Enid Buzz | Tuesday, August 2, 2016
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ENID, Okla. - Chris and Jake Winn are not related, but they share a profession at Life EMS, earned their paramedics certifications together at Autry Technology Center, and recently traveled to Nashville for a leadership conference, returning as national champions.
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Competing against 142 teams from across the United States, as well as participants from Egypt, Italy, Canada and Mexico, Chris and Jake represented Oklahoma in the HOSA Emergency Medical Technician competition and brought gold medals back with them.
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“I am incredibly proud of Jake and Chris and the way they represented our profession and Life EMS on a national stage,” said Jimmy Johnson, President of Life EMS.
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Working together at Life EMS in Enid, Chris and Jake attended Autry Technology Center’s Paramedic class, where they joined a student leadership organization, HOSA: Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America. HOSA’s purpose is to develop leadership and technical skill competencies through a program of motivation, awareness and recognition. As they studied to become paramedics, Chris and Jake also participated in leadership activities and qualified for the national competition by winning at the state level.
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The Winns, full of compassion and eager to help those within their community, came to the paramedic profession along different routes and both started at Life EMS in 2013. Chris grew up in Pond Creek and joined their volunteer fire department the week he turned 18, while still in high school. Although he worked a short stint in retail, he knew early that emergency medicine suited him best.
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“I have always respected the profession,” says Chris. “I like helping people on their hard days, hoping to make things better for them. What we do is especially meaningfully because as medics, we get people on the path to recovery by the way we treat them.”
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Those who choose this career path require a variety of skills.
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“I have infinite respect for our medics. They don’t have predictable workspaces or ancillary departments such as the chaplain to care for concerned family members, the lab to draw blood or start an IV or respiratory therapy to assist with advanced breathing procedures. They provide advanced levels of patient care, in a ditch in the darkness of night or on a bathroom floor—all being done under pressure to get the patient to the emergency department physicians and nurses at the hospitals. Our team will also be the first to praise the first response personnel, the firefighters who assist with patient care and the police officers who keep them safe,” said Johnson.
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Jake grew up in Laverne and began his career as a general foreman in the oilfield. He traveled for several years and then moved back to Oklahoma. He, too, joined the volunteer fire department in Pond Creek. After making a few ambulance runs, he knew had found his career and immediately enrolled in an EMT class.
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Chris and Jake enjoy their work and were not sure about taking a week off to travel out of state to a leadership conference. However, with encouragement from their peers and instructors and the full support and financial backing from Life EMS, they decided this was an opportunity they needed to experience. The competition provides HOSA members with an opportunity to develop and demonstrate knowledge and skills as a team in emergency medical care.
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The conference, attended by more than 9000 students, held events for a variety of healthcare students. The Emergency Medical Technician event consisted of two rounds of competition for a 2-person team. Round One was a written test. Thirty top-scoring teams advanced to Round Two for a timed scenario that required the use of critical thinking and application of real skills.
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“During the conference we met a lot of people and learned so much from watching others compete. Our whole trip was amazing and we are glad we get to bring back new skills and ideas from our experiences in Nashville. We had a lot of fun, but the best part was knowing we were going to be better at our job because of this experience,” said Jake Winn.
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The competition lasted for two days and both Winns admit to being a little nervous and studying and practicing for weeks in advance. Their job requires that they are always prepared for the unexpected and that they do their work right the first time.
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“We know we are competent, and we also know, both in the competition and in our real jobs, that we have to operate with a little bit of an edge. Every minute counts. We don’t get a second chance at anything—not in the competition and not on the job,” said Chris Winn.
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About Life EMS
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Life EMS has been serving Enid and Garfield County since 1967. With 46 staff members, 10 ambulances and 24-hour/365 day service, Life EMS provides emergency medical service and medical transports to citizens in its service area, including Hennessey, OK. The Emergency Preparedness Office contracts Life to manage the Medical Emergency Response Center, which provides resources to 17 counties in northwest Oklahoma in the event of a disaster. Life is one of a few emergency medical services in Oklahoma that provides patient care to area citizens at the highest level of care (Paramedic Life Support) with no financial assistance from the city, county or state it serves.
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Great job, Jake and Chris!!!