Dwight Gliem
Dwight has been a career paramedic for Grundy Center
Ambulance for the past three years. Dwight also serves as the
volunteer Ambulance Chief. For the past three years Dwight has
been exponential in expanding EMS in our rural area. We have
upgraded to a brand new ambulance to have features that include
four wheel drive. this ability was essential during the winter
of 2018 to provide access for our patients to receive emergency
medical care.
Grundy Center Ambulance has also grown to have four full-time
paramedics, five part-time paramedics, and nineteen volunteer
members. It is unheard of to have an ambulance service with this
much participation from our volunteers. Dwight has been the
leader in volunteer membership participation. He has also grown
our service to add a second paramedic during the week. Often
times Grundy Center Ambulance has two paramedic trucks to
provide advanced life support emergency care to not only our
patients, but to provide ALS mutual aid to surrounding
communities as well. We Also offer a third ambulance to offer
ALS or BLS care if the first two ambulances are unavailable.
Providing continuing education to fellow EMS providers is
also a passion for Dwight. For the past three years, Dwight has
coordinated EMS education day in the spring. This has included
eight hours of quality education for not only Grundy Center
Ambulance members, but surrounding EMS providers as well. In
2019, 28 emergency medical providers were in attendance to
Education Day. This education is offered free of charge to any
EMS provider, regardless of what service they serve with.
Dwight has also created a Grundy County EMS coalition. This
coalition includes members from Reinbeck, Wellsburg, Dike and
Beamon/Conrad. The coalition was created to receive state grant
money which is dispersed to rural departments for training
supplies, education, or new equipment. There are many coalition
meetings which require Dwight to drive long distances to attend
to be sure that Grundy County EMS services obtain all grant
money that is possible for them to receive.
Dwight has also been instrumental in providing the most up to
date equipment for our ambulance. We are fortunate enough to
have two X series Zoll Cardiac Monitors with Bluetooth ability
to send 12 lead EKGs to receiving hospitals. Four County
Ambulance services were also able to receive LUCAS devices and
extensive LUCAS training completely free of charge due to a
grant that Dwight was able to coordinate for Gurndy County.
Dwight has also added an EZ IO drill to our second out
Ambulance, and ahs added a new Stryker stair chair. We now
finally have stair chairs in all three of our ambulances.
Dwight might be considered a "career" paramedic, but his
volunteerism still shines through with his reaching out to not
only Grundy Center community, but to Grundy County and beyond.
