Personnel
Bruce Brackett Recovering from Heart Attack
17/03/08 16:00
Orcas
Islander Bruce Brackett, home recovering from heart
surgery
On March 17 of this year, long time Orcas Island resident Bruce Brackett had a major heart attack on the operating table at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham. Odd. Usually, people first have heart attacks, then are helped in hospital, if they make it that far.
Lack of oxygen to the heart leading to death of heart muscle, or infarction, is a frequent and very serious result of the time it takes to get medical care. Bruce Brackett is home now, hale and hearty, after major cardiac surgery involving a triple by-pass and three stints. Here is his story. In the weeks leading up to the heart attack, Bruce had a number of indicators that something was not right, including tightness in his chest and such shortness of breath that he was forced to curtail his normal physical
activities. He did not experience any pain.
Finally, on March 17, he took himself into Station 21, and described his symptoms to Mik Preysz, who was the duty paramedic that day. Mik performed an EKG, compared it to a normal EKG performed some weeks earlier as part of the Fire Department’s member wellness program, and quite promptly had Bruce airlifted to St. Joseph Hospital. OIFD Paramedic Mik Preysz explained that “the heart complex of Bruce’s EKG showed subtle changes indicating possible blockages in the coronary arteries. Blockages
cause inadequate oxygenation to the heart which can lead to death of cardiac muscle.” The subtle difference in the EKG, combined with the other signs and symptoms Bruce showed, signaled red flags for Mik, resulting in Bruce’s quick trip to Bellingham.
Bruce arrived at St. Joseph about seventy minutes after walking into the Fire Department.
On viewing the imaging of Bruce’s coronary arteries, the cardiac surgeon was sufficiently alarmed to have a patient who was prepped and anaesthetized for surgery taken off the operating table in order to begin surgery on Bruce, just as Bruce actually had the heart attack. Because of the speed of the whole care process, Bruce is recovering well, with no death of heart muscle.
Bruce says that he is happy to wake up every morning. He says “from the bottom of my replumbed heart, I thank the whole team of professionals who helped me in my hour of need.”
Bruce is a very independent man. He enjoys walking into his shop in the morning and beginning to create something from raw materials. He built “Fiona”, his thirty-six foot wooden sailboat, from scratch. His lifestyle always has included working out at the
gym, sailing, and bike riding. To these factors, the excellent and speedy care he received, and luck, he attributes being able to leave the hospital three and a half days after surgery, as well as his good recovery. But Bruce has several messages for us about his experience. “When you have little symptoms, don’t just chalk it up to getting older. Don’t delay getting medical help. Have
stress EKGs and other recommended tests regularly.”
Bruce thinks his previous fast food, high cholesterol, high stress habits contributed to his problem. He’s been reshaping his lifestyle to include a diet of fruit, vegetables, brown rice, low fat protein, and smaller portions. He has lost twenty pounds, or ten percent of his body weight. He is reducing unnecessary stress as well as getting a good night’s sleep. Best of all, he is focusing on the peace and serenity of his home on Orcas.
Bruce and his wife Julia have lived on Orcas Island since 1978. Now retired, Bruce worked for contractor Ron Wallace for nineteen years. He has been a Fire FIghter for the OIFD since 1980.
On March 17 of this year, long time Orcas Island resident Bruce Brackett had a major heart attack on the operating table at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham. Odd. Usually, people first have heart attacks, then are helped in hospital, if they make it that far.
Lack of oxygen to the heart leading to death of heart muscle, or infarction, is a frequent and very serious result of the time it takes to get medical care. Bruce Brackett is home now, hale and hearty, after major cardiac surgery involving a triple by-pass and three stints. Here is his story. In the weeks leading up to the heart attack, Bruce had a number of indicators that something was not right, including tightness in his chest and such shortness of breath that he was forced to curtail his normal physical
activities. He did not experience any pain.
Finally, on March 17, he took himself into Station 21, and described his symptoms to Mik Preysz, who was the duty paramedic that day. Mik performed an EKG, compared it to a normal EKG performed some weeks earlier as part of the Fire Department’s member wellness program, and quite promptly had Bruce airlifted to St. Joseph Hospital. OIFD Paramedic Mik Preysz explained that “the heart complex of Bruce’s EKG showed subtle changes indicating possible blockages in the coronary arteries. Blockages
cause inadequate oxygenation to the heart which can lead to death of cardiac muscle.” The subtle difference in the EKG, combined with the other signs and symptoms Bruce showed, signaled red flags for Mik, resulting in Bruce’s quick trip to Bellingham.
Bruce arrived at St. Joseph about seventy minutes after walking into the Fire Department.
On viewing the imaging of Bruce’s coronary arteries, the cardiac surgeon was sufficiently alarmed to have a patient who was prepped and anaesthetized for surgery taken off the operating table in order to begin surgery on Bruce, just as Bruce actually had the heart attack. Because of the speed of the whole care process, Bruce is recovering well, with no death of heart muscle.
Bruce says that he is happy to wake up every morning. He says “from the bottom of my replumbed heart, I thank the whole team of professionals who helped me in my hour of need.”
Bruce is a very independent man. He enjoys walking into his shop in the morning and beginning to create something from raw materials. He built “Fiona”, his thirty-six foot wooden sailboat, from scratch. His lifestyle always has included working out at the
gym, sailing, and bike riding. To these factors, the excellent and speedy care he received, and luck, he attributes being able to leave the hospital three and a half days after surgery, as well as his good recovery. But Bruce has several messages for us about his experience. “When you have little symptoms, don’t just chalk it up to getting older. Don’t delay getting medical help. Have
stress EKGs and other recommended tests regularly.”
Bruce thinks his previous fast food, high cholesterol, high stress habits contributed to his problem. He’s been reshaping his lifestyle to include a diet of fruit, vegetables, brown rice, low fat protein, and smaller portions. He has lost twenty pounds, or ten percent of his body weight. He is reducing unnecessary stress as well as getting a good night’s sleep. Best of all, he is focusing on the peace and serenity of his home on Orcas.
Bruce and his wife Julia have lived on Orcas Island since 1978. Now retired, Bruce worked for contractor Ron Wallace for nineteen years. He has been a Fire FIghter for the OIFD since 1980.
Orcas Fire finds the "Best and Brightest" already live here!
18/01/08 16:00
Orcas Fire
finds the "Best and Brightest" already live here!
“We are probably going to take some heat for this decision, but time will prove it to be a good one,” said Commissioner Jim Coffin after the Board of Fire Commissioners meeting on January 15th.
The commission had just unanimously approved Chief Mike Harris's request to hire two local volunteers, Buddy Wright & Chad Kimple, as full time employees of the fire department. The Commission agreed that the hires were necessary for the District’s training and safety programs and to complete implementation of the District’s long term strategic plan.
Chad Kimple, a volunteer since 2002, was hired as the Operations Assistant & District Safety Officer. This new job consolidates the previous Business Manager, the Administrative Assistant, as well as the Volunteer Safety Officer Position. This position holds the rank of Lieutenant, due to the responsibility necessary for safety programs and scene safety authority. "Kimple's a quick study, a hard worker and passionate about the fire service." said Chief Harris, “Chad is an Orcas Island success story, having started as a junior volunteer with OIFD while still in high school.” Harris said he was proud to be able to hire someone from within the department to fill this role. Lt. Kimple will receive a salary of $2,830 per month. It is a 40 hour per week job and is exempt from any overtime pay, as most fire department supervisory positions are.
Buddy Wright was hired as the combined full-time Training and Operations Chief. Buddy has been a volunteer with the district since 1996. He has held every volunteer officer rank in the District, except for Chief Officer, and has been the volunteer Training Officer with the District since August of 2004. "Buddy helped me more than anyone else to ‘knit the district back together’, so we saw each other as members of the same team. Thanks to him, our training is the best I have seen in over 35 years of fire service.” Harris stated.
“Buddy has elevated our training to state of the art by providing on-line web based classes, competency based testing and a flexible training schedule. This program has done away with most of our traditional classroom training, and transitioned us to a quarterly system, which has allowed the same drills to be repeated 3 times each quarter so that our members can make training at the department fit into their own schedules. He has taken my vision of a cross trained department and made it a reality, that has immensely enhanced our service to our community.
The “heat” Commissioner Coffin referred to was for the $7,500 per month salary that Battalion Chief Wright will receive. “We saw a unique set of skills that we wanted and this is what we had to pay to get it” Harris said. “Just the job description alone should provide a clue. I would have paid a computer consultant over $30,000 just to put one year of training in an on-line format. That does not include developing the actual material as any training officer would be responsible for. I feel I'm getting a bargain because those two jobs total the amount we are paying, and we get an operations officer on top of that.”
Battalion Chief Wright will work 40 hours a week at the station. In addition to this would be after-hours drills & training, emergency runs, plus a significant amount of on-call time, all without additional compensation. “They reality of it is, the Battalion Chief will probably average more than 50 hours per week” said Harris.
Clyde Duke, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, said “We have been fortunate that Buddy agreed to come on board last year, originally as two separate part time jobs, Training Officer and Operations Officer. This tenure has given the district the ability to grow into a very successful organization. While any change within an organization presents challenges, we are excited with the results we have experienced thus far with our team, the volunteers and staff.”
“The District’s focus is to improve services and maintain the valuable personal lives of our volunteers” said Clyde Duke.
With the consolidating of the job descriptions into these two new positions, the district now employs fewer full time employees than it had prior to 2005.
Questions or comments can be directed to Chief Harris @ 376-2331, extension 21, or to Commission Chairman Clyde Duke @ 376-5873, Commissioner Harvey Olsan @ 376-2114 or Commissioner Jim Coffin @ 376-9017.
Captain Buddy Wright (and daughter)
“We are probably going to take some heat for this decision, but time will prove it to be a good one,” said Commissioner Jim Coffin after the Board of Fire Commissioners meeting on January 15th.
The commission had just unanimously approved Chief Mike Harris's request to hire two local volunteers, Buddy Wright & Chad Kimple, as full time employees of the fire department. The Commission agreed that the hires were necessary for the District’s training and safety programs and to complete implementation of the District’s long term strategic plan.
Chad Kimple, a volunteer since 2002, was hired as the Operations Assistant & District Safety Officer. This new job consolidates the previous Business Manager, the Administrative Assistant, as well as the Volunteer Safety Officer Position. This position holds the rank of Lieutenant, due to the responsibility necessary for safety programs and scene safety authority. "Kimple's a quick study, a hard worker and passionate about the fire service." said Chief Harris, “Chad is an Orcas Island success story, having started as a junior volunteer with OIFD while still in high school.” Harris said he was proud to be able to hire someone from within the department to fill this role. Lt. Kimple will receive a salary of $2,830 per month. It is a 40 hour per week job and is exempt from any overtime pay, as most fire department supervisory positions are.
Buddy Wright was hired as the combined full-time Training and Operations Chief. Buddy has been a volunteer with the district since 1996. He has held every volunteer officer rank in the District, except for Chief Officer, and has been the volunteer Training Officer with the District since August of 2004. "Buddy helped me more than anyone else to ‘knit the district back together’, so we saw each other as members of the same team. Thanks to him, our training is the best I have seen in over 35 years of fire service.” Harris stated.
“Buddy has elevated our training to state of the art by providing on-line web based classes, competency based testing and a flexible training schedule. This program has done away with most of our traditional classroom training, and transitioned us to a quarterly system, which has allowed the same drills to be repeated 3 times each quarter so that our members can make training at the department fit into their own schedules. He has taken my vision of a cross trained department and made it a reality, that has immensely enhanced our service to our community.
The “heat” Commissioner Coffin referred to was for the $7,500 per month salary that Battalion Chief Wright will receive. “We saw a unique set of skills that we wanted and this is what we had to pay to get it” Harris said. “Just the job description alone should provide a clue. I would have paid a computer consultant over $30,000 just to put one year of training in an on-line format. That does not include developing the actual material as any training officer would be responsible for. I feel I'm getting a bargain because those two jobs total the amount we are paying, and we get an operations officer on top of that.”
Battalion Chief Wright will work 40 hours a week at the station. In addition to this would be after-hours drills & training, emergency runs, plus a significant amount of on-call time, all without additional compensation. “They reality of it is, the Battalion Chief will probably average more than 50 hours per week” said Harris.
Clyde Duke, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, said “We have been fortunate that Buddy agreed to come on board last year, originally as two separate part time jobs, Training Officer and Operations Officer. This tenure has given the district the ability to grow into a very successful organization. While any change within an organization presents challenges, we are excited with the results we have experienced thus far with our team, the volunteers and staff.”
“The District’s focus is to improve services and maintain the valuable personal lives of our volunteers” said Clyde Duke.
With the consolidating of the job descriptions into these two new positions, the district now employs fewer full time employees than it had prior to 2005.
Questions or comments can be directed to Chief Harris @ 376-2331, extension 21, or to Commission Chairman Clyde Duke @ 376-5873, Commissioner Harvey Olsan @ 376-2114 or Commissioner Jim Coffin @ 376-9017.
Captain Buddy Wright (and daughter)