By Audrey Korte
The Chippewa Herald
Oct. 26—Elizabeth Gustavson wants to change the stigma around mental health emergencies with a specific focus on creating empathy between emergency services personnel and the patients they interact with on calls.
She’s addressing these issues head on. Gustavson created a video to help train first responders on mental health and addiction-related calls, which is now being used to educate emergency services personnel across the state. For this work, Gustavson was awarded the 67th Assembly District First Responder of the Year award Oct. 16.
Gustavson works as an advanced EMT for Bloomer Community Ambulance and as a mental health and substance abuse disorders advocate in a western Wisconsin consortium that serves nine counties.
Having worked as an EMT for four years, Gustavson said she wants to help her fellow first responders better handle tough calls, especially those related to addiction and substance abuse.
“It seems like a lot of EMS are kind of hardened to people in these situations because they don’t want to condone the behavior. So they’re kind of not really friendly necessarily, you know? And I’m trying to change that stigma. These are patients that need us just as much as anybody else,” she said.
Gustavson said she thinks it’s important that professionals in her field understand the importance of discussing these calls with each other.
“If we have kind of a hardened look at mental health in general, then it doesn’t allow space for us to talk about the hard calls that we go on, which causes PTSD within EMTs,” she said. “There’s some hard calls there. So I kind of wanted to open up talks about that and open people’s minds to it.”
The emergency services video that Gustavson created is now being played at Chippewa Valley Technical College for every new first responder of any training level. And every two years when emergency medical technicians get their licenses, they too view the video as part of their learning.
Gustavson said state police, colleges and other technical schools have also asked to use the video for training.
“It kind of took off a little bit, and it’s amazing. So I’m always like, ‘Yes, anybody that wants it, please use it,’” she said.
Recently the Wisconsin State Assembly recognized outstanding first responders from across the state and presented award recipients with a legislative citation. Rep. Rob Summerfield, R-Bloomer, named Gustavson the 67th Assembly District First Responder of the Year.
“Elizabeth embodies all the characteristics of an excellent care provider and leader,” Summerfield said. “I have heard from numerous people about how kind and thorough Elizabeth is in her care for her patients and how she exudes confidence, intelligence and inspires those who work with her.”
The First Responder of the Year award was created in 2019 to recognize outstanding first responders who serve Wisconsin communities and help keep citizens safe. Each state representative asks for nominations from their district for people who demonstrate selflessness, dedication and serve their community well. Any type of emergency service responder can receive the award.
“Elizabeth has a passion for creating the best care for her patients, especially those going through a mental health or substance abuse crisis. She has advocated around the state and found creative ways to educate others about these difficult situations people are going through and how important it is to treat everyone with grace and empathy when you interact with them,” Summerfield said. “The first responder community and Bloomer are extremely grateful to have Elizabeth serving our area. I am glad to have had the opportunity to show Elizabeth’s devotion to the entire state and present her with this well-deserved recognition.”
For Gustavson, making life better for people in crisis and saving lives is a calling.
“When you go to see someone on their worst day, when they’re scared and they don’t know what is happening with them medically and you go in and make their life better in any way, that’s pretty powerful. There’s times where we actually save lives, we’re hands-on saving lives and people are grateful for our presence and any help that we give,” she said. “Making someone’s day better from whatever horrible experience they are going through and being there with compassion and medical knowledge to help the situation — that’s the best part of my job by far.”
Listen now:
‘Any of us can suffer’: Working through post-traumatic stress
Our cohosts tackle the difficult topic of trauma and healthy ways emergency responders can cope with the sometimes overwhelming feelings
Gustavson said she plans to continue working as a first responder in Bloomer while being an advocate for mental health and substance abuse disorders.
“I’ve always had a passion to be an EMT,” she said. “Anything I can do to help others in this field is a win not just for me, for us, but for the people we serve.”
(c)2023 The Chippewa Herald, Chippewa Falls, Wisc.
Visit The Chippewa Herald, Chippewa Falls, Wisc. at www.chippewa.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
RELATED: