Hamilton named QRU's top responder

Volunteer paramedic Craig Hamilton of Lakeside was named top responder for 2011 at Lakeside's volunteer ambulance Quick Response Unit (QRU). Hamilton responded to 201 of QRU's 288 calls for 2011.

“It's a team effort and I wouldn't like to see this highlighted as like Superman,” Hamilton said. “We do it as a team, you can't transport with just one person; if you highlight the top responder, the reason why is to get the most experience so I can to be a good paramedic.”

Hamilton also spends 70 hours a month in Whitefish where there are three to five paramedics during calls, but he's the only one present for calls in Lakeside, which is why he feels he needs as much experience as possible.

“Volunteering there (Whitefish) has given me that experience so I could be the best paramedic I can be here and gives me fire training too,” Hamilton said. “It's important to me to be available, that's probably why I struggle with my art glass.”

When Hamilton isn't volunteering with QRU or in Whitefish, he works as a glass blower. Hamilton estimates that he spent 500 hours at QRU in 2011 and had 151 out of QRU's 240 calls for 2010.

“I don't think I told anyone this year,” Hamilton said. “My wife is pleased though.”

QRU currently has 14 active responders, meaning they've been on call at least once every couple of months. Several other responders for QRU had totals of well over 100.

“We had a number of people who responded a lot too this year,” Hamilton said. “I've been able to respond to so many by luck. We've had as many as six days without calls at Lakeside, there's no predicting it.”

Hamilton finished paramedic school at Flathead Valley Community College in May 2011 and has been volunteering with QRU since July 2009.

“When I decided to be a paramedic, I didn't know EMTs had levels, so I started from scratch and worked my way up,” Hamilton said. “I heard comments like 'that's a good choice for you,' or 'if I was in the hospital, I would want you there.' It was pretty unanimous for people who knew me that it's a good fit.”

As a paramedic, Hamilton will continue taking classes throughout the duration of his career as new techniques arise. In addition to keeping up on his training, Hamilton has other goals in mind for the future.

“I want to be in Lakeside as much as possible to respond,” Hamilton said. “The reward I find is being there for people their worst days.”

QRU's team of volunteers prepares patients for agencies from Polson, Bigfork, Kalispell and A.L.E.R.T. (Advanced Life-support and Emergency Rescue Team for Kalispell Regional Medical Center).

“We get lots of medical calls, cars are safer these days so there's not much blood and guts; it's a good thing,” Hamilton said. “There's not a lot of heart issues (with the medical calls), that tells me people are going to doctors to know if they have those problems. About a third were traffic calls.”

Hamilton noted a significant number of calls for vehicle accidents at White Oak intersection, the juncture for Highway 82 and 93, as well as three separate accidents all on Angel Hill's curve.

“We had two fatalities in the same spot and an accident there too, all this year on Angel Hill,” Hamilton said. “There are three white crosses right there, that's a good thing the state does, putting those up.”

Although Hamilton was able to respond the most calls this year, he is most proud of QRU's new ambulance, which was purchased last summer.

“A number of us worked on the grant proposal and I worked on the specifications for the ambulance,” Hamilton said. “I thought it would be a five or six hour project, but it took weeks.”

Hamilton's specifications for the ambulance ended up being 38 pages long and had to be thoroughly detailed to make sure QRU's new ambulance would meet all their requirements to serve the community no matter the climate.

“We smart shopped and used it wisely,” Hamilton said. “Now we can directly serve our community without drawing resources from surrounding areas. I'm pleased and proud that I can free up resources of other communities.”