Published on August 27, 2010

Illini Ambulance Recognized As Patriotic Employer

Genesis Illini Ambulance is serving its patients by serving the country.

Three paramedics now serving overseas are Tony Linnabery, Mike Johnson and Dewayne Sutton. The third-shift employees are currently in military deployments in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Jozie Wells, a nurse who was in orientation when she was deployed to the Afghanistan as a combat medic, has returned to the Illini Campus and is completing her orientation in the Emergency Department.

For its important contribution to military efforts, Illini Ambulance received recognition Aug. 18 from the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve (ESGR) for being a Patriotic Employer. The organization within the Department of Defense works with employers and servicemen and women to make the transition from citizen to citizen soldier and back again.

“We’re very proud of our employees and their service,’’ said Flo Spyrow, President of Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus. “As an employer, we are always seeking employees with character and particularly in the ambulance service and emergency department, we are always looking for employees who can react well in stressful environments.’’

Mark Guthrie, manager of Illini Ambulance, added: “We’ve had to do some shuffling with personnel to lose that many paramedics at the same time. Some of our other people have picked up hours, and we have added three temporary full-time employees who we hope will stay with us when the guys return.’’

Guthrie said the deployments are beneficial not only to the country’s military efforts, but also to Illini when they return. “We know that when we have deployments, our employees are sharing skills they learned with us as they serve. At the same time, they are gaining experience in the field that could be beneficial to the Quad Cities and our patients when they return. They return field-tested and battle-tested with skills that would be very useful in a mass casualty or disaster event.’’

Wells was deployed twice. She left active duty in June to return to the Illini Campus. “It is a much different environment,’’

Wells said. “In a hospital setting like Illini you have a more controlled environment, and you have resources that you wouldn’t have in a military hospital but yes, I think some of what I learned and experienced during deployments could help when I’m working at Illini.”

Robert Schwieder represented the ESGR and awarded the certificate to Spyrow and Guthrie.

“No. 1, we educate employers as well as the servicemen and women about deployments,” Schwieder said. “No. 2, we are available to mediate disputes between an employer and a service person. We do that very rarely because the rules are very clear. And third, the best part of the job, is to recognize employers like Illini Ambulance that are making an important contribution to the military efforts. We understand that like the service people, the employers also make a sacrifice and we appreciate their role.’’

The three Illini paramedics are expected to be deployed for at least a year.