cases was where a logging truck spilled its entire load directly on top of a motor home. I remember three people dying in that accident.”

What was so unusual, he said, “was that the driver still was strapped in his seat, which was all alone on the highway. The motor home, the log truck, all the logs and the victims were a long distance from the accident scene. But here was the driver in his seat - the lone survivor.”

Describing the rewards of his career, he said, “It’s hard to compare the feeling of when a patient is able to walk out of the emergency room under his own steam. You like to think it was because of your training and skills.

“So, it’s worth the many hours of continuing education, of classes and of training. And, yes, over the years, I’ve saved family and friends. ..th.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: Tom Burnett is a freelance writer from Rathdrum. Panhandle Pieces appears every Saturday. The column is shared among several North Idaho writers.