Gravette emergency responders speak at state EMS symposium
GRAVETTE — Two members of the Gravette Fire Department emergency response team were speakers Friday, Aug. 5, at the Arkansas EMT Association 2016 EMS symposium. John Sturdivant and Star Butler were invited to address the symposium at the Hot Springs Convention Center to tell about how well the EMS trauma system is working.
The invitation to be symposium speakers came as a result of an incident when Sturdivant and Butler were called to respond to an accident involving a young man riding an ATV. Zach Roehl, 21, was riding an ATV on a ranch where he was working south of Decatur. He was riding in to lunch when his ATV hit loose rocks and flipped over. Roehl suffered a head injury.
A fellow employee saw the accident and called 911. When the Gravette paramedics received the alert, they were already on the road returning from another call so all they had to do was head for the ranch. When they arrived, Decatur first responders were already on the scene. Realizing the severity of Roehl’s injury, the Mercy Life Line helicopter had also been called when the Gravette pair was dispatched. Sturdivant and Butler treated Roehl and prepared him for the helicopter ride.
The Mercy Life Line crew arrived shortly and transported Roehl to Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville. Dan Shanahan, flight nurse for Mercy Life Line, also attended the EMS symposium and was on the program.
Young Roehl spent several days in the hospital, celebrating his 22nd birthday during the stay, but made a complete recovery. He was in nursing school as well as working his ranch job at the time of the accident and will soon be receiving his bachelor of science degree in nursing. He had high praise for all the medics, doctors and nurses who treated him on his journey to recovery.
Sturdivant emphasized that the successful response to Roehl’s injury was a team effort.
“It was just an all-around good deal,” he said. “Everyone was in the right place at the right time and everything worked smoothly.”
Star Butler has been in emergency response for 11 years, serving in various roles, including EMT, dispatcher, firefighter and paramedic. She recently received her AAS paramedic certification and is working for Central EMS in Fayetteville.
John Sturdivant, a firefighter and paramedic, has been in emergency response for 29 years. He is now shift supervisor at the Gravette Fire Department. He started working in the field early, serving as a firefighter during his last year at McDonald County High School. He joined the Navy at age 33 and served as a medical corpsman. He is still in the Navy Reserve. He treated medical emergencies after the earthquake in Haiti. The next year he was working for the Newton County (Mo.) ambulance service and was involved in treating victims of the Joplin tornado.
Zach Roehl, his parents, three brothers, a sister and his girlfriend were all on hand at the symposium in Hot Springs to hear Sturdivant and Butler. Sturdivant said he has become good friends with the family and all were very appreciative of the role the Gravette responders played in Zach’s return to good health.