Fall Lake EMT gains national recognition for 30 years of service; hopes to draw attention to local emergency staff

Johnnie Hyde of Morse-Fall Lake First Responders and the U.S. Forest Service recently earned recognition from the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians for her three-decade service as an EMT and Fireline EMT. Above all, she hopes to bring recognition back to the local department and their integral role in the community.

Hyde — who came into the work while guiding for Outward Bound, where she learned wilderness medical skills — says she has “always been attracted to medicine,” and the meaning in her work comes from knowing she “helped somebody in their worst moments.”

It takes strong internal motivation to be successful in this line of work, which can be challenging and often operates on a volunteer basis.