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2017 Health Care Champions Technician: Jeff Hawkins

Taney County Ambulance District

Posted online

Jeff Hawkins’ childhood dream is today a reality.

“Delivering pre-hospital emergency medical care has been a passion of mine since the Johnny and Roy days of the television show, ‘Emergency,’” says Hawkins, Taney County Ambulance District deputy chief.

Hawkins has thrived in his industry for 26 years, and continues to wake up each day wanting to go to work.

“I love the profession and the impact I have on people’s lives so much, the desire to do what I do just comes naturally,” Hawkins says. “Serving others gives me joy and purpose.”

Hawkins began his career as an emergency medical technician and fire fighter, and then quickly pursued studies to become a paramedic. Now, as TCAD’s deputy chief, Hawkins takes care of the administrative and managerial duties that come with operating an ambulance service – though he still responds to calls and works in the field.

“I thoroughly enjoy working on the streets, and in my early years, I did so as often as I could to gain experience as well as develop my skills and knowledge,” he says.

Hawkins now considers his greatest opportunity to be passing on skills and knowledge to others. He serves on the Southwest Regional Emergency Medical Services Committee and participates in local, state and national efforts to improve his profession. Hawkins continues to educate himself, too, through reading, asking questions and forming relationships with industry partners.

“I do love the thrill of the unknown and the emergency aspect that comes along with the job, but it is not the motivation for my success,” he says. “I want to see our profession continue on a trajectory of self-improvement and actualization, to get to a point where the value of pre-hospital emergency care is an efficient and irreplaceable piece of the overall health care experience.”

Hawkins is on the right track. He’s done well to understand patients’ transition from the ambulance to the emergency room.

For example, Hawkins has worked with a local hospital to deliver heart attack patients directly to the catheterization lab for emergency angioplasty – a procedure that opens blocked arteries, restoring normal blood flow to the heart. This method improves the probability of successful treatment for patients, he says.

“Along the same line, I again worked with our local hospital to deliver stroke patients from the ambulance directly to the CT scanner,” Hawkins says of Cox Medical Center Branson. “This approach saves time and gives doctors and health care providers the information they need to aggressively treat the acute stroke patient, saving more brain tissue and preventing permanent neurological damage where possible.”

His innovative ideas and hunger for industry improvement have paid off. In May 2016, TCAD became the first ambulance district and second ambulance service in Missouri to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services. Out of the 15,000 ambulance services in the United States, less than 200 are accredited, according to the Journal of Emergency Medical Services.

“This was a huge undertaking,” Hawkins said. “And the entire team pulled their weight.”

Hawkins’ also recently received the 2017 Taney County Ambulance District Lifetime Achievement award.

“Ultimately, my efforts are one of many,” he says. “And part of a much larger group effort to help give patients a better chance at survival and successful outcomes.”

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