Answering calls, Writing charts and cleaning trucks is what an average night looks like at Tremont Area Ambulance.

When someone dials 911, the volunteers are always ready to respond. One of those volunteers, Beverly Ney, alumna ’90, has been an EMT for nearly 30 years.

“I became an EMT after I was involved in a terrible car accident,” said Ney. “After the accident, I wanted to get involved. I took the classes, passed my tests, and began volunteering with the same people that saved my life that day,” she continued. By day, Ney teaches 6th grade math at North Schuylkill Elementary.

Ricky “Rockett” Ney, alumnus ’99, is a Paramedic with Geisinger EMS, as well as the Education Coordinator for Tremont EMS.

“When I was in 8th grade, the health teacher, Mr Broomer, taught first aid and CPR. This combined with my family heritage in the fire service, motivated me to become an EMT at the age of 16,” Ney said.

Although Tremont EMS is all volunteer, they have paired with Geisinger EMS to provide Advanced Life Support care to the Tremont Area. Although Ney is a paid Paramedic, he still enjoys volunteering as an EMT.

Ney said, “I do this both paid and volunteer because I really enjoy what I do. Coming in these doors everyday, I never know how much of an impact myself and my team have on someone’s life. I feel like EMS and helping others was my calling and I never second guessed my purpose as a healthcare provider.”

Currently, there is a national strain on the EMS system. Since the Covid Pandemic, over 2500 EMT certifications have elapsed across the country. In Schuylkill County, many volunteer services have been struggling with volunteer recruitment and retention. Not just anyone can get on an ambulance to respond, they have to have special training. This is why Ricky Ney loves to teach. “Professor Rockett,” has been teaching CPR, EMR, and EMT since 2004.

“I love to teach for a few reasons: First, I have made mistakes as both a Paramedic and EMT, and want to educate new trainees to prevent these mistakes. I want new EMTs to be ten times better than I was. Also, education is extremely important because I, and others here, are not going to live forever. Many of us are burnt out, but we need to keep providing life saving care to our community. So training new EMTs and getting them to volunteer will hopefully take some strain off the system,” said Ney.

Rogie Adams, alumnus ’90, has been involved in emergency services for 38 years. “It was my parents that got me involved. I always wanted to help people.I most enjoy the EMS family we have and the great people I work with,” said Adams.