KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Firefighter paramedic Graham Hoffman’s death has brought safety discussions to the forefront, especially for emergency medical professionals.
“We knowingly put ourselves in someone’s worst day,” said Alicia Hysten, a paramedic at Washburn Tech in Topeka who teaches various courses related to the field.
Hoffman died Sunday after being attacked by a patient he was transporting in an ambulance.
“You have to understand that things might appear safe, but at any moment, that can change,” Hysten said. "We kind of teach it as head on a swivel."
Safety is something Hysten said she keeps at the forefront of her lessons.
“It is something that we teach that is a very fluid concept,” Hysten said. “One of the very first things we say when we get to a scene is, ‘What hazards do you have?'"
Whether you’re an EMT, AEMT or paramedic, the end goal is the same, according to Hysten.
“The ultimate goal on any 9-1-1 call is to help somebody and to do no further harm,” she said.
Training can vary depending on your certification.
Hysten said training for EMTs can be as short as a semester, while a paramedic’s training can take up to two years.
“We can’t mimic everything in the classroom, so we also have a field portion,” Hysten said.
If a patient is stable, there’s usually just a paramedic and a patient in the back of an ambulance while the driver is in the front.
“We are taught to have good communication with our patient,” Hysten said. “We always try to make some type of rapport.”
Unfortunately, safety’s not a guarantee.
Like the industry, Hysten said conversations surrounding safety are still evolving.
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