History of the St. Mary's County Advanced Life Support Unit

The St. Mary's County Advanced Life Support (ALS) Unit began with the support of the St. Mary's County Ambulance Association.  It was funded by the Count Government as a non-profit organization.  From the begining, Dr. Patrick Jarboe was the Medical Director.  He had the responiblity for the EMP-Ps and CRTs in the county.  Dr. Wesley Page assisted Dr. Jarboe by handling the responsibility for the IV Technician and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) programs.  Other physicians in the county, such as Dr. Khalid Husain and Dr. Michael Szkotnicki, and St. Mary's Hospital Staff were an integral part of training and resertifications of the ALS personnel.

The FirstCardiac Rescue Technician (CRT) class was held at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in 1981.  The class lasted six months, and it was taught by Mike Olds and Hal Lindsley.  This advanced medical training consisted of two components.  The classroom portion was held every other weekend. The clinical training on the other weekends consisted of traveling to Baltimore.  Once there, students gained the hospital and fiels training needed to become CRTs.

Members from the Original class became the leaders of the ALS Unit.  The Charter members are: Dan Browne, Kim Davidson, Gary Gardner, and Mike Humphreys.  Kim Davidson continued his training to become an EMT-P.

Before putting the ALS unit in service, a second CRT class was held.  ALS providers who played an instrumental role in the planning of the Unit were Harry Koehler, Dennis Gordge, Pat Davidson, and Kerry Klear.  In 1982, the Unit went into service.  The availability was limited from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. during the week, and 24 hours a day on the weekends.  The Unit was a "chase car".  It responded to calls for ALS throughout the entire county.  It was, and still is, located in a "central" location of the county.  Once there were enough CRTs, the unit went into full 24 hour a day coverage.

The ALS unit has had many "homes".  The first winter Second District (Valley Lee) Firehouse was used.  Althoughthis was not convenient for the whole county, it allowed the unit to be sheltered and it also provided protection for the medications and equipment.  The "News Briefing Room" at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was another home.  We had a shed-like building behind the old hospital.  This housed the vehicle provided a couple of rooms for the members to stay in.  Next, we moved into the Reagan Building.  First our quarters were upstairs, then downstairs when an office was vacated.  In 1989, the county officials decided to provide funding for a building that would meet our needs.  This is our current site, down the hill from Medstar St. Mary's Hospital.  We have a bay that houses two of our vehicles, two bunk rooms, a meeting/training room, office and a lounge area.

The first vehicles were "used cars" provided by the county.  They were old county government cars that had been replaced.  We had magnetic signs to place on the doors.  A borrowed ambulance was even used at one time.  Today, we have five vehicles are that are specifically designed to meet the needs of the unit.

Past Presidents

Gary Gardiner - 1983-1984

Danny Browne - 1985-1986

Rocky Woodburn - 1987-1991

Pat Davidson - 1992-1994

Mike Quade - 1995-1996

Hattie Norris - 1997-1998

Liz Carroll - 1999-2000

Mike Barnett - 2000-2003

Liz Carroll - 2003-2005

Mike Barnett - 2006-2007

Dennis Gordge - 2008-2010

Mike Cahall - 2010-2011

Joe Held - 2011-2012

Teresa Baran - 2012-2013

Scott Cooley - 2013-2016

Carol Boehm - 2016-2017

Paul Koch - 2017-2018

Past Chiefs

Danny Browne - 1983-1984

Dennis Gordge - 1985-1986

Danny Browne - 1987

Dennis Gordge - 1988

Tina Swann (Breck) - 1988-1989

Dennis Gordge - 1990-1991

Eric (Ej) Johnson - 1991

Brenda Swim - 1992-1993

Rocky Woodburn - 1994

Winnie Sullivan - 1995-1996

Kerry Klear - 1997

Kim Davidson - 1998

Steve Himes - 1999

Winnie Sullivan - 2000-2003

Mike Barnett - 2003-2005

Darla Hardy - 2006-2007

Tom Hesbach - 2007-2009

Carol Boehm - 2009-2012

Gary Easley - 2012-2014

Paul Koch - 2014-2017

Nick Harrison - 2017-2018