Jason James, the new executive director of the Northland Regional Ambulance District (NRAD) has worked in the business for 20 years.
Before his NRAD experience he worked in pediatrics in an office setting and in the emergency room while he was working on his medical degree.
James described his time working in pediatrics as his transition job. “I loved working with sick kids. I was working in one of the busiest pediatric offices north of the river in Kansas City where I learned a lot from my experience with kids. I was there for emergencies, to give shots, exams and IVs. Whenever bad things happened they would call me in.”
Twenty years ago a friend recommended an available job at NRAD and James jumped at the chance.
Jason James
With a master’s degree in public administration, James primarily will now be ensuring that NRAD is running smoothly and that staff have everything they need to run an efficient and safe operation. While he was reluctant to give up the ‘medicine’ part of the job for many years, he says he’s ready now and he’s learned a lot and grown and is ready to transition to his new and expanded responsibilities.
“When I started in management seven years ago I started in what’s called a team leader position, then I became battalion chief with more responsibilities besides the day-to-day operations and there was a lot of administrative duties added on,” James said. “Now my job is the organization of the whole operation. I can still go out there if I have to and help out with all the bad stuff and I will, but my job is primarily organization.”
He’s seen many changes for the better in his long career.
“I’ve seen it come from a two-ambulance service that really nobody knew the name of and thought we were out of Kansas City, to where everyone up here knows what NRAD is and most people know where their ambulance comes from now,” James said.
James said he’s proud that it’s a very respected EMS service and he’s hoping to continue that and improve on it and make the service better for everyone in the community.
“I take pride in the fact that making the service the best it can be for people and using tax dollars in a good way is our job,” James said.
Previous directors have worked hard over the years to acquaint community members with the presence and purpose of NRAD by getting more and more involved with community events.
“We get out there in the community now and we’re much more involved in helping people understand what we do,” James said. “I hope to continue that and also improve on the services we provide. We don’t want to miss opportunities to be out there doing stuff in schools and working with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. It’s important because the community is changing all the time. I’m a big medicine guy. I’m lucky because I’m in a great position and know the area very well. I know everyone here and it helps that I know everybody’s strengths and weaknesses, so my job is to keep improving our strengths and make our weaknesses less.”
The former battalion chief is committed to using his medical background to enhance his new job and believes it’s important to keep up with current practices. To keep the medics up-to-date is part of the training and education provided by NRAD.
“It changes so often,” James said. “American Heart Association is coming out with new guidelines for treating cardiac patients so if new medicines and new procedures are needed we need to find that out.”
Reviews of the new ambulance purchased last year have been positive and NRAD will get another new ambulance this summer. The additional state-of-the-art ambulance includes safety features that James says are amazing for medics and patients.
Older ambulances were known for their rough rides for passengers and paramedics. Changes in the industry have resulted in new vehicles being equipped with liquid springs suspension systems that provide smoother transport. Traditional ambulance stretchers took a toll on paramedics who would often experience serious bodily injuries from lifting patients after about five years.
NRAD ensures that employees have a say in what they need from the new vehicles since they ride in them every day. They were consulted on how to make the ambulances safer for patients and themselves and more ergonomically friendly.
“It will be a great addition to our fleet,” James said. “The industry’s moving forward with more and more safety concepts. We knew we were going to have to transition from the smaller trucks so we decided to move in that direction. The crews love the new ambulances. The new one will be very similar to the first one with some minor changes. If you change everything up it can be very confusing for crews in stressful situations.”
NRAD has a fleet of seven ambulances that cover about 350 square miles and includes Platte City, Smithville, Camden Point, Dearborn and Tracy. Four are used regularly and three are on hand in case of extra demands and vehicular failures. The fleet will travel about 130,000 miles annually, so one new ambulance is purchased each year to replace the ones with heavy mileage.
For James and his staff the new ambulances will continue to provide many safety nets for themselves and patients alike.