— A flight paramedic with LifeNet South Carolina, Stone was awarded the 2017 South Carolina Paramedic of the Year Award at the EMS Symposium in March.
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Jacey Stone’s life is one of service. Saving lives is what she does.
Jacey’s passion for helping others finds its roots in her father who was as a firefighter for more than 50 years. She grew up watching him dedicate his life to public service and helping other and followed in his footsteps.
“That is what we did,” she said. “If we could beat him to the truck we could go with him. Helping people was what we did.”
She is the daughter of retired Darlington Fire Chief Jim and Dot Stone of Darlington.
“My daddy is my hero,” she said. “I strive to be like him but don’t know if I’ll ever be as good as I think he is.”
She is married to Hartsville Fire Chief Jeff Burr.
Stone said she tried nursing for a while but decide she needed to be working with Emergency Medical Services.
She said Linwood Epps was her instructor and mentor at the training office at Darlington County EMS.
“He has always guided me,” she said. “He pushed me to be the best.”
She said Robin Brock, EMS director for Darlington County, gave her first job.
In 1994, Stone joined the Darlington County EMS as part time EMT.
“Early in my career I saw the helicopter and thought I would like to do that,” she said. “I thought it would be impossible because they were the ‘cream of the crop.’”
Stone studied and worked hard to achieve her goal. She started flying in 2007.
“We see some really horrible thing, and we see some incredible things,” she said. “It is an amazing thing. We are just a stepping stone in the grand scheme of things.”
Stone said she has a great team. There is always a pilot, nurse and paramedic in flight. She said each is focused on what they have to do.
“I don’t know why I was chosen (for the award),” Stone said. She said there are a lot of people who are worthy of this award.
“I was totally shocked. It is truly an honor and very special,” she said. “I am humbled.”
She said she didn’t become a paramedic and try to help people for awards or glory.
“I am not a spotlight person,” she said. “I am loving life and being a paramedic. I am having fun being just Jacey.”
“To be nominated is an honor,” she said. “To be chosen is unbelievable.”
She also received the LifeNet 2 Employee of the Year award in 2015 and received recognition from the NASCAR Corporation for her work at the racetrack.
Stone said being a paramedic is not a job for the faint at heart but is rewarding.
“You get to help people who are sick or injured in their greatest time of need,” she said.
She said to save someone’s life or to just hold their hand if they are scared is an amazing experience.
As a critical care flight paramedic and evaluator, Stone transports trauma patients from the scene of an accident, heart attack and stroke patients and transports from hospital to hospital. She works over the whole state but primarily Kershaw, Darlington, Lee, Lancaster, Chesterfield and Chester counties from LifeNet 2 base in Camden.
Stone is also a flight paramedic at Darlington Raceway during races, serving as medical coordinator, and is co-owner of Southeastern Extrication School, which she has operated for the past 10 years with her husband, Les Baker and Jason Bell. They provide education to fire and medical responders from across the Southeast.
She has a stepson, Ryan, five cats and five fish. She is a 1991 graduate of St. John’s High School and a Blue Devil fan.
At the end of a 24-hour shift, Stone said she enjoys going home, knowing she has been able to make a difference and improve the quality of life for others whether it is a comforting word, a hand held or a life saved.
[divider style=”4″]
Want EMS and air medical tips sent straight to your inbox? Get The Net newsletter. Sign up here (it’s free):
[shortcode-variables slug=”optin-form”]
[two_column_block style=”undefined”] [content1]
[/content1] [content2]
[/content2] [/two_column_block]
[two_column_block style=”undefined”] [content1]
[/content1] [content2]
[/content2] [/two_column_block]
