If you meet Larry Kleinman or Bruce Geller, it’s often one of the worst days of your life.
They try to make it better.
That’s not their main job. The pair — and 75 or so colleagues — are Emergency Medical Services staffers. Their first concern is whatever emergency brought them to you: chest pains, a broken bone, bleeding, dizziness, whatever.
But to treat you well — and, if necessary, transport you to the hospital – they need to make you feel more comfortable, less scared.
And do the same for your family and friends, and the strangers hovering around.
Larry and Bruce are pros. They’ve been Westport volunteer EMTs for 13 years and 18 months, respectively.
You may not have met them yet. Even if you have, you may not have known their names.
But if and when they — or any other EMT — is on your call, you’ll be glad they’re there.
Westport Emergency Medical Services is an umbrella organization (and a division of the Police Department). Their headquarters is in the building next to the police station, on Jesup Road.
WEMS includes a small number of paid EMTs and paramedics, and a much larger corps of volunteers (WVEMS).
Each took a different route there.
Geller was a volunteer EMT during, then embarked on a career in finance. Twenty years later, when a guest had a heart attack at a Wilton country club, Geller provided CPR. The man survived.
His daughter was young. But the incident inspired her to become an EMT. She is now an orthopedic medical assistant. Geller’s son also took Westport’s EMS class.
Geller continued his professional career. But he stopped commuting during COVID. With time to give back to his community, and as a way to spend with his son, he joined WVEMS. He’s since been named EMT of the Year.
Bruce Geller, with WVEMS president Jaime Bairaktaris.
Kleinman’s path was even more roundabout. He earned an engineering degree, became a rock DJ, then ran a software business for 30 years.
At age 60, nearing retirement, he signed up for an EMT course in New Haven. Nearly all his classmates were decades younger.
He learned about Westport’s EMS program, and did a ride-along. Next month, he’ll celebrate his 13th year there.
Along the way he’s been both EMT and Crew Chief of the Year, and honored for responding to the most calls.
Larry Kleinman
Despite their diverse backgrounds, one thing has kept them going: making a difference in people’s lives.
Both software and emergency medicine are intellectually challenging, Kleinman notes. “There’s a problem, and you figure out how to fix it,” he explains.
But EMTs work with human beings, as well as machines. A 911 call is stressful — for the patient, those on the scene and the EMTS who arrive. They work as a team — and the outcome is usually successful.
Larry Kleinman: EMT, and teacher.
“The scene is usually chaotic,” Geller says. “By the time we get to the hospital, things are usually calmer. It’s nice to be part of that role.”
That feeling of helpfulness is only one of the intrinsic rewards of EMS service. Kleinman says he has learned both humility and empathy.
“Neither came naturally to me,” he notes. “You can’t be humble as a radio DJ. But I’ve gotten so much from seeing people in life-and-death situations.”
After all those years though, he is still honing his skills: analyzing a scene, initiating treatment, being calm and reassuring.
Larry Kleinman, on the road.
Geller learns “at least one new thing every shift. Real life is a lot different from textbooks. You never know what you’ll see before you show up.”
The 500-page textbook covers everything from cardiac arrest, splinting and administering oxygen to rattlesnake bites. Kleinman has never seen the latter, but he knows how to treat them.
Still, he emphasizes, “being proficient doesn’t make you an EMT. It’s a team sport. Communication and calmness are vital.”
That team is diverse. Westport’s Volunteer Emergency Medical Services corps range from high school students considering careers in medicine — “really smart and skilled,” Geller says — to men and women later in life who want to give back.
Bruce Geller
Kleinman also praises the teenagers. He recalls 2 girls who were “acting like kids.” As soon as a call came in, “they were in EMT mode. Suddenly, they were 20 years older.”
As for the calls: Some are dramatic. Most are not.
But — whether one ends with a rare life-saving moment, or someone simply feels better after treatment, and reassured — many conclude with heartfelt thanks.
Sometimes the patient and family are still too stressed to say thank you.
That’s okay. Being thanked is not why Larry Kleinman, Bruce Geller and so many others spend so many hours learning, training and on call.
“At the end of a call, I know a made a difference in the life of a total stranger,” Kleinman says. “How many people can say that?”
ONE MORE CALL: Astonishingly — and for reasons no one can explain, beyond “it’s always been this way” — Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Services pays for all their own equipment.
Everything.
From ambulances (nearly $500,000 each — there are 3 new ones, with a 4th on order), heart monitors and stretchers, to Band-Aids (less expensive, though they use lots of them), our volunteers donate not only their time and expertise, but they fundraise too. Donations come from individuals, businesses and foundations. Click here to contribute. To learn more about Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Services, click here.
Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service pays for their ambulances — and all the equipment in each.
