BACKGROUND: Don McDougal has lived in Killingworth for nearly 50 years and, with a tenure that dates back to 1971, he is the most senior of all persons in or around the Killingworth Ambulance Association. Don is a member of the KAA’s board of directors.
Q: How long have you been involved with the KAA?
McDOUGAL: I responded to my first call with Killingworth on July 17, 1971 with Romaine Klein Robbenhaar and became an EMT about three years later. Forty-one years later, I was up for recertification and, instead of recertifying, I became a retired EMT.
Q: How different is it being an EMT today than when you first began?
McDOUGAL: The KAA only came into being in 1971. At that time, we went to Westbrook one weekend and took a first-aid/CPR class, and we were qualified to become ambulance attendants. We put the patient in the back of a Cadillac and flew to the hospital with very little patient care because we really didn’t have any training. About three years later, I took an EMT class, and I believe it was only the second class offered in this area. The class consisted of 80 hours, with one day at the Emergency Room at Middlesex Hospital. I took the EMT class at Middlesex Hospital.
Q: What did you like most about being an EMT?
MCDOUGAL: What I liked most is when you feel that you actually made a difference in someone’s life. It gives you a good feeling.
Q: Any favorite stories or memories?
McDOUGAL: That’s difficult, but one that comes to mind is when they wanted the attendants to start taking blood pressure. There was a lot of discussion about why we should take blood pressure and what were going to do with the information once we got it. Now it’s routine.
Q: What advice would you give someone interested in becoming an EMT?
McDOUGAL: Go for it. It can be very rewarding. You can make a difference in someone’s life, and that itself is rewarding.