By Lynn Venhaus
Belleville News-Democrat
O鈥橣allon has hired longtime emergency medical technician Jeremy Sherman as its first EMS chief.
鈥淗e will be in charge of everything EMS 鈥� budgets, personnel, equipment,鈥� said Police Chief Kirk Brueggeman, director of public safety.
Sherman, who has been an EMT since 1997, has been part of the O鈥橣allon city-operated team since 2009. He said the appointment of a specialized EMS chief was necessary because of the city鈥檚 growth and the increased demand on public safety services.
The O鈥橣allon-Shiloh EMS now covers more 44-square miles, including the O鈥橣allon fire district. In 24 years, the O鈥橣allon-Shiloh EMS operation has gone from 900 calls to 6,500 calls, Sherman said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing growth. We鈥檝e had a boom in population, and we now have St. Elizabeth鈥檚 Medical Center in O鈥橣allon and Memorial Hospital East in Shiloh. In 2001, Green Mount Road dead-ended,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople refer to our area now as the 鈥楳edical Mecca of the Midwest.鈥� We are busier.鈥�
The department employs 22 full-time and 13 part-time EMTs and paramedics and includes three transport vehicles and two quick-response vehicles and 鈥減re-hospital鈥� equipment.
In addition to responding to 911 calls, the operation offers medical transfers and provides public education in First Aid, CPR and Automated External Defibrillation. Employees are available to help install child safety seats too.
Sherman says he wants to do more.
鈥淚鈥檝e always loved my job, and I love this department and the people, but we were missing a leader, without one particular person in charge. A lot has changed over the years in emergency medical services, and I鈥檒l be able to focus more time on our needs and working with the public,鈥� he said. Kirk Brueggeman, director of public safety; EMS Chief Jeremy Sherman,鈥� and Mayor Eric Van Hook Provided
Community outreach and education, he said, are important functions of his department and he aims to create more programs that encourage prevention, preparedness and safety.
鈥淚 want to strengthen our training. There is a lot that is mandated now. There is always room for improvement,鈥� he said, noting emergency disaster response is another component too.
Meanwhile, he is adjusting his schedule from the typical EMT 24-hour shift to a regular daytime 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job.
鈥淓very day is different when you are an EMT. I鈥檓 getting settled, trying to observe, and learning the office life,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is the first time my wife and I have had the same schedule.鈥�
Sherman started out as a volunteer firefighter in Cahokia, then went back to school to obtain his EMT license. He is a graduate of Gibault Catholic High School .
His wife, Renee Sherman, is the School Resource Officer in Smithton. She was a police officer in Sauget, and he was an EMT working with MedStar and Simmons Ambulance in Cahokia when they met. They have two children and live in Smithton.
In May, O鈥橣allon added a full-time social worker to its public safety department to assist law enforcement officers with crisis response and intervention. The position is funded, in part, through a grant from Memorial Hospital.
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