December 15, 2003
Bill O'Brien accepts his award.
For the second year in a row, a YKHC employee has won a statewide EMS (Emergency Medical Services) award.
On November 15, 2003 YKHC's own Bill O'Brien was given the EMS Instructor of the Year award. This award was given in recognition of O'Brien's 1a3 years of service in EMS instruction. The following are excerpts from nomination letters...
As a member of the State EMS training committee, he has worked hard to improve the curriculum and questions of the EMT certifications tests, while ensuring that YKHC and the YK Delta region maintain close liaisons with all the other EMS organizations through out Alaska.Bill is the most senior instructor [in the YK Delta] and as such he has become the 'institutional memory' of EMS for the entire YK Delta. He has a working knowledge of every single ETT/EMT in the area. He has developed close relationships with the Certified Health Aides, most of whom are Alaskan native and he has developed keen insights in how to explain crucial EMS concepts to people for whom English is a second language.
Bill is a very competent and dedicated professional instructor who mentors junior instructors, helping them to ensure that all the skills and concepts are taught correctly and that both the students and instructors can meet their obligations as required by statute. He provides priceless leadership and coaching for all EMS people in our area with his emphasis on preparation and mastering skills along with a firm insistence on maintaining standards. He has been the "Bedrock of EMS" for both YKHC and the YK Delta.
-- John Armand Dickens, Emt3/FF1 YKHC ICEMS/Bethel Fire Dept.
Bill O'Brien is consistent, dedicated and dependable. Bill is a fine example of how to balance the many complexities life often brings. Bill is as solid as rock, his word is his bond; he is a moral and ethical man who is a delight to be associated with both on and off duty.Since I became Director of Injury Control and EMS for YKHC. I have relied extensively on Bill as an advisor on EMS matters, a sounding board to evaluate new ideas about injury control and EMS and as a wise and witty friend. He stands up for us and he stands up to us. He is always there for myself and all of our department and Corporation, helping us by both word and deed meet our obligations as a regional EMS office and a Nonprofit Native Health Corporation, that employs about 40 paercent of all the Certified Health Aides in Alaska. I am continually amazed by his knowledge of EMS and his compassion for the people of the YK Delta and Alaska as a whole.
Thomas Fazzini,Injury Control/Emergency Medical Services Director
Congratulations, Bill O'Brien, EMS Instructor of the Year. Back to Messenger 12-03 Contents