"I started working in EMS on June 12, 1988," recalled Vilonia Air Evac flight paramedic Steve Huffine. "I was working for the hospitalbased ground ambulance in Corning."
Huffine has worked at Air Evac Lifeteam for almost four years now but was involved in EMS most of his life.
"My father was a deputy sheriff in Greene County, and that's what sparked my original interest in EMS and law enforcement," Huffine said. "I was around and familiar with the lights and sirens.
"When I got into high school, I was having trouble deciding what I wanted to do with my life. I got involved with a junior firefighter training program my junior year in High School. Then I couldn't decide police officer or fireman."
As Huffine wrestled with this decision, a friend of his recommended EMT courses. "A friend took the classes and thought I would really enjoy it. I saw the ad in the local newspaper, so my senior year in high school I was taking courses to become an Emergency Medical Technician. My parents paid for the course at the time, and I did really enjoy it," he added.
That was 20 years ago, and since then, Huffine has continued his education and is now serving as a flight paramedic for Air Evac Lifeteam in Vilonia.
"I worked as an EMT for 31/2 years and in December 1991 received my paramedic license after additional classes and exams," he said.
"I've enjoyed my work in EMS because it's really all I've ever known," Huffine said. "Growing up with emergencies and law enforcement showed me early on what I wanted to do. I knew it would be something in one of those fields."
Huffine started working at Air Evac Lifeteam on a parttime basis.
"I got hired on at the Marianna base, but during that time I was working at Jonesboro, Mountain Home and West Plains bases parttime also," Huffine said. "I did that for about six months before I had the chance to start with the Vilonia base fulltime." That was in July 2005.
According to Huffine the main difference from being a paramedic or EMT on a ground ambulance to the helicopter is the level of care patients require.
"Working for Air Evac, generally every flight we get is a patient who requires more critical care and transport," he said. "Ground ambulances have their share of critical patients, but not all of them are critical. In the air, it is generally a life or limb emergency.
"Some of the procedures and regulations are obviously different too. There are things we can do in the helicopter that can't be done by paramedics on ambulance crews and vice versa. I just had to become familiar with and aware of the regulations and protocols regarding air transport and patient care."
Huffine and his wife, Lyra, live in Hardy. with their two children. "My wife is also an EMT. We actually met when I worked for Vital Link ambulance service in Batesville, and she was an EMT student. Now she works for Spring River Paramedic and is in the process of getting her paramedic license," Huffine stated.
When asked about his outlook as a paramedic he explained that it's pretty simple in his mind: "Be honest with patients and their families. Treat them like family and do what you can for them. Don't give families false hope be truthful. If it's a bad situation, give it to them straight.
"If I do that with each and every patient I treat, then I can sleep comfortably at night knowing that I did everything I could to help them and their family through a tough situation."
Huffine was recognized in 2007 as the Arkansas Paramedic of the Year. By winning that award, he is now eligible and entered in the National Paramedic of the Year award. That announcement will take place sometime later this fall.
Air Evac Lifeteam, an air ambulance service that provides emergency health care and rapid medical transport to rural communities throughout the central United States, routinely provides training for emergency service agencies in the areas they serve. The company currently operates 74 air ambulance bases in 12 states.
For more information about Air Evac Lifeteam services, call 18007930010 or visit www.lifeteam.net. Air Evac Lifeteam is a registered service mark of Air Evac EMS, Inc.
