EMT finds home in emergency services

Kacee Sullens
Kacee Sullens

Kacee Sullens began her career in emergency medicine as an emergency medical technician with Cole County Emergency Medical Services in April.

After two months on the job, she feels it was the right career move for her.

"I love it," Sullens said. "You get exposure to a lot of different calls. It's a really good county to work for. When I graduated from school, I didn't know that their call volume was as high as it was."

A Cole County native, Sullens plans to further her education to become a paramedic within three years.

"It's a high-stress job, and it takes a special person to do it," Sullens said. "Knowing that I'm helping people is really good for me, and that's what drives me. It's a lot of adrenaline because you never know what you're going to get. I worked with the elderly before I came here, and the majority of the calls we go on are for elderly patients, so I really enjoy being able to help them."

As a new EMT, Sullens said, there were some calls she where she found herself realizing it was a real situation and not just training in school.

"So far, the most stressful situation I felt was the protest on June 1," Sullens said. "Luckily, Jefferson City didn't get bad like we've seen in other parts of the state and the country. Knowing that it could get that way did make me feel anxious."

Sullens started work not long after the COVID-19 pandemic began.

"I was working at a home health care agency before I came here, and we were taking precautions there. But here, they are pretty adamant about taking all precautions," Sullens said. "Anybody who comes into our facility, they have their temperature taken, and we log in every day on a series of questions related to our health. If we go on calls where the patient has respiratory issues or we suspect they might have or are COVID positive, then we wear full protective suits."

She said it was an eye-opener to see what they had to go through to prepare for potential COVID-19 patients.

"Working in a completely different environment like home health care, I didn't think that it was as serious," Sullens said. "I thought that these people are never leaving their homes so they aren't going to get it as long as the caregivers are responsible. Coming to EMS, you never know who you'll run into, and I realized very quickly it's a bigger deal than I had originally thought. Whether it is or isn't, I don't know, but I do know that Cole County EMS takes the precautions to prevent it. They protect patients and staff."

Now that she's started in emergency medical services, Sullens said she doesn't plan to leave any time soon.

"I've found home," Sullens said.