Trevor Hicks has a passion to help

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EMS Director Trevor Hicks beside one of the three Lafayette County emergency vehicles. -Photo: Joyce Marie Taylor

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October 18, 2012

Trevor Hicks has a passion to help

Joyce Marie Taylor Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Thu Oct 18, 2012, 10:00 AM EDT

Mayo — Lafayette County Emergency Medical Service Director Trevor Hicks knew at a very young age what he wanted to be when he grew up and he absolutely loves what he does. When asked why he chose EMS as his career, Hicks said he didn’t really know.

“I was just drawn to it,” he said.

At age 16 or 17 was when he first began to have an interest in EMS, he said. In 1988 as a high school junior he knew for certain he wanted to delve deeper and learn all he could about it.  He attended Tallahassee Community College and concentrated on EMT and Paramedic studies.

“I knew when I went to EMT School that this was just the beginning because I had only gotten a taste of it,” he said. “I really love doing what I do, but the biggest thing is you can’t save everybody. You want to, but you can’t.”

He said he spent many years in emergency rooms and hospital settings and the outcome was the same there.

“You want to save everybody, but you can’t,” he said.

Hicks began his EMS career as a first responder in 1988 in Franklin County, where he was born and raised. In 1989 he became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and then a paramedic in 1994. He came to Lafayette County in 1997, but left in 2000 to work in a Level 1 Trauma Center in Jacksonville. He holds an undergraduate degree in business management and a degree in nursing. Hicks is a Certified Critical Care Practitioner as well as a Certified Trauma Nurse. He also brings over 10 years of Air Medical Helicopter Transport experience with him.

“I’ve worked primarily in rural counties and being able to bring that experience back here was my goal when I returned in 2007,” said Hicks.

That’s one of the things that gives his department an advantage because they know the other side. They know what happens when a patient gets into the system. Hicks said his time spent in emergency rooms and hospitals allowed him to share those experiences with his staff, and the knowledge he gained helped to advance the treatments they provide in Lafayette County.

Hicks is also an EMS educator and on his days off he teaches about 20 programs a year. Teaching, he said, keeps him abreast of the industry and he thrives on sharing what he learns with others. He teaches Prehospital Trauma Life Support and Tactical Combat Casualty Care programs that are endorsed and approved by the American College of Surgeons in Chicago, Ill.

“I teach a multitude of EMS programs to both law enforcement and EMS through the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians,” he explained. “That covers from pediatrics to geriatrics, to EMS safety to tactical combat medicine.”

Hicks said he is a huge proponent of getting education into the hands of EMS providers.

“That’s one of my off-duty things that I love to do,” said Hicks.

One thing about an EMS career, he said, is that it is all-consuming, especially for him because he has invested so much of his life into it.

“Not married, no kids,” he said laughing. “With this career, no.”

He doesn’t seem to have any regrets, though. In fact, he said he feels lucky.

“Probably one of the biggest things that draws me to Lafayette County is not just the fact that we do emergency care, but here we do something a little bit different. We do community care because we’re the only thing after five o’clock in the afternoon and the only thing on weekends to handle the bumps, the bruises, the scrapes, the babies with fevers, those kinds of things you would typically see in a clinic setting.”

Hicks said they are able to work with residents, educate them and give them what they need.

“We get lots of walk-ins,” he said. “We’re able to do something for them instead of them having to go sit in an emergency room for five or six hours just because somebody got a scrape or a bruise.”

One thing they don’t do for walk-ins is sutures, he said, or blood pressure issues that are out of control.

“We are available 24/7 for community service type stuff and that I really like,” he said.

A lot of people in Lafayette County don’t have transportation to get to an emergency room in another county, nor do they have the funds to buy a home blood pressure device, Hicks said, so they stop in and ask to have their blood pressure checked.

“They know us all by first name,” he said.

The majority of the calls they get are general illness or cardiac, Hicks said. Traffic accidents with trauma related issues are about 15 percent of the calls that come in to the department.

Hicks said they try to bring in education to the people of Lafayette County. Last year they offered a 16 hour pediatric course, which was free to all EMS personnel.

“We’re trying to bring in an advanced medical life support program as well, which will also be free,” he said. “The reason we do that is otherwise they’d have to pay for it out of their own pocket.”

Hicks said the EMS folks in Lafayette stay because they like living there and like what they do, even though their salaries are slightly below average.

EMS personnel work set days with two people working 24 hour shifts, so they are in service for 48 hours straight and then they are off for five days. Many of them also work in other counties during that five day period to make up for the salary difference. Lafayette has six full timers and about 15 part timers.

“Most all of those part timers have jobs elsewhere,” he said.

Some of them work at the prison or at the jail and are only available after a certain hour at night. One part timer, Hicks said, works for the Forestry Division and is available on weekends or late at night. Hicks keeps track of all of them by use of an availability calendar.

There have been times, he said, when they’ve had to call in backup services from Suwannee, Taylor and Dixie counties or whoever’s available, including Century Ambulance.

“For the most part, we’re not inundated with five or six calls at the same time,” he said. “It’s enough for one truck,” he added laughing.

On average, he said, they get about 60 calls a month or 15-18 calls a week and sometimes they overlap, coming in five minutes apart. It’s like feast or famine. Problems arise when there is an extrication involved which entails more time spent at one scene, while back at the station another call is coming in. Both EMS and the fire department have personnel trained in extrication and have the necessary equipment, he said.

Hicks raved about the Lafayette County Volunteer Fire Department, whom he said are very special and very dedicated people.

“They’re absolutely wonderful,” he said. “We work very well hand-in-hand with them.”

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