News

Lori Simmons
Century Ambulance Service
Jacksonville, FL
2020 Florida Star of Life

Lori has been employed with Century’s Communications Center since 2016 and during that time, she has worked her way up from Call-Taker to Dispatcher, and into her current role of System Status Coordinator. She is responsible for the deployment of ambulances based on the hour-of-the-day and day-of-the-week in order to match supply based on Unit Hours of Utilization (UHU) with expected demand, in the attempt to provide faster response to our patients. Lori also assists others in the Communications Center with challenging situations. She is driven by exceptional customer service skills toward both internal and external customers and always maintains a calm and professional demeanor. She works with the scheduling department and shift manager to add and remove units to the schedule when needed and makes sound judgments based on systems data. In addition, Lori works on dispatch QA and gives feedback to dispatchers to fix runs when needed so that they flow through the correct process in order to be billed in a timely manner. She uses her analysis to provide recommendations to management regarding on-time performance and how to better utilize the resources we have. She has a true passion for working with data and finding ways to make our service more efficient.

She is passionate about making things better for the company, patients, and employees. She continues to go above and beyond for not only for Century Ambulance Service as a company, but also for the patients that we transport each day. Her positive attitude and caring personality make her a shining star in her current role. We are proud to nominate Lori as a 2020 Florida Star of Life!

Andy Wilson
Century Ambulance Service
Columbia County, FL
2020 Florida Star of Life

Robert “Andy” Wilson began at Century Ambulance Service as an EMT in 2016 and immediately made a positive impact to the organization. His background in security services, tactical medic teams, and as a certified 911 Public Safety Telecommunicator has been instrumental in Century’s training. As a Field Training Officer, Andy works closely with our Medical Director and Training Manager to implement new and exciting education programs to Century Ambulance employees, surrounding County EMS departments, and local EMT and paramedic students. He is the lead instructor on Century’s “high performance CPR” and “pit crew” training platforms and he instituted Century’s in-pool, hands-on Water Rescue Course. The dedication and passion Andy has for training was a major factor in the improved ROSC rates within our EMS area.

Andy is known for his light-heartedness and practical jokes around the station. He is an approachable and open leader who enjoys the opportunity to work with his peers in perfecting their practice. If you ever walk into the training building at EMS Headquarters, you will also be struck by his amazing photography. He is known as the “unofficial” photographer for EMS, fire, police, and air medical transport within Columbia County. Andy is a recent paramedic graduate of Florida Gateway College and we look forward to watching him further excel in the EMS field. Century Ambulance Service is honored to call Robert “Andy” Wilson our Star of Life for 2020.

Jane Mieras began her EMS career 27 years ago in Northeast Florida and joined Century Ambulance Service in 2002 as a Paramedic in Columbia County. Jane has also proudly served as a Paramedic at Hamilton County Hospital and Suwannee County Emergency Services. In 17 years of dedicated service with Century Ambulance, Jane has risen through the ranks, becoming a Critical Care Paramedic and holding positions as Station Captain and Field Training Officer.

Working in both the 911 and inter-facility patient care arenas, Jane’s extensive knowledge and hands-on experience makes her relatable to anyone aspiring to work in EMS. She continues to work with local EMT and paramedic students and takes pride in molding the future generations of the industry. As a Field Training Officer for Century, her infectious laugh, overall positive attitude, and clinical expertise continues to be instrumental in helping new staff understand the nuances of working in a department with 911 scene calls and critical care hospital-to-hospital transports. Her bedside manner and clinical skills are exquisite; not only with her patients, but with family, the community, and staff alike. She has received many accolades for her compassionate care and is always willing to take the extra time to hold a hand, answer questions, and provide comfort to those in need. In her free time, Jane loves to work with plants and is a member of the Arbor Foundation. She also loves painting, crafts, and spending time with her 4 children, 7 cats, and 4 dogs. Full of passionate leadership and unparalleled medical care, Century Ambulance Service is honored to call Jane Mieras a friend, colleague, and the 2020 Florida Star of Life.

Anthony Carrillo
Century Ambulance Service
Fort Lauderdale, FL
2020 Florida Star of Life

Anthony was born with a desire to serve. After graduating high school, he started his career as a Fire Fighter with Edgewater Fire Rescue. Shortly after his work began, he decided to join the US Military. Anthony was sent to Riyad to fight in Operation Desert Storm, helping liberate the people of Kuwait and fight the invading forces of Iraq. Upon retiring from the US Army, Anthony returned to EMS, upgrading his education to the level of a Critical Care Paramedic, and relocating to South Florida.

Century Ambulance entered the South Florida market in the summer of 2018 and Anthony was one of the first employees. Anthony currently works as a Critical Care Paramedic, Flight Medic, and Field Training Officer. He has set the bar high for Clinical Care and thrives on providing outstanding care for the sickest and most critical patients. He has earned an outstanding reputation among his peers and the facilities we work with. While Anthony may not have one singular event of heroism or superior application of his skill, it is his continuous 20+ years of compassionate care and his desire to continue learning the field of critical care paramedicine that make him our nominee for a 2020 Star of Life.

Jeff Avinger
Century Ambulance Service
Jacksonville, FL
2020 Florida Star of Life

Jeff started his employment with Century Ambulance Service as a paramedic in 2016. In his time with Century, Jeff has demonstrated leadership, enthusiasm, and a drive to improve himself and others around him. Jeff is tedious at what he does and makes sure things are done correctly.

Jeff has elevated his education by becoming a critical care paramedic and assisting in the implementation of Century’s critical care program. He has worked to bring in higher acuity drugs and equipment to make the program function at its highest capacity. The critical care unit piloted a tele-stroke program, during which Jeff became the point person, and has done a fantastic job. Jeff is continually looking for innovative ways to advance our critical care unit.

In the same way he has helped the critical care team, Jeff has also assisted in our training department by becoming an instructor and teaching our crews special event training. Jeff maintains our crews and staff for our NFL contract and is on the field every game. He also aides in teaching our internal vent 101 and vent 102 classes, which provide our crews with basic and advanced ventilator training.

Jeff has always led by example. He is an exemplary employee, has a thirst for knowledge, and has an amazing work ethic. Century Ambulance Service is honored to nominate Jeffery Avinger as a 2020 Florida Star of Life.

Jacki Martin
American Medical Response
Bushnell, FL
2020 Florida Star of Life

Jacki was born in Tampa, Fl. At just 14 years old she had to perform CPR on her 10-day-old nephew with the help of a 9-1-1 operator. Ever since that day, she’s known that she wanted to help save lives. Jacki has been in 9-1-1 communications since 2001. Her drive and deeply caring personality touches not only her patients, but her co-workers, family, and friends.

In her position as a communications center shift supervisor, she treats everyone as if they were members of her own family. She has an incredible ability to calm the excited, comfort the scared, and instill confidence in every caller. No caller is too young or to old, too forceful or too frail. She treats everyone with respect and dignity.

Jacki is an excellent communicator. She knows when to sit back and listen and when to take charge. She provides excellent Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) care, but also provides quality improvement to her co-workers and the entire operation. Jacki is always professional and is careful not to provide false promises to callers or inflate their expectations during a stressful incident. Anytime there is a need for someone to represent AMR in a public forum, Jacki is the first person that comes to mind.

Jacki Martin approaches each day with the mindset that she will do her part to save the world, one patient at a time. As a primary trainer for our organization, she often refuses to give up on new hires that may not be performing to our standards. She genuinely cares for everyone.

Jacki is married to Phil Martin and has 4 amazing children, 3 of which she and Phil have adopted into their family. We are honored to nominate Jacki as a 2020 Florida Star of life.

Doug Frost
Sunstar Paramedics
Largo, FL
2020 Florida Star of Life

Florence Nightingale once said, “I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse.” Simple, powerful, and the core foundation of every person who commits their life to the Nursing profession. Even though he is too humble to admit it, these words also depict the unwavering work ethic of Sunstar Paramedics Critical Care Transport (CCT) RN, Doug Frost.

Doug began his journey in pre-hospital medicine in 1980 as an EMT and soon became a Paramedic in 1981, launching his career with EMS in the critical care flight field. He contributed to the growth, development, and leadership of many flight organizations as the Chief Flight Paramedic and Medical Coordinator. He continued this path in similar roles with the Sunstar Critical Care Transport team, bringing his vast experience along with him. Doug also has two very bright and successful Daughters, Sydney and Lexy, and an incredible and supportive wife, Michelle. For some, this would be enough– a healthy family and successful career, but he didn’t stop there.

Through a burning desire to achieve more and better his ability to treat others, Doug obtained his nursing license in 2005. This propelled him into a new world, shifting from the Paramedic to the Nursing perspective, and landed Doug with the Sunstar Critical Transport Team as the CCT RN Clinical and Operational Supervisor.
Doug has facilitated multiple CAMTS reaccreditation cycles and has been a tremendous leader for our organization. He comes through for his patients and crew members on every occasion. His relentless dedication and commitment is nothing short of amazing. He has been awarded many accolades as a result of outstanding patient care on IABPs, LVADs, and ECMO calls. We believe he is a true example of what leadership, dedication, commitment, compassion, and care means to our profession. We honored to nominate Doug as a 2020 Florida Ambulance Association Star of Life.

Ronald McKnight
American Medical Response
Orlando, FL
2020 Florida Star of Life

Ronald McKnight has been a paramedic with AMR since December 2014. On December 2, 2019 his unit, AMR 167, was among the many dispatched to a mass casualty incident (MCI) traffic collision. On the scene, his unit found 8 BLS patients who wanted to stay together and be transported to Dr. Phillips. McKnight and his crew kept the patients together, ensured appropriate patient care, and despite a language barrier, managed to gather all the necessary information for a seamless transfer to the emergency department staff.

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