On a rainy Tuesday night in Morgantown, overnight crews at Mon EMS prepared for the unknown. An unnerving thought to some, these professionals thrive on the knowledge that at any moment they could be called to the scene of anything from a shooting to a drug or alcohol overdose. They could even be called to deliver a baby.
A car accident, mental health crisis, stabbing, or heart attack — any could be the next to come over the radio calling one of the six or seven EMS units stationed throughout Mon County to the scene.
Night shift crews typically see more cases involving overdoses and traumas, compared to the health problems like chest pains that are more common during daylight hours — but anything can happen anytime. So whatever that next call might be, they are always ready to do whatever is needed to ensure those on scene received the medical needed.
For paramedic Brandii Linn and EMT Keith Intorre, partners working from station 60 on J.D. Anderson Drive, this particular evening would begin with what some might say is the unexciting part of the job — a patient transport from Mon General Hospital to a nearby rehabilitation and care facility.
Emergency medical services transporting non-emergency patients might not immediately come to mind when thinking about the day-to-day services they provide, but a patient transport from one of the area hospitals to a longer-term care or rehab facility is one of the more common calls crews receive, the duo explained.
A transport may not be the type of call that gets their adrenaline pumping, but for Linn, a 13-year veteran of Mon EMS, these calls offer much more than a chance to use their medical training and expertise.
“These are my favorite because you get to meet a lot of cool people and hear their stories,” Linn said as she and Intorre chatted with their current patient while swiftly but gently navigating the gurney through the hospital halls to the ambulance.
After seeing him safely to his destination, they make sure all paperwork and communication from the hospital is transferred to ensure the same level of continued care.
A short time later they are off to their second patient, the victim of a possible drug overdose at Sheetz on the Mileground, who had been aroused by Monongalia County deputies.
As Intorre pulled the ambulance into the parking lot, an unexpected scene occurred as one of the deputies was attempting to apprehend a man who was actively resisting.
However, this was not their overdose victim — he was calmly standing off to the side under the watch of a second deputy.
Unfazed by this unexpected twist, Linn and Intorre sprang into action. Linn headed straight for the patient and began speaking with him, allowing the deputy to help his partner detain the surprise suspect. Intorre, a military veteran, checked on the deputies — who were quickly able to detain the second man together after safely bringing him to the ground.
Refocused on the reason for their presence, they check their patient’s vitals and ask about his history of drug use. Remaining non-judgmental and expressing genuine concern for his well-being, they offered several times to take him to be evaluated at the hospital.
This particular overdose was from fentanyl, which Linn warned him is causing an ever-increasing number of deaths in our area — as she kindly but firmly pleaded with the man to enter a rehab facility.
Before leaving the scene, the pair checked on the deputies and their detainee, who had been reported to police for causing problems in the area earlier in the day and happened to appear while they were waiting for EMS on the overdose call.
Throughout the night, Linn and Intorre respond to a few more calls including a highly intoxicated woman having a mental health crisis and an unknown problem at the Sabraton Sheetz — this call remains unknown as the woman had vanished in the short time it took for arrival.
On at least two occasions during the course of the evening, a patient urinated mid-transport, but that is all in a day’s work for EMS personnel.
“You should petition for them to put bathrooms in here for us,” Linn joked, trying to reassure one woman who was in tears after she was unable to hold her bladder.
Two of the most commonly used supplies while transporting patients are vomit bags and spit hoods, the pair said.
“We get spit on a lot,” Intorre said, explaining that many times their patients do not want to be taken to the hospital and those who may be having a mental health or drug or alcohol issue will sometimes resort to spitting on them in protest.
Another patient encountered by Linn and Intorre that evening was known to have problems with alcohol and a tendency to be combative with EMS crews. In fact, this would be the third time he was transported to the hospital in the previous four days.
The scene was familiar to Linn and Intorre: The man was unconscious on the floor, a bit of blood coming from his ear and the back of his head. Despite several attempts, they could not rouse him and took him out to the ambulance to begin running vitals and evaluate his condition. While he was indeed intoxicated, his glucose level was dangerously low, a reading not seen before on this patient.
As Intorre carefully navigated the roads to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, Linn got to work in the back of the ambulance, quickly administering I.V. fluids to the man with a steady hand, seemingly completely unaware of the sway of the moving vehicle.
Their patient now in the care of emergency room staff, the duo quickly but thoroughly clean and restock the ambulance as they did after each call that evening, ensuring they are once again ready for anything.
En route back to station 60, they encounter several colleagues assisting with an elderly woman who had been spotted by a newspaper carrier wandering near W.Va. 705. After discovering she had wandered away from a nearby nursing home, it became a team effort to coax the confused woman into returning with them.
However, this type of teamwork is common at Mon EMS — and that becomes apparent almost immediately when observing the station. When units coming off shift pull in, others immediately jump into action helping to wash and restock their vehicle
“We’re like a big family,” Linn said.
That family feeling can be seen throughout Mon EMS. Linn and Intorre noted the availability of in-house training for required certifications, a variety of continued education classes, and some flexibility with scheduling — something they said is not available at every EMS agency and greatly appreciated. Intorre, who has been with Mon EMS for a year and half, started as an emergency vehicle operator and because of the certification classes they offered, was able to become a certified EMT.
While this rainy Tuesday night may not have been the busiest or most exciting, Linn and Intorre were kind of OK with that, they said.
“Last month, every shift we had someone who was deceased,” they said — a chilling reminder that along with “excitement” in the world of emergency medical services often comes trauma and death.
Luckily, there are highly trained emergency medical personnel ready to respond — with nerves of steel — to help in any way they can.
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