TESTIMONIALS
Kathy Ratliff
Trinity Co Life Support Administrator/Paramedic
As Trinity County Life Support Paramedic and Administrator, I have been truly fortunate to work at something I absolutely believe in, and to work with people that I respect and value so much. TCLS crews have provided high quality care and emergency medical training for 26 years.
Measures D and E provide long needed support for ambulance service. These measures build the service as it should be.
Measure D the formation of the District allows the ambulance to access much-needed government relief for Medi-Cal shortfalls from two programs, IGT – Intragovernmental Transfer and GEMT – Ground Emergency Medical Transport. Without this step we leave available government reimbursement of Medi-Cal shortfalls untouched.
Measure E the assessment of a parcel fee - $83 for improved, $48 for unimproved, allows us to address long-time needs for additional medical staff, improved shift structure to reduce fatigue and stress, and pay our crews 24 hours for a 24-hour shift. Without this step we are unable to provide consistent advanced life support staffing that is essential to good outcomes in our rural communities.
With your support, we can secure strong and stable ambulance service for the long-term, under local control by you.
Please remember that the ambulance service needs your YES vote on both D and E for this to happen. A vote for one without the other will fail, as they are tied together. The District cannot be formed without identified financial means for effective operations.
This Awesome Crew and a Faithful Board of Directors has made it work for a very long time without resources. The service is not stable when it depends on too few people working all the time to make it go. We must add staff, protect them as they serve and protect us, and we must pay them fairly for their shift in order to keep them.
We ask for your serious consideration on Measures D and E to preserve and secure essential ambulance services into the future.
Ed McClain
Hayfork, California
It’s pretty fresh in my mind, even though it happened on 1-16-11. At about 5:30 in the morning I was at work when I started sweating, got “heartburn” (I never get heartburn) and had never had this feeling before. I got off work at 7, went home and sat down in my easy chair. About 7:15 it got a lot worse, I felt like something was sitting on my chest with a heat torch. I asked my girlfriend to call 911.
They got there in 2 and a half minutes. The feeling of heaviness in my chest was increasing. They started to assess me and put the oximeter on my finger. I said “I don’t feel too good.” The next thing – I woke up on the floor. “What happened?” The Paramedic, Dan Layne, said “You had an event.”
My heart had stopped and they defibrillated me. It was too foggy to fly that morning, and they took me to Trinity Hospital, where I received blood thinners. The ambulance then transferred me to Mercy Hospital where they put in a stent. My main coronary artery was plugged 98%.
I was out of the hospital the next day, alive and feeling good. If they had not been there, I would not be here now.
We just voted mail in ballot for Measures D and E yesterday, to keep this service. If not for the ambulance crew and service, I would not be alive. I feel like a lot of other people in this small town might not be here either.
Dan Paul Layne I,
Paramedic (retired)
I worked for Trinity County Life Support for almost 25 years. Firstly, as a full-time employee, including a period as the Operations Manager, then as a per diem employee (called when needed, covering open shifts, etc.) I was pleased to work with all the professional and dedicated employees for all those years. There were frequent changes of employees mostly because of the wages, and the fact we were only paid for 16 hours out of every 24-hour shift. At one time I had 2 outside jobs (on my days off) to make enough money to raise a family in Trinity County. The turnover was mostly because as soon as an employee could land a job the paid the full 24-hour shift, they would move on.
Over the 25 years I have responded to every community in Trinity County, I can tell you that the people we helped were thankful for the service that Trinity County Life Support provided. With the miles of narrow, winding roads there are numerous accidents, and as the population ages the need for a fully staffed ambulance service will only continue to rise. With the weather of Trinity County, the reliance on helicopters to provide transport is not always readily available.
I suggest that everyone consider what they would do without an ambulance when they or one of their family needs emergency care if these measures do not pass. The volunteer fire services are valuable as first responders, but they are unable to provide advance life support and transport of patient to the hospital.
I recommend voting yes on Measures D and E.
Susie Smith
Flight Nurse
My name is Susan Smith "Suzie", and I have worked alongside as a team with Trinity County Life Support (TCLS) and all of the volunteers since 1981 as a Critical Care Flight Nurse. My first thought is that I cannot imagine Trinity County without the advanced EMS services they currently receive.
This summer was one of the most tragic, traumatic injury summers I have experienced in your area. I have spent nights awake thinking about the trauma both physical and emotional/spiritual the patients and the care givers have endured. The level of care given by the crews is continually growing with education and desire to be better care givers. I know there would have been more fatalities in your area without the expertise of TCLS. The advanced practices that are being deployed in your area are life-saving. TCLS has become a critical care transport ambulance. They not only provide this advanced care to those that call 911 but also to patients requiring critical care services as they are transferred to out of the area hospitals for higher levels of care. As we all know this is much needed in your area with low visibility and the inability of an aircraft to get in. I personally travel to the coast frequently and go through this area. I am reassured to know that if my family needed medical assistance for anything, TCLS would be there for us.
Shawn Poore'
Flight Paramedic
Testimonial coming soon
Scott Alvord, Retired Fire Chief
Weaverville Fire Department
Trinity has an excellent ambulance service that is underfunded. To continue to serve our communities at current levels, we must secure this funding. When people are treated in the community where they live under a unified effort between Trinity County Life Support and partnering emergency services, it completely changes the outcome."
The Cavalli Family
Hayfork, CA
When we woke up to our daughter, who was just 8 months old, having a complex febrile seizure it was like a nightmare.
Living in our rural area is a blessing for our family, but having four children and knowing, at best, your closest emergency room is forty five minutes away is one of my biggest fears as a mother.
That night there was nothing we could do to help our daughter, having Trinity County Life Support saved her life. They were able to provide the medical care that she needed that moment, they were able to stop the seizure that had lasted over 10 minutes and showed no sign of stopping on its own. We had no one else around who could help for miles and miles.
After that first experience we found out that our daughter could have another seizure whenever she ran a fever. Sure enough 7 months later we woke up to another seizure. TCLS not only showed up again quickly but remembered our daughter and her history and had a helicopter on its way. They were compassionate, vital, and efficient while helping our little girl. Knowing that we could rely on their help is so critical.
While we hope that we won’t need to make any more 1:00am nightmare calls to Trinity County Life support, we know we could need to at any time and I cannot imagine not having that as an option. It would be absolutely devastating to my family and to our community!
Thank you to everyone who came to our rescue those nights! EMTs, Paramedics, Volunteer Fire, Cal-Fire, TCSO, and anyone else who helped in some way. And know our family will support Trinity County Life Support any way we possibly can!
Karen Marceau
Weaverville, CA
Christmas Eve, 2018, my husband took me to Mountain Community Hospital with a cough that was rapidly worsening. I was quickly diagnosed with double pneumonia and treatment was begun. I was going to be admitted when they discovered I also had sepsis and would not be able to stay there. Although it isn’t contagious, I would have to been held in ICU and isolated from other patients. Many phone calls were made to the Redding hospitals but they were all filled to capacity. The persistent nursing staff finally found me a room at Enloe Hospital in Chico. By now it was dark and raining and traveling by air was not going to happen. So, the hospital called our Trinity County Life Support to transport me to Chico.
My two escorts arrived at the hospital about 9:30 and I was readied for the long ride. I have to admit it had been an awful day and not the celebrating Christmas Eve one we had been expecting and I was not in a very good mood. In fact, I was darn right grumpy. But my wonderful ambulance drivers just ignored my mood and were very professional and caring. They tucked me in, strapped down the gurney, and away we went.
I was awake on and off during the trip. Because of the rain and wet highway, they had to be cautious and several times use their siren. Before the siren was activated, I would gently be warned so I wouldn’t worry. There was some chit chat between the driver and my personal escort and I found that reassuring…like they were a team together, aware of what was happening around them, and together in the goal to get me safely to Chico as soon as possible. And I have to admit I was not a stellar passenger. I have back problems but wasn’t able to explain that to them. Just minutes of lying flat and my back began to spasm. I was warned, nicely, that it was for my safety for me to be still. Finally she understood problem and gave me the opportunity to wiggle and squirm and get comfortable. I so appreciated her sensitivity to my situation.
And I was delivered to Enloe Hospital in Chico just moments before midnight. My two Christmas angels filled out the papers and then wished me a Merry Christmas and hoped that I would soon be in good health, and then off they went, back to their ambulance and to Trinity County. To say I don’t know what we would have done without them is an understatement. This was my first long trip in an ambulance and it was perfect. Their kindness, caring and personal touches were so reassuring to both myself and my husband. I felt totally safe and isn’t that what we’re looking from our health care professionals?
Trinity County Fire Chief's Associations
Read the full letter written by the Fire Chiefs' here
"...Trinity County Fire Chief's Association strongly supports the TCLS proposal for an EMS District and advises all agencies and citizens to carefully consider extending their support as well."
Weaverville Vol. Fire Dept. Association
Letter to the Editor of Trinity Journal
On behalf of the Weaverville Volunteer Fire Department Association. We are asking your support of our local ambulance service, Trinity County Life Support (TCLS). It is our view that TCLS is a vital asset to our County EMS system and its loss would be detrimental to the health of community members.
Our firefighters know first-hand the excellent care that is provided by the EMS professionals that respond on our local ambulance. TCLS is in need of the type of restructuring that only comes with stable funding base. We encourage you to vote yes on Measures D & E. Please visit www.tlscsd.org to learn more about TCLS and the measures being proposed.
Community Members who want to save TCLS
Carol Minor
Dero Forslund
Polly Chapman
Serena Brown
Todd Corbett
Kathy Ratliff
Gus Kormeier
Steve Renten
Michael Novac
Nadya Novak
Tim Williams
Vickie Williams
Dee Donnelson
Dan Donnelson
Tim Spiersch
Diedre Bower
John Bower
Katie Quinn
Scott L. Palmer
Kathleen E Davey
Jim French
Mel Deardorff
Keith Roberson
Trinity River Lumber Mill
Tiffany Wong
Gene Goodyear
Kim Goodyear
Jon Gier
Justin Henderson
Claudia Lawrence
George Lawrence
Larry Horrocks
Elizabeth Horrocks
Bobbie Chadwick
Dick Morris
Sandy Morris
Larry Helsley
Rebecca Helsley
John Letton
Elena Letton
Herk Emmons
Bonnie Emmons
Adrien Keys
Ted Pierce
Henry Boorman
Larry Masterman
Paula Materman
Dustin Swanson
Samantha Healy
Larry Brown
Kelli Rogers
Amelia Fleitz
Jill Cox
Kent Cox
Brad Straatman
Angie Straatman
Eric Palmer
Karen Palmer
Ed Prestley
Jim Yacoub
Lynn Ward
Bryan Ward
Mike McHugh
Kelli Gant
Dee Saunders
Peter Ulrich
Suzanne Ulrich
Linda Bullock
Pat Frost
Carol Fall
Joel Cox
Tim Saxon
Jan Saxon
Dave Weber
Nada Weber
Tracy McFadin
Roger Chatterton
Sue Chatterton