Bill,
Sue and Zach Cross
Index, Washington
The town of Index, Washington (pop. 157)
is a rural community that attracts river rafters, climbers,
hikers and skiers. The Cross family comprise almost half of
the town’s eight-person volunteer fire department, and
respond to the majority of their emergency calls. Since completing
their EMT training (Sue in 1999, Bill and Zach in 2000), the
family has handled dozens of emergencies together. How does
son Zach work with his parents? “When I’m taking
care of a patient, I call my parents Bill and Sue. I don’t
want to worry a patient by saying, ‘Hey, Mom, will you
hand me the blood pressure cuff?’” The Cross family
is grateful for the presence of Airlift Northwest. “We
call them when people are really badly injured—climbers,
motor vehicle accidents. It’s a great thing knowing
they’re available,” says Bill. Although Zach now
works as an EMT in Seattle, he’s willing to help out
whenever he’s back in town. Bill and Sue are actively
recruiting for more volunteers for the Index Fire Department.
“We could really use 10–12 more people,”
explains Bill. “We might want to retire some day and
would love to see more people involved.”
(More
patient and partner stories here)
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