LARGO, Fla. (March 7, 2018) – Pinellas County HCA Hospitals have recognized nine Sunstar Paramedics employees with its annual EMS All-Star award, which is presented to emergency medical services professionals who have demonstrated a commitment to quality patient care and expertise in their field.

Sunstar Paramedics emergency medical technicians (EMTs) Joe Gary and Lindsey Howells and paramedic William Luft were honored for extraordinary patient care and compassion. The crew was transporting a patient from a hospital back to the nursing facility where he resided, but the facility wouldn’t accept him because he was on oxygen. Howells, Gary and Luft called the patient’s physician to gain acceptance into another facility, rather than returning him to the hospital. Meanwhile, the crew continued to provide care to the patient and keep him informed throughout the process.

One of Sunstar Paramedics’ critical care transport (CCT) teams was also recognized for its exceptional patient care. Registered nurse supervisor Doug Frost, paramedic Josh Works and EMT Dave Baier transported a patient from Palms of Pasadena to Largo Medical Center, a facility with advanced care for patients experiencing cardiac issues. The patient had a lethal arrhythmia and was going in and out of cardiac arrest. The CCT team worked with the hospital staff to resuscitate the patient, and attempted to stabilize the patient for three hours in order for transport to happen. Due to the patient’s unstable and critical condition, the CCT team consulted with the Pinellas County medical director Dr. Jameson to allow the attending physician from Palms of Pasadena to ride with the crew and continue patient care en route to Largo Medical Center.

Operations manager Leslie McAllister, paramedic and communications training officer Robert Lanoue, and communications assistant supervisor Charles Gose were honored for their role in evacuating Palms of Pasadena and Largo Medical Center before Hurricane Irma in September 2017. McAllister and Gose worked closely with staff at Palms of Pasadena to evacuate 44 patients in a little more than five hours. Gose collected patient information to initiate calls for transport, while McAllister organized where ambulances could pick up patients from the hospital.

McAllister was also recognized for her assistance in evacuating Largo Medical Center along with Lanoue. Largo Medical had a short window to plan and execute the evacuation, and credit McAllister and Lanoue’s professionalism and support for being able to evacuate all patients safely.