Service Staff     Service Volunteers

Staff

Crew Qualifications

To volunteer with Aero Methow Rescue Service volunteers must be trained in emergency responder courses that are accepted by the State of Washington Department of Health Emergency Medical Services.

Volunteers must have a minimum level of training as a First Responder (FR); this is a 44 hour National course with Washington State Specific Objectives.

The next level of training is Emergency Medical Technician- Basic (EMT-B); this is a 110 hour National Course with Washington State Specific Objectives.

The other levels of EMT training include:

EMT-Intravenous – the EMT is trained to start Intravenous Lines and administer fluid although they can not administer medication.

EMT-Airway – the EMT is trained to insert an endotracheal tube (a breathing tube) into the trachea to assist with ventilation on a patient that is not breathing.

EMT-Intermediate – the EMT-I is trained to do all the above and administer 5 life saving medications.

EMT-Paramedic – very extensive training with 2500 hours of initial training, the Paramedic is trained to do all the above, including further anatomy and physiology, patient assessment, cardiology, and the administration of medications. Admission to a Paramedic program is very selective as the training is very intense and expectations are extremely high.

EMTs are trained in:

  • King Airway (a breathing tube that is inserted blindly to assist with breathing of an unresponsive patient).

In addition the Paramedics maintain certifications in:

  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
  • Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
  • Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP)

Cindy and Vikki are active members of the Wilderness Medical Society and attend their annual conference.

Continuing Medical Education

Aero Methow Rescue Service provides all the necessary continuing medical education (CME) for the basic and  intermediate volunteers and staff. Our trainings are once a month, the 3rd Monday of the month. The CME is mandated by the State of Washington for the responders to maintain their certifications. Aero Methow Rescue Service requires CME above and beyond the minimal requirements of the State. This is to ensure that we continue to provide the highest quality service to the citizens that we serve.

Paramedics must attend 50 hours of CME per year along with skills maintenance and evaluation.

Other Requirements

Annually each volunteer submits information to Aero Methow Rescue Service:

Motor Vehicle Reports – accidents and tickets
Annual Medical Report

Random Urine Drug Test

Driving - Aero Methow Rescue Service conducts an annual road course evaluation.

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Aero Methow Rescue Service Staff



  Cindy Button - Director of Services, Paramedic. Cindy is the daughter of the late Dr. William Henry, physician in the Methow Valley from 1960-1990. Cindy started working at the Twisp Medical Center (now known as Methow Valley Family Practice) in the summer of 1970. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1980 and from the Paramedic Program at Tacoma Community College in 1980. She worked as assistant Director of Skamania County Ambulance during the Mt. St. Helens activity where her husband was employed with the US Forest Service. When the activity quieted down she returned to the Methow Valley and was employed at the Twisp Medical Center and volunteered as Director of Services and Paramedic for Aero Methow Rescue Service from1984 until 1991. When the first EMS Levy was funded in 1991, she became a paid full time employee of Aero Methow Rescue Service. Cindy is an active member of the Wilderness Medical Society and attends the society’s annual conferences. Cindy is Chairman of the North Central Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Prevention Council and an active member of the Okanogan/North Douglas County Emergency Medical/Trauma Prevention Council. Cindy is an EMT Instructor, American Heart Association CPR and First Aid Instructor, Prehospital Trauma Life Support Instructor and a Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals Instructor. Cindy is a member of the Okanogan County Search and Rescue Team with her search dog Micky.



Vikki Buzzard - Vikki’s primary job to respond as a Paramedic but her duties and responsibilities includes Search and Rescue Operations, training, ordering and inventory management, statistical information and infectious diseases control. Vikki was a volunteer with Aero Methow Rescue Service from 1992 to 1996. She was licensed as a Practical Nurse in 1994 and graduated from the University of Oregon Health Sciences Paramedic Program in 1996. Vikki has been employed by Aero Methow Rescue Service since 1996. She is an active member of the Wilderness Medical Society and attends their annual conferences. Vikki trains dogs for wilderness and avalanche Search and Rescue. She is an an EMT Instructor, ACLS Instructor, American Heart Association CPR and First Aid Instructor. Vikki is a member of the Okanogan County Search and Rescue Team and is the Methow Valley Representative. Vikki is an active member of the High Angle, Mountain Rescue and Swiftwater rescue teams.

 

Becky Taylor – Administrative Assistant. Becky is responsible for “running the office”. Her duties and responsibilities include patient billing, accounting, volunteer schedules, record keeping, Privacy Officer and all the miscellaneous activities involved in daily office management. Becky was employed as a bookkeeper at Brook’s Mercantile from 1973 to 1984. She left that employment when the store was sold. She was employed by the Washington State Liquor Store from 1984 – 1988. In 1988 she delivered twin girls and stayed at home with them until 1994, when Aero Methow Rescue Service employed her as an Administrative Assistant.



Wayne Wilson is employed as a Paramedic. and has been a volunteer with Aero Methow Rescue Service since 1984. In 2003 Wayne successfully completed Paramedic training at Tacoma Community College.  In addition to his Paramedic duties, Wayne maintains the vehicles and buildings. Wayne is an EMT Instructor and an American Heart Association CPR and First Aid

Instructor.

 

Theresa Remsberg has been an active volunteer since 1999 and in November 2006 she was hired full time as an EMT-B and Injury Prevention and Community Education Specialist. Since her employment Theresa has become an EMT-I and Child Passenger Safety Technician. She is a member of  Okanogan County Canine Search and Rescue Team with her dog Brandy. Theresa is an American Heart Association Instructor, Secretary/Treasurer of the Okanogan/North Douglas County Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Care and Prevention Council and a member of the Okanogan County Injury Prevention Council. Theresa is the contact for public First Aid/CPR/AED classes, Health Care Provider Basic Life Support classes, CPR Anytime, Bike and Pedestrian Safety, Senior Citizen Injury Prevention and assistance with online classes requiring associated skills checks.

 

 IMG_1451.jpg  Thomas Smith’s very first involvement  with Aero Methow was as a patient in the summer of 2002.  After sustaining serious injuries from a climbing accident in the North Cascades, Tom was successfully airlifted from Cutthroat Peak by an Army Blackhawk helicopter and personnel from Aero Methow, then flown directly to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  Two years later, and fully recovered, Tom took his first EMT class through AMRS, and began responding as an active volunteer.  Tom also participates as a member of the Okanogan County High-Angle Search and Rescue Team.  In 2007 Tom was hired to the Aero Methow staff part-time as an EMT-Intermediate.  In September of 2008, Tom enrolled in Paramedic training at Tacoma Community College.  Tom has since returned to the Methow Valley following the completion of his training in Tacoma, and once again is employed by Aero Methow, as a full-time Paramedic. 

 

   Barb Preston started volunteering for Aero Methow in 2002 as a First Responder.  She became an EMT-B in 2003, an EMT-Intermediate in 2007, and was hired to the Aero Methow staff part-time in January 2008. Barb is an American Heart Association CPR and First Aid Instructor and a member of the Okanogan County Search and Rescue Team. Barb coordinated the fund-raising efforts to acquire an Ambulance and build a garage for the Mazama response area, and is responsible for maintaining the Mazama quarters and organizing the Mazama volunteers.

                                                                                                                                                          


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Aero Methow Rescue Service Staff & Volunteers

More than 20 years

  • Cindy Button, Paramedic, Director of Services, full time employee
  • Wayne Wilson, Paramedic, full time employee

More than 15 years

  • Vikki Buzzard, Paramedic, full time employee
  • Roy Reiber, EMT-I, EMT Instructor, CPR/First Aid Instructor
  • Brian McAuliffe, EMT-B

More than 10 years

  • Bill Stanforth, EMT-I, CPR/First Aid Instructor
  • Carolyn Groninger, EMT-B, CPR/First Aid Instructor

More than 5 years

  • Ottis Buzzard- EMT-B
  • Phil Remsberg, EMT-B
  • Theresa Remsberg, EMT-I, full time employee
  • Barb Preston, EMT-I, part-time employee, CPR/First Aid Instructor
  • Stephanie Rowatt, EMT-B
  • Larry Surface, EMT-B
  • Meg Trebon, EMT-B

Less than 5 years

  • Nina Bailey, EMT-I
  • Tom Smith, EMT-P, full time employee
  • Michael Pritchard, EMT-B
  • Byron Braden , EMT-I
  • Betsy Cushman, EMT-B
  • Emily Buzzard, EMT-B CPR/First Aid Instructor
  • Ken Doran, EMT-B
  • Rick LeDuc, EMT-B
  • Rob Seckinger, EMT-B
  • Josh Cole, EMT-B
  • Bryan Collins, EMT-P (backup)
  • Patrick Button, EMT-B
  • Kathleen Calvin, EMT-B
  • Hannah Dewey, EMT-B
  • Shaughn Maxwell, EMT-P (backup)
  • Julie Muyllaert, EMT-B
  • Kristin Devin, EMT-B
  • Sara Knapp, EMT-B
  • Kurt Oakley, EMT-I
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