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EMS Capitol Day 2004 This day was dedicated to the crew of
Eagle Med 4. |
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EMS personnel gathered in Topeka for the EMS Legislative
Reception on Wed. evening February 18th. The Reception was jointly sponsored by KEMSA and KEMTA in an
effort to give our Legislators and EMS personnel the opportunity to visit about issues
affecting Kansas EMS. The Reception is a good way to spend time with our Senators and
Representatives. Many times their
schedules are busy and they are unable to meet with us on an individual basis.
This event allowed them to be with us as they had time that evening.
This is a very beneficial activity for Kansas EMS and it is worth continuing
each year. Many Thanks to our two
Professional Organizations for sponsoring this event and to Kerry McCue for
coordinating the details of the reception. Randy Cardonell, President of SKEMS-Region 2, welcomed everyone
to Capitol Day on Feb. 19th. We gathered on the ground floor of the Rotunda in the Capitol.
In his opening remarks, Randy dedicated EMS Capitol Day ‘2004 to the Crew
Members of Eagle Med 4, who we lost on February 17th.
Our Sincere Sympathies to the families of Jennifer Hauptman, Flight Nurse,
Coldwater, KS; Brandon Bow, Pilot, Dallas, TX and Jonathan Dye, Flight Medic, Meade,
KS. We recognize and appreciate the
contributions of these three dedicated caregivers. They will be missed. We had on display a beautiful memorial wreath from Eagle Med in
memory of the Crew. Also displayed was a
memory page that will be presented by SKEMS-Region 2 to the families of Jennifer,
Brandon and Jonathan. I cannot tell you
how many times through the day, that Legislators, their staff and facility employees
expressed their condolences for the loss of the Crew, and their appreciation for what
EMS caregivers do. Many of them stopped by the registration table and signed the
sympathy cards for the families. Sen. Larry Salmans, EMT, Hanston, BEMS Member, greeted us and
shared with us information about activities of the day at the Capitol.
He discussed issues regarding legislation affecting EMS and offered to us his
appreciation for our participation in this event.
Sen. Salmans has been the legislative sponsor of Capitol Day since it began. He has worked diligently to support Kansas EMS and move us forward as a
profession. Many Thanks to Sen. Salmans
for his years of involvement and his ongoing efforts. David Lake spoke to us regarding BEMS activities and gave us
information on bills in the legislature, which may have an impact on Kansas EMS.
He introduced BEMS Staff who were present and invited everyone to visit the
BEMS office located across the street east of the Capitol on the 10th floor
of the Landon Building. David was
also interviewed by WIBW Television and for those of you living in the area, we hope
you were able to see the item on the news. This
is the first year we have had such an interview. Our day was filled with meetings with our Senators and
Representatives, visiting various committee meetings, attending the House session in
the morning and the Senate session in the afternoon seated in the galleries as a
group. During the Senate Session we were
introduced by the Senate President and received a round of applause from the Senators
on the floor. A review of Capitol Day would not be complete without a BIG THANK
YOU to AMR, LifeStar, LifeTeam, and Med-Act for the displays they set up for the day.
Their personnel were available throughout the day and had many stopped by to
visit with them. They added interest to
Capitol Day and had the opportunity to visit with folks from the Capitol, EMS folks
from across the state and public folks visiting that day.
We hope to continue this in the future with interested agencies and
organizations being able to set up displays for Capitol Day. SKEMS-Region 2 wishes to offer a special thank you to Dorothy
Faulkner and her granddaughter Shantel, Willie Helms and her niece Jancie,Cassie
Cardonell, J.R. Hatfield , Wendy Gronau and Eric Voss for their help in setting up and
staffing the registration table and for taking pictures. EMS Capitol Day will be scheduled once again next year.
Our hope is to coordinate it just prior to the February BEMS meeting.
We hope YOU will be able to participate. JJ Deckert |