Glen Greenhill meticulously recalls the first birth he assisted with, and conversely, some of the more tragic moments of his 40-year career.
There have been many more incidents in between - too many to count - but he provides detailed examples as though they all happened within the past few days.
Greenhill is the Comox-Strathcona district manager for clinical operations for BC Emergency Health Services and is celebrating the milestone anniversary - July 20, 1984 - in parallel with BC Ambulance Service’s 50th anniversary, which began in British Columbia in 1974.
His desire for a career as a paramedic began after he took a first aid course suggested by a friend. The course was taught in Courtenay by a woman whose two sons were original members of BCEHS.
“I remember that very first night I went home and did five hours of homework and I was just lapping up everything that I was taking in and I just got bitten by the bug…and then in March I started the process to get hired and I got hired in July of 1984.”
When Greenhill began his career, paramedics were not paid for their shift unless a call came in, however, it took up until the early 2000s for that to change.
“You didn’t really get any money for carrying the pager but you committed to the shift. It wasn’t until 2001 that it started at about a dollar an hour, then a $1.50 an hour, and then $2 per hour for carrying the pager. Sometimes back in the day when I started, it wasn’t as busy, and there were many times you would go buy a coffee and you’re already in the hole for the shift.”
Throughout the decades, he reflects on how the service has changed. The goal has always remained the same: to provide the very best pre-hospital care without judgment, but other factors have changed dramatically throughout his time with the emergency service.
When he began his career as a 21-year-old, there was no support in place for first responders and paramedics following calls. Following severe or traumatic incidents, there were two options: “suck it up and work, or go home.
“We (now) have 100 per cent accessibility to confidential counselling. We have certainly built up robust stress management programs and employee and family assistance support programs. We have a debriefing in the moment as well. Back in the day, that was simply not there, so you didn’t really have a lot of options.”
He admits he has built up resiliency and coping mechanisms throughout his career, but says a point he impresses upon all paramedics is the fact that they didn’t cause the incident, and they couldn’t have stopped it from happening.
He also tells all paramedics - and those in the community - that it is because of their work, that the healing process and rehabilitation for those involved in an incident are much quicker because of the pre-hospital care paramedics provide, ultimately helping patients return home faster.
He also notes that he advises his colleagues not to make the patient’s emergency their own.
“We’re the ones that are the subject matter experts when it comes to pre-hospital care and we have clinical and medical guidelines that we follow. We take care of the patient based on our scope of practice and our tools of the trade, or what I call our bag of miracles,” he adds.
He says it’s a paramedic's job to take command and control the patient care side of things and try to make unstable situations into stable ones, or uncontrolled into controlled.
"Bad things happen to good people and sometimes bad people do bad things to bad people and good people. And sometimes you can't explain what happens, it just happens. But no matter where we go, we're not there to judge, we're there to provide some definitive care that will hopefully make a difference to that person."
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Prior to July 1, 1974, the ambulatory system throughout B.C. was made up of a variety of service providers, including private ambulances, funeral homes, Kinsman Clubs and fire departments.
The Emergency Health Services Commission began as an umbrella organization that started the BC Ambulance Service, explains Greenhill. In 1975 when the service arrived in Courtenay, it was based out of the fire department, and then eventually moved to a building on 8th Street until around 1980, when the service moved to its present location at 1890 Cliffe Ave.
Greenhill's career has taken him to the Lower Mainland (where he also worked as an emergency medical dispatcher), Victoria and back to the Comox Valley. His current position with BCEHS takes him to Denman, Quadra and Cortes islands, Cumberland, Courtenay, Gold River and Tahsis, where he works primarily as a support and resource for the station leaders and members in each community to assist with making their jobs better, from both operational and support perspectives.
His job has taken him to unique situations throughout the province, including as a venue commander at the Richmond Oval for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
"I was there at the opening and closing ceremonies and I was at the gold medal hockey game; I've got some great memories there."
He also spent time in Bella Bella and Haida Gwaii, but recalls one of the more poignant moments was being in Tofino as part of the planning team for the service of two paramedics from Tofino - Jo-Ann Fuller and Ivan Polivka - who were killed when their ambulance veered off a narrow curve on Highway 4 following a patient transfer to Port Alberni in October 2010.
"I wanted to make sure that we gave Jo-Ann and Ivan the send-off that they earned and deserved. I wish nobody had to be there, but since somebody had to be there, I'm glad I was one of them."
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On July 18, Greenhill was one of 60 British Columbians to receive the first King Charles III Medals in the province. The medal is a Canadian honour that recognizes those who have made significant contributions to Canada and their home province.
He received the award representing BC Emergency Health Services for his dedicated service as an honorary aide-de-camp to the lieutenant-governor since 2017.
