family right when he gets home; and his
clothes go straight in the laundry.
When he goes home to his family,
wife, Brittney; 6-year-old daughter, Raelynn;
and 4-year-old son, Alec, he’s extra
safe in having usually taken a shower at
work, and taking another one when he
gets home.
“It’s been a little different,” he said,
adding about his family, they want to
give each other hugs and kisses.
Hagley also commends the 911 dispatchers
and how they’ve adjusted to all
of this.
He says they have done a wonderful
job in doing screenings ahead of them
getting on the scene.
He said the EMTs have a good idea of
possible symptoms, and if they need to
put on gowns and take extreme precautions.
“That’s a two-person job almost,”
Hagley said about putting on gowns,
and also putting on face shields.
He said they’re going 100 miles an
hour, figuratively speaking, to get to a
scene to help a patient, but then have to
take a step back and hold on a minute in
getting everything on.
“We take care of people and we want
to get in there and fix them,” Hagley
said.
Every patient also has to wear a mask,
with EMTs providing one as needed.
No matter what the call, the EMTs
always take the patient’s temperature.
They also offer the patient hand sanitizer.
“I’ve got gloves on and they don’t,” he
said.
He said they explain to the patients
how all of this is for everyone’s safety.
They’ve been understanding, he said.
“It’s been a pretty extreme process,”
Hagley said.
He said no one incident sticks out
in his mind since the pandemic started
as more memorable. He says the whole
period of time in general will be memorable.
He said all the police officers, firefighters,
sheriff ’s deputies, health care
professionals, OSF hospital staff and
PRO ambulance, volunteer EMTs and
firefighters and others throughout
Vermilion County and the area have
stepped up and worked together.
“One of the biggest things I’ll be
remembering is how well we’ve all
adapted, and had such a positive atti-
Hagley needs to do a pre bag check to make sure he has enough supplies for his shift. The state requires that he has a certain number
of each item.
OUR COMMUNITY 2020 29