The Florida Department of Health has honored two Sunstar Paramedics employees, Tsambika Aysh and Sara Webb, with awards and recognized a video produced by Sunstar Paramedics. Aysh was named “EMT of the Year” and Webb was named “EMS Nurse of the Year.” A video featuring Sunstar Paramedics employees Jay Messier and Brent Jackson was awarded “Video of the Year.”
Florida EMS Chief John Bixler and Dr. Michael Lozano present Aysh with her award.
“We are thrilled for the Florida Department of Health to recognize our employees again this year,” said Mark Postma, chief operating officer of Sunstar Paramedics. “Tsambika and Sara are great examples of our team’s commitment and passion for quality care, and the video showcases the dedication to our patients.”
Aysh, an emergency medical technician, provides quality patient care to every Sunstar patient, and considers the impact of an emergency on the patient’s family. Last fall, Aysh and her partner responded to a home where a woman had died and learned that the woman’s son had a birthday on the following day. They returned on the boy’s birthday to give him a gift to help ease his emotional pain and allow him to feel a bit of normalcy in the wake of losing his mother.
Webb, a registered nurse, has a passion for pre-hospital medical treatment that goes beyond her required job duties. Her dedication to improving her knowledge and skills makes her a well-respected educator and role model for EMS employees. Webb holds a master’s degree in nursing and is certified to teach several courses, including Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Neonatal Resuscitation Program. In addition to working for Sunstar’s Critical Care Transport unit and the All Children’s Hospital transport team, Webb travels to Jamaica once a year to provide medical treatment to children with heart conditions.
Sunstar Paramedics Chief Operating Officer Mark Postma accepts the “Video of the Year” award.
The “Video of the Year” featured Sunstar Paramedics EMT Jay Messier and paramedic Brent Jackson, who responded to a difficult call in 2013 involving a local teenager. Ian Ondina had crashed his ATV into a tree and was in critical condition when Messier and Jackson arrived on the scene. They made the life-saving decision to call for an air transport and performed multiple procedures while transporting Ondina to the Bayflite helicopter. Ondina is well on the road to recovery after enduring ten surgeries and months of rehabilitation.
The awards ceremony was held on July 8 at the Hilton Double Tree in Orlando during the ClinCon Annual Conference, which focuses on the education of emergency providers and EMS personnel.