Everyday Emergency Medical Services workers risk their lives to save lives, alleviate pain and stop suffering in communities across our land. These special responders go where no one else wants to go and do a job that no one else wants to do.

Recently, on October 17, nine of these individuals from northeast Missouri were honored at a special service held in Shelbina. These exceptional EMS service men and women either lost their lives responding to a call, were employed at the time of their death, or served for 20 or more years.

One of those individuals honored was Mike Pamperl of Moberly. Mike had worked as an EMT and Paramedic for Linn County and Randolph County Ambulance Districts. For thirteen years Mike

made a significant impact on his community in Randolph County caring for the sick and injured in every sort of weather during both the daylight hours and in the middle of the night.

On February 23, 1993, Paramedics Woody Woodruff and Clay Joiner responded to a call from Mike’s home. Mike had stopped breathing and his wife, Sherri, was performing CPR. He was treated and transported to Moberly Regional Medical Center were Dr. Knudson and the Emergency Room staff worked on Mike for over an hour without success.

“Working a ‘Code Blue’ or the heart stopping cardiac arrest on your co-worker is always one of our worst nightmares,” stated Clay Joiner EMT-P and current Superintendent of Randolph County Ambulance District. “The mental and physical intensity is the same as every call, but the compassion becomes surreal. Your patient is your crew-partner, someone who taught you to care for the sick and hurting. Someone who responded to a hundred similar calls next to you in the ambulance. Mike had a poised wit and was very creative. You think about those things while you are trying to save them. He is still greatly missed at the District.”

The other fallen service men and women remembered were: Norma Carol Lane, EMT Putnam County Ambulance District; Wayne Harrison, Firefighter EMT Salt River Ambulance; Donna Hoffman, Administrator, EMT Lewis County Ambulance; Irene Klauser, EMT Lewis County Ambulance; Eddie Selsor, EMT Marion County Ambulance; Audrea Lyons, Board member Adair County Ambulance; and Gentry Wilson, Board member Monroe City Ambulance.

The memorial service was sponsored by the Missouri Emergency Medical Services Line of Duty Death Funeral Response Team. The Team provides a Professional Honor Guard service and is composed of Missouri First Responders, EMT’s and Paramedics. The dedicated Corps of volunteers responds to departments when serious injury or death has occurred in the EMS community. Their goal is that every EMS/Prehospital provider that pays the ultimate price receives the honors they deserve during the funeral process.

“It is our mission to represent all members of the EMS profession with honor, dignity, and respect,” said Deputy State Commander George Wright. “We feel with all they do to help people, they need to be honored in the same way as fire and police personnel. This is the first service that I know of in the state of Missouri and we hope to continue that.”