Congratulations to our 2017 Stars of Life!

Chris Page
Paramedic
EMSA
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

A U.S. Army veteran, Chris Page has been on the EMSA team for a little over a year. Two different people nominated him to receive the award, citing his strong work ethic and excellent patient care. “He is one of the most compassionate medics I have met, and he has an amazing natural intuition of what patients need, whether they are critical or non-critical,” wrote one of the individuals who nominated Chris. One notable call Chris recently ran involved a premature baby born at home, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. The baby was unresponsive, blue and had a slow, weak heartbeat. Chris quickly removed the cord, provided chest compressions and successfully intubated the tiny patient. By the time they arrived at the hospital, the baby had pinked up, become responsive, and had a strong heartbeat.

Congratulations to our Stars!

Thomas Hovell
EMT Basic
Hughes County EMS

From the start, Thomas Hovell has proven himself to be mature and wise beyond his years. He is smart, calm, and considerate.

Thomas treats every patient with kindness and respect, and provides incredible medical care. Thomas never fails to lift the spirits of a coworker with a kind word, or to take extra time to ensure a fellow employee understands Hughes County EMS's goals and their role in helping attain them. Thomas is a very strong clinician who works hard to mentor and provide guidance to other staff and students on third rides.

Hughes County Paramedics go out of their way to have Thomas as their EMT partner due to his outstanding work ethic and clinical skills. Thomas is the first EMT ALS-level providers are paired with when they are done with their third rides as Thomas is able to keep them calm and focused.

Finally, Thomas has exceeded all expectations by participating in improvement projects. He is making a huge impact with his insight, input, and work. He has developed into a well-rounded, high-performing employee who manages to balance the interests of our patients, our people, and the Agency.

Not only can Thomas be relied upon to put his best foot forward each day, he continuously strives to make Hughes County EMS a better place to work. He serves as one of our CPR instructors, and when not working on the ambulance he can routinely be found teaching CPR and first aid in local high schools.

In the two years that Thomas has been employed by Hughes County, he has never missed a day of work. He is always first to volunteer for open shifts or to cover the shift of an absent medic.

Hughes County EMS and our Board of Trustees are proud to recognize Thomas Hovell, EMT, as a 2017 Star of Life.

Congratulations to our 2017 Stars of Life!

Brandon Gray
Paramedic
EMSStat / Norman Regional Hospital
Norman, Oklahoma
EMSStat’s Crimestopper Paramedic of the Year

I am very pleased to announce the EMSStat’s Crimestopper’s Paramedic of the Year is Brandon Gray.

Brandon first joined EMSStat in July 2007. He is currently a Relief Crew Chief, Critical Care Paramedic, excellent Field Training Officer, and the EMSStat’s SWAT Team Commander. In that role, he has been developing the relationship with the Moore Police Department, and EMSStat now trains monthly with Moore PD. Brandon is an excellent preceptor and takes a strong interest in the success of his students.

An excerpt from his nomination states “Brandon is a very important member of our team here at EMSStat and provides excellent leadership in roles such as SWAT Team leader, Relief Crew Chief, and FTO/Critical Care training. B Crew runs much smoother due the hard work of Brandon. He has such a strong work ethic and strives for excellence in everything he does. He provides guidance to others and doesn’t just set a good example, he is the example in which to make comparisons. His medicine is excellent and his patients enjoy his presence. His paperwork is well organized and free of mistakes . Most importantly he is a great person to work with and everyone enjoys working with him. Brandon makes good decisions and is an excellent resource for his peers. Brandon has an impeccable service record here at EMSStat.”

Brandon was a very close personal friend of EMSStat Paramedic Lem Findlay who was tragically killed in an accident earlier this year, and he took the loss very hard. Even so, Brandon was a rock for others to lean on and provided Lem’s wife, kids, and family with support while helping them make decisions and arrangements. “It takes a strong man to pull off that kind of dedication and he did it.”

Congratulations to our 2017 Stars of Life!

James Garvin
Paramedic, Supervisor
Muskogee County EMS
Muskogee, Oklahoma

James Garvin began his career in EMS relatively late in life. Prior to becoming an EMT, James worked for 21 years as a machine operator for a nationally known paper production company. During his employment with the paper company, James became a member of the fire brigade and Emergency Response Team. When he retired in 2006, he came to Muskogee County EMS. Since he has been with us, James has furthered his education and is now a Paramedic. In addition to his duties as a Paramedic, James is a supervisor, Field Training Officer, and a certified CLEET officer and tactical medic with the Muskogee Police Department.

James has embraced his new career with passion and professionalism. Soon after he started as an EMT, James saw a need to enhance our service’s mapping programs. On his own time and without expectation, James wrote and distributed a 30 page mapping companion that alphabetized and gave simple, easy-to-follow directions to the most obscure streets, avenues, and roads in our county. Even with our current mapping programs, medics still rely on the directions in James’s map book when they receive a call for an address on an unknown street.

In the last 10 years with Muskogee County EMS, James has received numerous awards and accolades. Some of his many awards include EMT-Basic of the Year, Supervisor of the Year, Paramedic of the Year, Employee of the Month, and most importantly to him, multiple code saves. When asked what he likes most about this job, James is quick to say that it is the satisfaction of knowing he’s helped save someone’s life. “When I get there and they are in cardiac arrest, not breathing, no pulse, and then later they are being discharged from the hospital and sometimes even coming to see you and say ‘Thank you,’ well, it’s just something that can’t be explained. It’s the best thing in the world,” James explained.

When James is not working, he still stays busy. He and his wife, Chanel, recently built a new house on 40 acres, doing all of the work themselves! James also loves to hunt and fish and spend time with his four sons, his two step-sons, and six grandchildren.

Each day James exemplifies the standard for Muskogee County EMS in his professionalism, his compassion, and his exemplary performance. Muskogee County EMS is honored to endorse James Garvin for the Oklahoma Ambulance Association Star of Life Award, 2017.

Congratulations to our 2017 Stars!

Debbie Ferguson

EMT
Woodward County EMS
Freedom, Oklahoma 

Debbie Ferguson is a Basic EMT with Woodward County EMS. Debbie has worked for us for 15 years, starting as part time and working into a full time position.

Debbie is fun to be around and she takes her job seriously. She gets along with coworkers and patients and is very capable of working with the ALS providers as she knows how to set up equipment for their needs. Debbie is great at teaching the new hires the daily routine. She teaches the importance of checking, cleaning, and restocking units as well as maintenance of the ambulance base. Sweeping, mopping and laundry are not skills that are taught in EMT classes, but they play an integral part in the day to day operations of EMS. Debbie sometimes has to be the “mom”.

Debbie also maintains the inventory, and restocks and rotates supplies assuring the readiness of our Regional disaster response equipment.

We are also proud to name Debbie as a Star of Life.

Congratulations to our 2017 Stars of Life!

Andrea Nicole Earley
Paramedic/Public Event Coordinator
Southern Oklahoma Ambulance Service
Ardmore, OK
2015 SOAS Employee of the Year


Andrea Earley has a bright spirit and a heart to serve her community. She is a great Paramedic, but her real talent shines through the amazing community events she develops as the Public Event Coordinator.

Andrea organizes activities with the Ardmore Touch a Truck, Kid’s Day in the Park and citywide bicycle safety programs. She sets up and promotes numerous area school crash bashes for drunk driving awareness education of high school students.

Andrea designs and sells company t-shirts for breast cancer awareness, then donates the proceeds to support those fighting cancer. This year, Andrea voluntarily coordinated the emergency care and medical support for the 2017 Tim Tebow “Night to Shine Event,” a special needs prom night celebration.

Andrea is always willing to jump in and help serve people, and she always pushes for positive promotion of EMS within the community. Her heart to serve goes beyond just working in EMS, as she is truly a shining star in our community.

Congratulations to our 2017 Stars!

Josh Boden
EMS Director 
Watonga EMS
Watonga, Oklahoma

Watonga EMS is proud to submit Josh Boden as an OKAMA Star of Life. Josh, a Watonga native, is a very driven person, and is passionate about his role as Director of EMS.

Following graduation from Watonga High School, Josh began his life of service by devoting five years to the Army, during which he attained the rank of Section Sergeant. His service included a deployment to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

When Watonga EMS was on the verge of closing its doors in early 2016, Josh played a significant role in reorganizing the Service and mapping out a sustainable plan for its future. This was accomplished in a period of one month. Licenses were obtained, State inspections were successfully accomplished, and a third party billing company was contracted to address all of the issues on the billing side of the operation.

Shyla Teply, Watonga City Clerk, noted that, “Josh Boden has gone above and beyond what was expected of him as a Paramedic, father, volunteer Fireman, and citizen of our community to assure our City that a well-trained staff was operational within a very short period of time. I strongly believe that without Josh and his staff’s quick response to the need, our community could have experienced a tremendous loss. They are very professional in every way.”

Congratulations to our 2017 Stars of Life!

Devin Anderson
Emergency Vehicle Operator
EMSStat / NRHS
Norman, Oklahoma
EMSStat’s Crimestopper EVO of the Year

Devin joined EMSStat in August of 2015 in the role of EVO as part of the Moore expansion. He is currently in Paramedic school and will graduate this spring. 

Devin personifies hard work and dedication. Devin was hired as EMSSTAT expanded into Moore and in that push to hire high quality EMT’s/Paramedics, we definitely found what the department was looking for. 

Devin will frequently accept last minute requests to fill open shifts and he will do so without hesitation or complaint. Devin frequently cancels personal plans and rearranges his schedule to meet the department’s staffing needs. He does so out of a deep sense of duty and responsibility. 

In his short time at EMSSTAT, Devin has garnered the respect of his peers and has even earned a spot on the EMSSTAT Disaster Medical Response Team (DMRT). EMSSTAT’s DMRT is one of only two such teams in the state. This is an all-hazards team tasked with responding to disaster and mass casualty events anywhere in the state of Oklahoma for up to two week deployments. Devin has quickly become a dedicated and important member of the team. Devin strives, always, to provide support and solidarity to his crew mates.

Devin makes extremely valuable contributions to NRHS/EMSStat each day and demonstrate the ICARE behaviors very well.

Congratulations to our 2017 Stars of Life!

Jackie Adams
Paramedic
Woodward County EMS
Woodward, OK

Jackie Adams has been with Woodward County EMS for 37 years.  She began her career as an EMT Basic, then continued her education to the Paramedic level.  Jackie is an employee that goes above and beyond what is required of her.  She has volunteered to cover extra shifts and is the one to call when help is needed in a hurry for high call volume.  Due to paramedic shortage, Jackie has been called on to make more than her share of ALS emergent long distance transfers, many in the middle of the night.  The long distance transfers are usually at least 140 miles.  Jackie also supports the mission of Woodward County EMS and is a great historian to the new employees.

Woodward County EMS is very pleased to nominate Jackie Adams as a Star of Life.   

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