GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — One of the last calls you want to make is to 9-1-1 for a life-threatening emergency, but if you do, you likely want a warm, compassionate person ready and prepared to serve your needs. No matter the emergency, Ashley Dunn is suited up and ready for duty.
Ten years on the job and she says it can be just as wild as day one.
"No two days in EMS are ever the same, so it's always a surprise," Ashley Dunn, a quality compliance specialist and senior paramedic with Guilford County EMS, said.
"Our call volume has increased exponentially, so part of my job that I really enjoy that I fell into a couple of years ago is supporting those providers who provide help to those in the community," Dunn said.
Some days she's out and about responding to calls, and those days are busy.
"[There] could be a heart attack in the morning, we could help someone's grandma by lunch and we could be delivering a baby by the afternoon," Dunn said.
You read that right! Dunn says she's delivered three babies on the job. With tech advancements, crews can tackle a lot of problems right from the back of the truck. Dunn says it's like a doctor's office in a box.
"If you want to be in healthcare, you don't always have to be a doctor or a nurse," Dunn said. "This is the first response, which is key to getting patients into the doctor and into the hospitals. I really like to educate people on that and that's what keeps me going."