Rocky Boy EMS dedicated, despite difficulties

Rocky Boy Emergency Medical Service has proved to have a dedicated crew who sacrifice much of their time to help those in need.

Rocky Boy EMS is fully equipped, with four ambulances and a current crew of nine. The emergency medical technicians are all certified and only the newest three members of the crew do not have their advanced EMT certifications.

More than half of the EMTs have been working with the EMS for over 15 years.

The EMTs all split their time between their homes and a house in which the on-shift crewmembers stay where the ambulances are kept. Three EMTs live in the house normally, away from their families.

"I think we spend more time here than with our families," said Bonnie Longknife, the assistant supervisor and an A-EMT.

The EMS averages 1,675 to 1,700 calls per year.

A-EMT Loni Whitford said a lot gets put on hold in the crew's personal lives.

"We sacrifice a lot," Whitford said, adding that sometimes as a Rocky Boy EMT, you have to miss big moments.

"We have specific shifts, but realistically, we are on call 24 hours a day," Oliva said. "Even when you're at home, you can be called."

"Sometimes, you'll have to eat Christmas dinner at midnight," A-EMT Renita Watson said.

The EMTs all have other jobs in addition to the work they do at the EMS. Many of them work for the Rocky Boy Health Board, Oliva said.

The unanimous agreement among the EMTs gathered around the dining room table in the EMS headquarters about the hardest part of their jobs was that the small community they served created a high possibility they would know who they are helping.

"One of our challenges is there is always a chance it will be family," Watson said.

The gathering of co-workers in the dining room of the EMT house was by default jovial and light-hearted as they told stories and made jokes over food and coffee.

"We all try to support each other," said Longknife.

The EMTs will debrief after responding to a call and help each other out if the call was too close to home for some of them and will sometimes include the Rocky Boy police.

"Like anywhere else, only certain people could do this job - unique people who are able to handle working with trauma," Oliva said.

EMT Mike Sutherland is the newest member of the crew at the EMS and said that some of the situations they find themselves trying to take care of are fairly difficult.

"I bet everyone here has been to a serious car wreck, and it turns out to be family," Sutherland said.

The EMS handles many kinds of calls, Oliva said. They can expect anything from calls about drugs and alcohol to car crashes, various types of injuries and much more.

EMS Supervisor and A-EMT Chrissa Oliva said Rocky Boy EMS covers Rocky Boy and Box Elder, but they sometimes go beyond those boundaries.

They also assist the Havre Fire Department and EMS as well, Chrissa said.

The Rocky Boy EMS is also required to hold two or three classes a month to cover a wide array of topics such as CPR, extraction, head trauma and others.

The EMTs said they try to include the area and their own children in the classes and the classes are popular with them.

"I've watched my girl giving CPR to her dolls," A-EMT Melissa Swan said.

The children will often act as patients whom the EMTs must perform whatever duty the class is dedicated to and the children learn with them.

"Our kids can board anybody," said A-EMT and EMS Trainer Wanda Parker, after speaking of the class to refresh the EMTs on how to correctly strap patients to a long spine board, which they use to carry them to an ambulance.

Swan said they also include the Rocky Boy police in their classes to ensure that in the event the EMS needs assistance, the police will be able to help them.

Another problem the EMS faces in the field is that of the roads and winter months. The lack of sidewalks along the roads of Rocky Boy make it more difficult for the EMTs to do their jobs and driving the ambulances on the slick and frozen roads during the winter can be perilous.

The crew - which spans three generations - were like a family sitting around the kitchen that Parker said was the "most used kitchen in Rocky Boy." Inside jokes and teasing were commonplace.

"This is our stress-reliever, teasing each other," Swan said.

Oliva said despite the hardships of difficult situations in the field, she has been there for 19 years for a reason.

"I love my job," Oliva said. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."