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Feature Stories (Vol. 110 No. 19--5/07/2008)

Arlen Gartner honored for dedication and distinguished service to ambulance crew

By Caroline Downs

Arlen Gartner, owner of Gartner’s Jack & Jill in Kenmare, joined the Kenmare Ambulance Service as a 19-year-old when volunteer Dale Nordstrom invited him to a meeting.

Gartner was newly married then and employed by his father in the grocery store, situated directly across the street from the ambulance garage at the Memorial Hall. "At that time, we didn’t have the pager system," Gartner recalled. "It was by phone calls, and since I was close, working at the store, I would go on a lot of runs."

He laughed as he described his typical reaction to those phone calls. "I would get over there as fast as I could so I could be a driver," he said. "I had a fear of being in the back and dealing with the patient!"

Thirty-five years later, Gartner still works in that store and still responds to calls that come for the ambulances parked in the garage on the other side of the street. He was honored for his dedication to the Kenmare Ambulance Service with the Distinguished Service Award presented during the North Dakota Emergency Management Services annual conference, held in Minot on April 19th.

Gartner views his volunteer work as one more way of giving back to his community, and he considers the rest of the ambulance volunteers to be like family. "We help a lot of people," he said, "and there are joys, there are tears, there are lots of emotions. When you help somebody and see that smile or hear that ‘thank you,’ that goes a long ways."

He paused and smiled. "Donuts are second," he added.

He also joked about the other long-serving member of the crew, and his close friend, Larry Nore. "Larry and I are the old guys on there," he said. "Larry’s older, but I’ve been there longer!"

Advanced training
When Gartner started with the squad, he received regular and advanced first aid training and CPR. "Oscar Kostad did the training at the time," said Gartner. "I learned a lot from Oscar. He was really involved in the ambulance."

Within a few years, EMT classes were offered for the first time, and Gartner participated. "It was so new, so intense," Gartner said. "The training was held in Mohall and I’d guess there were about 80 people from the surrounding area who took the course. I want to say only about six to ten passed it."

Gartner was one of those, but he chose not to go on to full EMT certification by taking the national exams. At the time, North Dakota provided a state certification, which Gartner earned and maintained for the next three decades. "I did all the same requirements as an EMT would nationally," he said. "I didn’t feel there was any need for me to come back and take the test."

He shrugged. "I wasn’t going to go anywhere but Kenmare."

The national rules changed in 2007, and the ambulance squad benefited from Gartner’s experience. "I’ve just become an EMT in the last year!" he said, shrugging again and adding he may be the last member of that first area EMT class still in active service.

He is concerned that new national training requirements for EMTs may discourage volunteers in small communities such as Kenmare. "Quite a few years ago, we didn’t have that many people certified to be in the back [of the ambulance as an EMT]," he said. "Then we got people to take the EMT class. The organization goes through highs and lows with the number of volunteers who are very involved. Right now, we’ve gathered more drivers, but we need people to get certified as EMTs."

He admits the process is time-consuming for volunteers who also have their regular employment to consider. "It takes about 140 hours of classroom and clinical training to get certified," he said. "After that, you need 40 hours every two years, which we get through our meetings and local training."

Kenmare’s squad currently has 20 volunteers, with drivers, first responders and nine certified EMTs, including Gartner. The group trains with Dr. David Walsh of Minot, Jody Olson, FNP, of Kenmare, and health care providers from Kenmare Community Hospital. Ambulance volunteer Donna Schmit instructs the squad in CPR techniques.

Becky Nelson serves as the ambulance service’s president, with Lisa Young as vice-president, Joanne Haugland and Mardell Dahlin as training officers, and Nore as past president. Gartner has been the organization’s secretary/treasurer since the early 1980s. His mother assisted with the records for several years, then his wife Elaine took over. "They want me on the books," he said. "I don’t know why!"

The ambulance service typically responds to 120-140 calls per year, with those calls spread among the volunteers. "The maximum that we had, that I remember, was four in one day," Gartner said. "Three of those went to Minot, and for a transfer to Minot, you can plan on three hours out of your schedule."

He said the most difficult time he had on the squad was during the period when Kenmare Community Hospital was closed. "That was a tough time," he said. "You knew if you were called, it was directly to Minot, no matter what. And we strive for that ‘golden hour,’ to get the patient to the hospital."

He continued, "I’ve spent whole days on the ambulance because of an accident. But no matter if we take one run or 50 runs, people on the ambulance squad are dedicated. It’s gratifying that we can do it."

Gartner said one facet of his service is the opportunity he’s had to respond to calls involving friends and family in the community. "And you always remember the accidents," he said. "That’s something that just stays with you. I think the worst ones are the kids."

He appreciates the dedication of the ambulance service’s other volunteers and their support of each other. "It takes everybody to make an ambulance squad," he said. "We’re able to talk to each other about some of the problems we have dealing with accidents."

He also praised the high level of commitment and close working relationship with the volunteer Kenmare Fire Department, which responds to any accident calls with the ambulance. In return, an ambulance and crew go to any structure fire reported.

"Those guys really help," he said of the fire department. "Whatever we need, they get for us. We have to keep that working relationship for the people, so we’re right there in case something happens. Time is essential."

No tax support
The ambulance service funds its operations with insurance claims, rather than taxes or benefit breakfasts and raffles. "Kenmare should be proud of Kenmare Ambulance because they buy their own ambulances, maintain them themselves, and the citizens have no tax levy for an ambulance service," Gartner said. "A lot of smaller communities are struggling to fund an ambulance service."

He recalled one fund-raiser in 35 years with the organization, when a drive was held to construct the current garage. "We sent out letters and received enough money within two months to build the garage," he said.

When Gartner joined the squad, a new ambulance cost $20,000, looked like an oversized station wagon, and came fully equipped at that price. Today, an ambulance purchase easily totals $100,000, without the additional medical equipment needed. "Kenmare Ambulance has two, fully equipped and in good condition," Gartner said.

While updated equipment has come with a price tag, Gartner has been happy to see the improvements through the years. "There’s more available to us," he said, "and the training to go with it." He especially likes the pagers used now to contact individual volunteers, rather than the old telephone system that always seemed to ring in his store. The squad also uses cell phones to communicate with Kenmare Community Hospital staff during responses and to maintain confidentiality.

He would like to see extrication equipment, commonly called the "jaws of life," purchased by the squad. "To me, it’s overdue," he said. "With the young members we have on the squad, this is the time to enhance our services."

He also wants to see a continuation of training, without overwhelming new volunteers. "When I started, there was no such things as gloves!" he said, laughing as he referred to the most basic gear on the ambulance today. "And Larry and I have seen CPR training change I don’t know how many times. But we may make it too difficult for people to volunteer or discourage them from that many hours. Not that it isn’t good training. But do I have to become a doctor to be a volunteer?"

Credit to all
Gartner was surprised by the nomination for the North Dakota EMS award. "Everybody’s equal on the ambulance squad," he said. "Just because I’ve put in 35 years...." He paused and shrugged again. "They all deserve credit for it."

He smiled as he listed some of the former volunteers with whom he served, including Lois Schultz, Chuck and Jan Leet, Dean Byrd, Joe Nore, Allen Ackerman and Norbert Nielsen. "There’s so many of them, 35 years’ worth," he said.

And, of course, Oscar Kostad. "He was a good training officer," Gartner said, smiling. "I remember him standing here and saying after one run we went on, ‘Keep things neat and clean. You’ve got to take pride in what you’re doing.’"

Gartner believes all the personnel with the Kenmare Ambulance Service show tremendous pride in their work. "And people should be proud of them, too, each and every one of them," he added.

Like the volunteers who motivated him, Gartner encourages persons interested in the ambulance service to join. "They can talk to Becky Nelson, our president, or any of the ambulance personnel," he said.

Community residents may be happy to know that even after 35 years, Gartner intends to continue his own service with the ambulance squad indefinitely. "I’ll stay as long as Larry does," he said. Then he chuckled and took one final dig at his friend and fellow volunteer. "I’ll stay one day longer than Larry!"