The week of May 17-21 was designated EMT Appreciation Week by Superior Ambulance to show how much the medical staff is valued. Every ambulance – on wheels or under chopper blades – is required to have EMTs. As pictured here, Superior often sends an ambulance to a community event like this one in Berens Park. Kids and adults alike not only enjoy seeing the helicopter up close, but also marvel just watching it set down.
By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
Superior Ambulance Services is celebrating its own emergency medical services staff for EMS Week.
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are required on all ambulance calls and Superior management wanted to show appreciation to those who work in this career and face uncertain circumstances on every run. Life as an EMT on an ambulance is never easy even if ems billing services might make the financial aspects of the job a little more straightforward.
A career as an EMT can be quite rewarding and the job will always be in demand. Superior offers its own EMT classes, making it a good place to begin a career. The teachers offer dynamic, hands-on instruction along with their own personal passion and experience, to prepare aspiring EMTs in their new ventures.
Superior students boast a pass rate of more than 90% on the national exam. Most graduates are hired as Superior Ambulance EMTs after successful completion of the class and passing the national exam. For more information about a career in EMS, visit superiorambulance.com/EMTclasses.
Local resident EMT tells his own story
It says a lot about a company when its employees remain long-term. It usually means they’re pretty happy.
Karl Kuester is one of those people. He is now the general manager of Superior Ambulance’s Illinois/ Wisconsin Divisions, after beginning his career as an EMT for Superior just after passing the national exam. He now shares his own story about the job he loves:
“When I was 12 years old, my parents moved our family from Northlake to Elmhurst. For me, Elmhurst was a big change and this move set my future in motion in a way I never expected.
“When I was at York Community High School, I joined a few athletic teams, sadly due to an injury I also spent a bunch of time in the training room where I started working with them as a student trainer. It was during this time that I realized I wanted to go into healthcare.
“After graduating York in 2001, I went to COD and started taking an EMT-Basic program. After earning my EMT certification from COD, I applied to work for Superior Ambulance. There was always something about Superior that stood out to me as a new graduate over the other companies. It may have been because I knew they had roots in Elmhurst and that they provide paramedics to the City of Elmhurst.
“Superior provided me several opportunities, I can’t even name them all. These included sponsorship to paramedic school, critical care training and career advancements. Most of my work with Superior has been in Elmhurst, working as a paramedic and now leadership.
“My dad is still a resident of Elmhurst today, he loves to tell stories about the exciting things I’m doing at Superior, whether it’s trying to find me on the sideline of a Chicago Bears football game or calling to see if I was in the ambulance he just saw drive past. There is a comfort to know that if something happens to him in the town, there is a great team of paramedics from our Metro Paramedic division that will be there to take care of him.”
Best wishes to all EMS staff, especially EMTs.
