Paramedic Wins State Public Service Award

FAYETTEVILLE – A Cumberland County EMS Emergency Paramedic (EMT-P) has been honored for his public service.

Lee Westbrook, EMT-P, won a 2011-2012 Public Servant Gold Medal from the Veterans of Foreign Wars – Department of North Carolina chapter. The Clinton native’s award came in the Emergency Medical Technician category.

The annual award is presented to a chapter member who actively gives emergency medical treatment, provides rescue service, or civil disaster assistance, as a member of any public or volunteer EMS department. Hope Mills VFW Post 10630 sponsored Westbrook in this year’s competition.

He is the ninth member of Cumberland County EMS to win a VFW Public Servant Gold Medal from the state chapter. Kevin Brunson, EMT-P, was the last state winner in 2009. Deborah Collado, EMT-P, was a post winner in 2010.

Westbrook is no stranger to awards. He previously helped Cumberland County EMS’s competition team win first place in the 2010 Journal of Emergency Medical Services national paramedic competition. The local team won by beating several national EMS powerhouses, such as the Official Fire Department City of New York (FDNY) and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. 

The 7-year U.S. Air Force veteran has worked in the EMS field since 1998. He currently teaches specialty certification classes for the American Heart Association, and works with the North Carolina Urban Search and Rescue Team. Westbrook has also participated in tactical medical programs with law enforcement agencies. 

Cape Fear Valley EMS World Champs Again

FAYETTEVILLE – For the second time in three years, a Cape Fear Valley Health EMS team has won the most prestigious EMS competition in the nation.

The 9^th Annual Journal of Emergency Services (JEMS) Games was held last week in Baltimore, M.D., pitting the best EMS teams against one another in graded competition. The games are open to any team in the world. This year’s participants included powerhouse squads from Miami-Dade, Las Vegas and FDNY.

Cumberland County EMS paramedics Lee Westbrook, Larry Smith, Brian Pearce and Joseph Crowder, all EMT-Ps, represented Cape Fear Valley Health in winning the two-day competition. Westbrook is a Lead Paramedic. Smith is a Fleet Maintenance Supervisor. Pearce is Director of Cumberland County EMS. And Crowder, the team’s newest member, is a Training Officer and Assistant Chief over EMS system development.

Pearce, Smith and Westbrook have known, worked and competed in EMS competitions together for more than a decade. They reside in the Eastover community a few miles apart and have volunteered with the Eastover Fire Department, where they respond to fire and medical emergencies.

All the competing teams were tested for clinical skills during day one, including a hazardous materials accident simulation and a heart attack response. The three teams with the best overall scores advanced to the final round and were graded on mock disaster drill performance before an audience of their peers.

Cape Fear Valley’s final scenario was a tornado involving seven patients and just 20 minutes to treat each victim. The simulation was eerily reminiscent for Westbrook and Pearce, who both responded to tornadoes that ravaged western Cumberland County last April.

Cumberland County EMS will receive approximately $20,000 in EMS prizes for the victory, including a $10,000 video airway device, a training mannequin and carbon monoxide detector. 

Cape Fear Valley’s EMS team first won the JEMS competition in 2010, beating 16 other teams. That year’s squad included Dave Cuddeback, a Duplin County EMS training officer, who served as a technical advisor to Westbrook, Smith and Pearce. 

Cape Fear Valley Paramedics Keep Winning Streak Alive

FAYETTEVILLE – Two Cape Fear Valley EMS Paramedics have won first place in yet another EMS training competition.

Larry Smith, EMT-P, CCEMT-P, and Lee Westbrook, EMT-P, teamed up to win the 14th Annual Carolina Competition, which pits EMS workers from across North Carolina and South Carolina. This is the second consecutive year the two have won the Carolina Competition, and their third victory in a row. The pair won a National EMS competition earlier this year.

Smith is an Education Coordinator with Cape Fear Valley’s Training & Development Department, as well as a part-time paramedic. Westbrook is a Captain with Cumberland County EMS.

This year’s Carolina Competition was held in Florence County, S.C. The teams were graded on two days of emergency response scenarios and a written exam. Cumberland County will host the competition in 2011, so Smith and Westbrook will not be eligible to compete.

In March, Smith and Westbrook received national recognition after partnering with Brian Pearce, Cape Fear Valley EMS/LifeLink Director, to win the 7th Annual Journal of Emergency Services Games in Baltimore, M.D. It was open to any EMS team in the world and included powerhouses Miami-Dade, FDNY, Las Vegas and LA County EMS.