crsemt

You did everything right. I also like to add when I introduce myself, I always follow up with the question "Are you having difficulty breathing?" This requires them to giving you a verbal answer if they can, or at least a nod.

There are 2 of us that work Full-Time during the day. Since you quoted my post I took it you were asking me. The rest of our employees are Part Time, but this was originally a volunteer service. It became paid for the exact reason you mentioned.

You are kind of an exception. The contract was probably put in place because most members work their regular jobs during the day and are not around for on-call. If you have enough to handle the day calls, I would let your community know this, and when the contract expires, they would probably be more than happy to have it covered by volunteers. I am sure the tax payers would.

I think a Very good friend of mine, who is a psychiatrist put it best. I know he won't mind me quoting him. "Everybody is mentally Ill, some just hide it better".

WOW, I was killed by a sniper, a narcotics detective, a man who killed at least 3 women, and a drunk driver. I guess I am in store for some kind of violent death.

Before getting into EMS full-time I worked as a Facility Manager for a Mental Health facility. So, I always get Pt. care for suicides (somehow my colleges think I am an expert). Anyways, this is how I deal with them. 1. Never judge them, or draw attention to the behavior. 2. Try to talk about other things in their life that is not stressing them out. 3. Try to use as much humor as possible. I had a girl on time who was becoming a frequent flyer. I had her at least 3x as a Pt. The last time, she had been "huffing" air freshener. She was throwing all kinds of a tantrum, until I got her alone in the back of the rig and made the comment "My, your breath sure does smell pine country fresh." She then started laughing and was very co-operative the entire call. Whatever you do minimize attention to what they did and don't lecture them. If someone really wants to kill themselves they will, and you do not see the warning signs until after it has been done.