A PUBLICATION OF HALL AMBULANCE SERVICE, INC. March/April 2013Vol. 19 No. 1

Employee Recognition Awards

Mr. Hall presents Nathan Kline with the President’s Award for Customer Service.

Fire Department. Shawn assumed patient care and directed the team to establish a BLS airway while continuing CPR. At 1306, an ECG shows the patient to have no electrical activity. CPR is continued. An IV is started fol-lowed by ALS medications. The ECG changed to V-fib and the patient was defibrillated with a change to normal sinus rhythm. An ALS airway was attempted but the patient was now biting down on the airway. The crew began transport and by the time

the crew arrived at the hospital the patient was awake, alert, and answering questions. The patient remains in the hospital and re-cently shared that she hopes to meet with the crew soon.

Each Star received a medal, a lapel pin, and a commemorative coin that is only available to Stars of Life.Q

Page 2 Q March/April 2013

The Hall Ambulance Service Stars of Life program was started by Mr. Hall to recognize em-ployees for outstanding service. Mr. Hall awards the stars after his review of the nominations from managers, supervisors, or

peers. During the March staff meetings, Mr. Hall awarded five Stars of Life.

Paramedic Kent Frazier and EMT Brian White have been partnered together in Taft since June 2006. Both are also resi-dents of Taft. On the morning of June 22, 2012 at 0530, Kent

and Brian were dispatched to a residence in Taft for a CVA. They arrived to find a pulse less and apneic patient. With assistance from Kern County Firefight-ers, CPR was initiated while Kent and Brian prepared ALS

equipment. The ECG indicated V-Fib. Kent defibrillated two times and saw the ECG rhythm convert to a normal sinus rhythm. Kent secured an ALS airway and started an IV. The patient was transported to the Taft airport and handed off to the crew of Medivac 1 with a strong pulse and a good blood pressure. The patient made a full recovery and was discharged home only days after the event.

Paramedic Ken Sexton is a

Paramedic assigned to the Boron station. The crews in Boron make regular visits to the Boron Senior Center and have from time to time engaged in extra activities to make the lives of the residents of Boron a little better. In July of 2012, Ken’s father in law passed away. Ken and his wife knew there were some unmet needs in the community. Ken and his wife graciously donated his father in law’s hearing aids worth more than $3,000 to a community member. Ken and his wife’s self-less act is a credit to him, his family and all EMS Professionals.

Paramedic Shawn Crocker and EMT Brian McChristian were dispatched to a fast food chain for a cardiac arrest on February 11, 2013 at 1300 hours. They arrived at the scene at 1304 to find an unconscious woman with CPR started by the Kern County

Hall Ambulance Stars of Life Recipients Honored

This edition of The HallMark

newsletter gives recognition to

those Hall Ambulance Service,

Inc. employees who have made

the commitment to leading a

Hall Way of life.

They come to work each day

with smiles on their faces,

ready to accept the challenges

that lie ahead. No matter

which division they come

from, each plays a crucial role

in the delivery of emergency

and critical care transport

services for the people of Kern

County.

Most importantly, they come

together as a team with the

ultimate goal of ensuring each

patient is treated with the

highest level of compassion,

care, and professionalism.

This is the foundation upon

which I started my Company

in 1971. Now, 42 years later,

I am proud to see these same

principles upheld.

-Harvey L. Hall Founder & President

Kent Frazier, Paramedic

Brian White, EMT

Ken Sexton, Paramedic

Shawn Crocker, Paramedic

Brian McChristian, EMT

March/April 2013 Q Page 3

Harvey L. Hall, founder/presi-dent of Hall Ambulance Service, Inc., presented Nathan Kline with the 2012 Preisdent’s Award for Customer Service during the March shift meetings.

This prestigious Company award is bestowed upon the employee who best exemplifies service in a manner consistent with Mr. Hall’s expectations for more than 42 years.

Kline was hired as an EMT in March 2006. He attended the fall 2008 paramedic training program and was licensed as a paramedic in 2009.

He is currently assigned to Metro Bakersfield and shares his positive attitude and customer

Matt FrieldsParamedic of the Year

Matt Frields was hired in 2008. Until July 2012, he was assigned to Metro Bakersfield. His supervisors recognized Matt for his positive impact on patients, his coworkers, and the overall system. Matt stands near the top in Quality Survey returns and was a candidate for the President’s Customer Service Award. His clinical skills are outstanding, and he is always willing to help supervisors cover shifts or change duty stations to make the schedule work.Q

Christina Rini EMT of the Year

Christina Rini started at Hall Ambu-lance in July 2007. After a brief stay in Metro Bakersfield, she rotated to Eastern Kern County. She currently works and lives in Rosamond. Her supervisors recognized her for her constant positive attitude and that she can be counted on to work extra shifts anytime they need her. She has assisted with setting up senior center visits.Q

Carlos AcunaBasic Life Support EMT of the Year

Carlos Acuna is a Hall EMT Academy graduate with more than 10 years on the job. Basic Life Support is not as exciting as Advanced Life Sup-port. Yet, BLS crews provide quality customer care every day. Carlos has made the commit-ment to remain on a BLS unit and do his best to represent Hall Ambulance in a positive way. He speaks English, French, and Spanish and always has a smile on his face.Q

Fransue PrattAmbulance Division Support

Fransue Pratt been assigned to the Medical Support Office since 2004 and is the most senior Supply Technician. She is responsible for stock-ing ambulances daily, checking crews in and out at the start of their shift and taking in weekly shipments from our suppliers. Fransue serves as an EMT and fully understands the needs of the ambulance crews. She works closely with field supervisors to make sure the needs of the ambulance crews are met.Q 

 

service skills with new hires when he serves as a Preceptor.

The following compliment is reflective of the high-level of customer service provided by Kline: A patient called to compli-ment Nathan on the professional, expert and efficient, way in which she was taken care of. She stated the paramedic was very caring of her (she added that she should know-she was a nurse). He put her at ease and made a difficult situation much easier to handle.

Not every customer encounter ends in life-saving medical care. Perhaps we offer nothing more than a ride and some comfort during the customer’s crisis of the day. But make no mistake, every single customer contact is an opportunity for every Hall Ambulance employee to excel at customer service. Whether a busi-ness man in a suit or a homeless man on the street, every customer deserves to be treated as you would want your family treated.Q

Nathan Kline Receives President’s Award for Customer Service

Harvey L. Hall presents Paramedic Nathan Kline with the President’s Award for Customer Service for providing compassion and treating every patient as if they were

family.

A patient called to compliment Nathan on the professional, expert, and efficient, way in which she was

taken care of.

Ambulance Division Awards

Page 4 Q March/April 2013

Perfect Attendance Recognized with Iron Man Awards

by David Konieczny, Assistant Manager, Ambulance Division

Heidi CarringtonHall CCT Nurse of the Year

Heidi Carrington became a full-time flight nurse in July 2010 after working several years in Kern County’s only trauma center. During this time, Heidi has proven herself a valuable asset to Hall Critical Care Transport and 2012 was no different. Heidi

maintained perfect attendance and remains one of the top recipients of compliments. Heidi also received a Hall Ambulance Star of Life in 2012 for her actions in saving the life of a patient. She also proved to be a star again when during one particular shift a coworker was choking and Heidi quickly jumped into action and cleared the airway using the Heimlich maneuver. With a passion to improve her level of care, Heidi completed an online study course and successfully passed the Certified Emergency Nurse exam. Congratulations, Heidi, on an incredible 2012!

Nathan KennedyCCT Employee of the Year

Nathan Kennedy, CCT Employee of the Year, came to Hall Ambu-lance as an Explorer in 1999 and later became an EMT and an em-ployee of Hall Ambulance in 2004, first in supply and then progressing to the level of Emergency Medical Technician. With a desire for life-long learning, Nathan became a paramedic in July 2007 and began his training as a critical care para-medic in 2011. In 2012, Nathan marked his first full year as a full-time CCT ground paramedic and part-time flight paramedic. During this time, he also obtained instructor certifications in Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support and Advanced Medical Life Support. Nathan is also an active member of the CCT Division Safety and Quality Management Committees. He also demonstrated his work ethic with perfect at-tendance in 2012 and remaining in the top percentile for employee compliments. Away from work, Nathan is actively involved in his church and continues to provide mentorship with the Hall Ambulance Explorer Program. Congratulations, Nathan, on a job well done!Q

In 2012 Hall Ambulance had more than 40 employees with perfect attendance for the entire year. Recently, these employees were recognized with a special award, the “Iron Man.” This award is reserved for those em-ployees who worked every day they were scheduled for the year. The continuation of work in all departments is crucial to the daily success of the Company. Daily work must still be completed even though the person responsible is not in attendance. This places an extra workload on others and the effectiveness of their work can be lessened. For these reasons and many others, the following employees are being recognized for their extra efforts and the reason why they received the “Iron Man."Q

Iron Man/Woman Consecutive Year Recipients:

10 years Hank Blair, Mechanic

4 of 4 years Patrick Hoffpauir, EMT

3 of 4 years James Bradbury, EMT Scott Walters, EMT

2 years Heidi Carrington, RN

Mary Martinez, Business Office Shawn Crocker, Paramedic Daniel Goguen, Paramedic Jeffery Perkins, Paramedic

Brain White, EMT

2012 Recipients: Adam Aase, Paramedic

Dewi Adams, Business OfficeCelia Ames, Paramedic

Carrie Barnes, ParamedicFred Bernal, Mechanic

Kathleen Brickell, Business OfficeNicholas Burchstead, EMT

Jeremy Capps, EMT Shane Courtis, Paramedic Brian Dumont, Paramedic

Joshua Frazier, EMTCory Fuller, EMT

Preston Grinstead, EMTJose Cardenas, EMT

Tanya Johnson, Paramedic Tyler Kahler, Paramedic

Nathan Kline, Paramedic Christian Larsen, EMT

Brian McChristian, EMTKevin McClanahan, Paramedic

Michael O’Carroll, EMTJose Ordaz, Paramedic

Rafael Prieto, Paramedic Christina Rini, EMT

Zackary Robbins, EMTJason Scott, Paramedic

Donnie Self, EMTJoshua Stuck, EMT

Matthew Yarbrough, ParamedicEd Smith, Paramedic

Dennis McGee, Maintenance Valerie Cooke, RN

Nathan Kennedy, Paramedic Angelina Ramirez, EMTMakenzie Stevens, RNJohn Wiley, Paramedic Michael Grissom, EMT

Hall Critical Care Transport Employees of the Year

Hank Blair leads the Iron Man recognition have not missed one day of

work in the past 10 years.

March/April 2013 Q Page 5

Jeff Bunn2012 MIS Outstanding Service Award

This year, the MIS Department was pleased to recognize Jeff Bunn at the annual Employee Appreciation Awards, presented during the March shift meetings.

Jeff, who has worked at Hall Ambulance Service for almost five years, received an award for outstanding service. Jeff focuses on keeping the field data collection and mobile data applications working smoothly. In that capacity, Jeff frequently interacts with field employees who encounter problems with the ePCR Program. Jeff has been busy implementing the second version of the Navigator Mobile Data Program.

Jeff always has a pleasant greeting for all of his customers and never seems to have a bad day. Everyone agrees—Jeff definitely provides outstanding service!Q

Teresa IrvinFinance Department Employee of the Year

The Finance Department’s 2012

Employee of the Year is Teresa Irvin.In 2012, Teresa enhanced her role

as Hall’s Account Payable Specialist by studying for and passing an Accounts Payable Certification Program. This program was developed by the Institute of Financial Management, a premier association that seeks to establish best practices for accounts payable and the professionals who lead and staff Accounts Payable departments across the country.

Teresa started at Hall Ambulance in 2005. She has been an im-portant part of our team since day one. One of Teresa’s primary jobs is to see that all of the bills for Hall Ambulance are paid on time so that the daily operations run smoothly. This is an area that is par-ticularly important to us because it is the face we present to vendors in the community. Researching, coordinating, and calendaring the bill paying process is more difficult than it appears and requires good organization skills.

Tesesa is dependable and is an excellent problem solver. In addition to the accounts payable, Hall Ambulance is fortunate to have Teresa as a long-term employee, and she is to be congratulated for her excellent job performance.Q

As members of the Hall Ambulance Human Resources team, Sonia Reyes and Anna Aguilar have em-braced management strategies to achieve desired outcomes in a cost efficient man-ner promoting pride in the Company, and the success-ful melding of the skills and expertise of their cross-func-tional team.

They have developed and maintain professional com-petencies enabling them to accomplish departmental and Company goals.

Working together they com-plete projects and make sig-nificant contributions to the efficiency, economy, and im-

Kim DrennanOCD Employee of the Year

This year’s recipient of the Emergency Dis-patcher of the Year is Kim Drennan.

Kim came to work for Hall Ambulance Service, Inc. in May 2004. She has excelled at Emergency Medical dispatching with scores nearly perfect each year. This year being no exception, she scored a perfect 100% EMD compliance. Kim has had consistently high evaluation marks.

She proved during 2012 that she had the skills and professionalism to take the next progression in OCD; she was promoted to a Lead Dispatcher. She has worked tirelessly learning the new reporting tasks along with coaching fellow employees. She has been able to gain the knowledge and confidence to do a superior job. Kim has the ability to deal well under pressure while focusing on the tasks at hand. Kim has proven that she can be a role model while leading others towards success.Q

HR Employees of the YearSpirt of Excellence Award

provement to the department and Company as a whole

Demonstrating excellence in service in their daily endeavors to support management, staff, customers and applicants.

In appreciation for their out-standing team contributions and accomplishments, we ex-tend our best wishes.Q 

Support Services Employees of the Year

Page 6 Q March/April 2013

Support Divisions Employees of the Year

Chris Hupp 2012 Top Mechanic and Top Producer

This year’s winner, Chris Hupp, produced 2,291 hours of labor last year, which makes his productivity well over 100 %. This is not an easy task to achieve when working on spe-cialized equipment like ambulances and gurneys. For this effort, and with Chris’s great work ethic, he is also awarded Mechanic of the Year.Q

James Bradbury Community Service Award

James Bradbury was recognized with the Community Service Award for his continuing volunteer efforts. He volun-teered for more than 100 events last year, including the Relay 4 Life Programs in Tehachapi and Bakersfield, school demos, and various parades.

James is also an adviser for the Hall Ambulance Explorer Post, and has volunteered numerous hours picking up trash for the Mayor’s Freeway Cleanup.Q

Dennis McGeeFacilities Maintenance Department

Employee of the Year 

Maintenance Department employee, Dennis McGee, was honored as Hall Ambulance Service’s Employee of the Year for 2012. This is Dennis’ fourth award since joining Hall Ambulance in December 2005.

  In 2012, Dennis detailed over 750 ambulances at Post 1 and detailed an additional 700+ Hall Ambulance-owned vehicles being stored at various locations in Greater Bakersfield.

 Dennis also continued to do an out-standing job performing general facility maintenance duties at different Hall Ambulance properties in the Bakersfield area.

 At the age of 64, Dennis often out-performs staff half his age. Hall employees recognize Dennis as reliable, responsible, and hard working. Hall Ambulance Service’s founder and owner, Harvey L. Hall, recognized him in 2012 for another year of perfect attendance.

Dennis takes pride in his work and in completing his assignments the ‘Hall Way.’Q

Everett SuttonMr. Football

Each year, we handle more than 200 high school football standbys.  With two EMTs needed for each standby, numer-ous employees are called to assist each week.  This year Everett Sutton answered that call more than any other employee did.  Everett worked more than 20 standbys earning him the 2012 Mr. Football Award.Q 

Dewi AdamsBusiness Office Lead

Employee of the Year

Dewi Adams is the Business Office’s 2012 Employee of the Year. She is the lead for the pre-billing/data entry co-ordinators and received the Iron Man Award for perfect attendance in 2012.

Dewi has worked at Hall Ambulance Ser-vice’s Business Office for the past 10 years. She is very dedicated to her job, dependable, responsible, accepts the current challenges, changes, and is very detailed. She is involved in weekly quality assurance meet-ings and gives 100% every day.

In addition, Dewi completes data entry and audits for compliance to ensure the claims are billed correctly. She is also a Certified Am-bulance Coder. A Certified Ambulance Coder holds a comprehensive ambulance bill education with a strong commitment to ethics, integ-rity, and compliance, and is the only nationally recognized ambulance billing and coding certification.

Richard QuilingBusiness Office Employee of the Year

Richard Quiling received the 2012 Business Office Employee of the Year. He has worked for Hall Ambulance Service’s Business Office for a year and one-half. Richard strives for perfection and is dependable.He has a positive attitude, gets along with everyone, and holds himself accountable. He handles the job assignment responsibilities of the pre-bill/data entry coordinator and always does a great job. Richard is also a Certified Ambulance Coder.Q

Mr. Hall and Robin Slater present Dewi Adams and Richard Quiling with their awards.

March/April 2013 Q Page 7

Happy Birthday

Long-Term Service Anniversaries

Welcome New Employees

by Sonia Reyes, Human Resources Specialist

2/4/2013 Ed Searfoss, Paramedic2/5/2013 Christopher Gonzalez, Paramedic2/5/2013 Trenton Amaro, Paramedic2/5/2013 Kerry Virgien, Paramedic2/5/2013 Clayton Perry, Paramedic2/5/2013 Miguel Espinoza, EMT

20 Years4/26/1993 Jackie Att, Controller

5 Years4/15/2008 Leddy Rodriguez, Claims Specialist2/26/2008 Edward Vega, EMT

3/02 Jose Hernandez-Cardenas3/02 Michelle Birchfield3/02 James Wagoner3/03 Kyle Schmitz3/03 Garrett Holiday3/03 Christopher Niswonger3/04 Myron Smith3/04 Raul Cerda3/05 Sonia Reyes3/06 Tammy Carney3/07 Valerie Cooke3/10 Teresa Irvin3/11 Andrea Agredano3/11 Christopher Hupp3/12 Nicole Pumphrey

3/13 Michael Grissom3/14 James Bradbury3/14 Kennith Register3/14 Michael Zapiain3/15 Darrin Stacey3/15 Brenda Rankin3/16 Eric Evans3/19 Daniel Goguen3/20 Sandra Burns3/20 Edward Ehrenpfort3/20 Michael O’Carroll3/24 Melissa Singh3/26 Rhiannon Bolich3/28 Armando Lazaro3/28 Trenton Amaro

3/29 Les Hutchinson3/29 John Carrigan4/01 Jason Achterberg4/01 Tyler Kahler4/02 Alex Farrington4/03 Som Soukseum4/03 Tammy Wilson4/06 Chris Leone4/07 John Surface4/11 Tanya Bird4/11 Ben Littlefield4/11 Dave Nelson4/12 Kurtis Cavender4/12 Ed Spaulding4/12 Zack Robbins

4/20 Jason Popejoy4/23 Joe Eastwood4/25 Kyle Johnson4/25 Steve Prater4/25 Linda Snapp4/25 Christina Rini4/26 Brook Carmona4/26 Arnold Thomas4/28 Kelly Foley-Jones4/29 Peter Martinez4/30 Laurel Carney4/30 Kyle McKnight4/30 Ramiro Gonzalez

Hall Commercial Vehicle Service has expanded its own fleet with the addition of a new service truck. The result will mean better road service in East Kern as well as Metro.

Shopping for the truck began late last year, and it arrived in late January. In addition to everything else with the name Hall on it, the new purchase was off to the paint shop, decal shop, and radios too,

Hall Commercial Acquires a New Service Truckof course.

Over the years, the tools on the old truck have flown the coup, so both trucks were outfitted with updated equipment, including a com-plete inventory of spare parts, tires, and tools to work with.

On the new service truck, we had a crane mounted to the rear to make delivery of 55-gal-lon drums of DEF to Mojave possible.

You will notice a new decal, which reads: “Li-censed Smog Check Sta-tion” on it. Yes, that is right; we will be offering smog inspection services for our fleet and to the public as well. We will start very soon and Hall Ambulance Service employees will receive a special discounted price.Q

The crane will make handling the 55-gallon drums of DEF easier to manage.

In addition to the new service truck, Hall Commercial will soon become a Licensed Smog Check Station.

Page 8 Q March/April 2013

www.hallambulanceservice.com

Internal CoordinatorDarrin Stacey

Copy EditorSharon Scoggins

ContributorsTerry Adams

Jackie AttLavonne Hall

David KoniecznyJennifer LaFavor

Robin SlaterPete Sturn

John SurfaceDarrin StaceyMyron Smith

Darrell Stapley

Graphic DesignCorum Communications

Photography Dave Taylor

The HallMark is a publication published for the staff, friends and family of Hall Ambulance Service, Inc. Comments, questions or suggestions should be directed to staceyd@hallamb.com

Established in 1971, Hall Ambulance Service is the major 9-1-1 paramedic provider for Kern County, California. The Company serves the communities of Bakersfield, Arvin, Lamont, Frazier Park, Tehachapi, Rosamond, Mojave, California City, Boron, Taft and Shafter.

“SERVING KERN COUNTY SINCE 1971”

EMER

GENCY MEDICAL SERVICES

EMER

GENCY MEDICAL SERVICES

New Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS) Course Proves Successful

Over the past couple of years, Hall Ambulance Ser-vice, Inc. has made a con-certed effort to improve the training offered from within the Company. This included evaluating courses already of-fered and adding new ones. The most recent addition was Advanced Medical Life Sup-port (AMLS). Four members of the training department spent the better part of a year becoming certified to offer this course and most recently offered it on January 17 and 18. It proved to be a popular course as evidenced

On January 15, 2013, Harvey L. Hall celebrated the grand opening of the new Hall Ambulance Ser-vice parking lot located at the corner of 20th and ‘N’ Streets. The new lot will serve as permanent parking for ambulances assigned to the Bakersfield metropolitan

Hall Ambulance Expands Downtown Campus

by the full class, waiting list, and actual student feedback:

“It will help me with the day-to-day patient care, and it will make me a better paramedic.”

“All subjects were equally important and very infor-mative.”

“I believe the information will enhance my assess-ment. Skills will increase efficiency in working plan and treatments.”

“Great class, I will be using this in my future assessments.”

“On each call I respond to, this class will better my understanding of patient ailments.”

AMLS emphasizes the use of scene size-up, history, interactive group discussion on potential treatment strat-egies, and a physical exam to systematically rule out and consider possibilities and probabilities in treating patients’ medical crises. The course offers an initial assess-ment-based approach that progress to a diagnostic-based approach to quickly develop the best treatment plan.

In order to complete the class, students have finished a pre-test, 16 hours of instruc-tor-led course hours and suc-cessfully passed a written, and skills final evaluation. AMLS certification is valid for four years. The next scheduled AMLS class is June 17 and 18. Perhaps we will see you there!Q

area. The lot has 16 stalls outfitted with LED lighting, shorelines dedicated to each ambulance, and a canopy to shelter the ambulances from the weather. A new brick wall and wrought iron gate surround the lot, adding to the security and beauty of the campus. The area between

the parking facility and the street was landscaped at the same time, keeping with Mr. Hall’s commitment to a ‘Beautiful Bakersfield.’

The addition of the new parking lot freed up space for transient parking, allowing for additional resources to be stored at the main cam-pus and available for use in case of major disasters. The construction project began on November 18 and took approximately eight weeks to complete. The opening of the new parking lot marks the fourth construction project Mr. Hall has taken on over the last three years.Q

Hall Ambulance expanded its campus by adding 16 stalls for parking and stocking ambulances between shifts.