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Highlands Today

EMS Director: Not Stuck Behind The Desk

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

Director of the Highlands County EMS Steve Plunkett Coltharp says it's not unusual for him to respond to an emergency, "Anything that sounds like it might be an interesting call, I'm going to go."

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: February 2, 2009

SEBRING - As director of the Highlands County EMS, Steve Plunkett Coltharp could work strictly as an administrator.

But it's not unusual when the 61-year-old paramedic leaves his office and responds to the scene of an emergency medical call.

"That part of the job, being a paramedic, is still fun," said Coltharp, a 23-year EMS veteran. "Anything that sounds like it might be an interesting call, if I can, I'm going to go."

Like the department's paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) manning the eight two-person ambulance crews every day, Coltharp likes to keep his life-saving skills sharp and, he said, "it's a way of keeping your assessment skills up, too."

County EMS ambulance crews respond to about 13,000 emergency medical calls a year.

"That's where the action is, that's what we're here for," Coltharp said. "My job now is a lot of administrative work, but the bottom line is, how are my EMTs and paramedics treating the patients? That is the No. 1 priority. And sometimes it helps to get out there."

A 1965 graduate of Sebring High School, Coltharp went on to earn a bachelor's degree in human resources from Warner Southern University but didn't find the work he loves and thrives on until age 38.

Up until then, Coltharp said, he enjoyed every job, working in construction in Miami and Atlanta, as an animal handler at the University of Florida, running his own golf cart company here, and then working as a guard at the Avon Park Correctional Institute.

"But I've told everyone that every job I've had in EMS, from starting as an EMT and on up, is the best job I've ever had," he said.

"You never know what you're going to be doing. No call ever seems to be the same as another. You have a challenge, you try to overcome the challenge and learn from the challenge, and then as soon as you get done you're ready for another challenge.

"Some days are ordinary," he added. "And some days you're going wide open. If you like that type of atmosphere, you're going to like the job."

Coltharp has held every job with EMS. He went from an EMT to paramedic, to paramedic trainer and then shift supervisor and, in July 2007, was named interim director when Rick Weigand retired. Last week, the county commissioners removed the "interim" tag and made Coltharp director of EMS's 59-person staff.

He has been part of a life-saving intervention several times, and said he's always tried to keep "an even keel," focusing on doing everything possible to give a critical patient the best chance of survival rather than dwelling on a dramatic success.

"Yes, every paramedic who works any length of time is going to help somebody (survive) somewhere down the line, and that's a reward for this type of job," he said. "I've always looked at it like, don't get too high on any one call, because if you can get that high, then you can get that low on a case that doesn't work out.

"If you can help somebody, golly, that is a great feeling. But you have to remember that is not always going to be the case."

It didn't take him long to learn that lesson.

"Actually," he recalled, "the very first cardiac arrest I worked as a paramedic, the person walked out of the hospital. The heart wasn't beating, and we did everything, the CPR, the drugs, we shocked that patient and the patient came back ...and eventually walked out of the hospital.

"I can remember thinking, 'What's so hard about this?' Only you learn it doesn't happen like that all the time. It's a very small percentage."

Married 33 years, Coltharp and wife, Sarah, who has taught at Fred Wild Elementary School for 33 years, have three sons: Steve ("Blue), 30, a doctor doing his emergency room residence in New Jersey; Cody, 26, who is in China on a two-year assignment teaching English; and Matthew, 19, in his first year at South Florida Community College.

Thirty years ago, Steve and Sarah made their home on a 10-acre lot on Payne Road off State Road 66.

"It was a dirt road back when we moved there, and it was what I would call deep woods," he said. "Now, it's more like a suburban area."

As he's watched Highlands County grow, Coltharp said he's also seen the life-saving capabilities of EMS improve. Just before he joined in 1985, he said, the department upgraded from basic to advanced life support systems.

Before he came on and since then, he said, new medications, procedures and equipment have been added under the direction of Dr. Donald Geldart and the late Dr. Charles Akes, who have served as EMS medical directors since Highlands County EMS was founded in 1975.

"Without their help, we would have never gotten off the ground," Coltharp said. "Both of them have been instrumental in Highlands County EMS."

One recent advance came a year ago when the eight ambulances went from carrying 3-lead cardiac monitors to 12-lead monitors.

"It gives you 12 views into the heart, and it's a big step forward," Coltharp said. "That has changed our protocols on how we treat cardiac patients. And right now, stroke patients, if we can fly them to an interventional stroke center in time, there is potential to reverse a stroke, the potential to reduce damage to the brain."

Sometimes weekly and at least monthly, Coltharp said, EMS crews take training to stay current with the latest developments in emergency medical response.

Coltharp is a member of the county's Haz-Mat team, ready to respond to hazardous materials incidents, and the technical rescue team, which trains for rope, confined space, trench and building collapse rescues.

While he enjoys the challenges of being director, Coltharp calls the shift supervisor position the best job at EMS.

"They run the Jaws (of Life)," he said. "They have more direct contact with the EMTs and paramedics than I do. I've got more direct contact with the trainers and the supervisors and I let them pretty much run the shifts.

"They are the problem solvers," Coltharp added. "I've got a good group of people working for me. And we want to make the system better every day. They are dedicated. And on my part, it's a lot of fun working with them.

"But still," he added, "the every day calls and going out, they do more of that than I do. And I miss that a little bit. But the good thing is that I can still do it."

Highlands Today reporter Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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