Riding in the back of the ambulance as it streams down the highway with sirens blaring occasionally, must have been frightening for the 76-year-old man, who EMTs Todd Woodward and Cayla Lucas rushed to the hospital last Friday.

As the driver, Woodward, prepared to take off from Homestead Nursing Center, the patient told Lucas she had pretty eyes. She smiled and held his hand.

“Often there is nothing you can do for them (the patients) but hold their hand and let them know you care,” Lucas said.

It was a typical trip for the EMTs, but for the man riding in the back, whom Lucas said was showing signs of a possible stroke, his life depended on the fact the sometimes though unrewarding, the Henry County EMTs are always there to help.

Although an EMT’s daily life can often seem very ungratified, there are moments when it all seems worth the over 13-hour days, said full-time EMT Todd Woodward.

“It’s when you take a woman. . .to the hospital to have a baby, then you come back on a completely different patient, and she’s holding the baby and it’s okay,” Woodward said.

The amount of trips like those or any other could increase if a full time 24 hour rotating staff were implemented.

As Henry County nears construction of a new EMS facility on South Property Road, there are fewer people happier than the crew of nearly six full time members and several part-time staff.

With the new building comes hope of an expanded EMS and independence from the building that also houses the New Castle Fire Department, Smith said, to help alleviate some of the space limitations and the stress.

On that Friday, Lucas and Woodward were on call and EMS Director Bonnie Smith was filling out paperwork, which she said can be the most grueling part of the job, a call did not come until nearly 1 p.m. Despite the often stressful nature of the job, Woodward and Lucas and the rest of the staff are able keep their sense of humor and are often joking.

Keeping a staff on call at all times is often difficult.

On Friday, there was only one crew, but according to Smith there are usually two. One for transporting non-emergency patients and one for emergency patients.

And, of course, types of trips to the hospital can vary.

Most trips to the hospital are for the elderly, however there are some cases of drug and alcohol overdoses.

“Sometimes people go out and get drunk and take depressants,” said Woodward. “There are some cases when people have psychotic problems, but often people use that as a crutch. But we’re not here to judge them. We’re here to treat them.”

Although they have the spirit of clowns on the outside, these EMTs take their job very seriously, according to Woodward, who just recently finished his EMT training.

Becoming an EMT can be a complicated series of events.

Woodward said in Kentucky, there is a necessary training period of 128 hours. Half of that time is spent on lecture and half of that time is hands-on training.

He said it normally takes up about two nights a week and cuts into time he that he could have spent with his wife.

“For six months I went without seeing my wife very much to get the training done,” said Woodward.

Of that time there is 16 hours of mandatory ride-time training.

The training costs a total of $400, which the county fiscal court will reimburse with documented proof of taking and passing the course.

Once that training is complete, Kentucky standards require the candidate to pass the National Registry of Medical Technician exam.

According to Woodward the exam has a 75 percent failure rate, but requires that the candidate pass it only one time.

He said in order to keep the training up, you must have 24 hours of additional training every two years.

The EMT classes are now offered in Oldham County.

Many members of the EMS staff are also on the volunteer fire department, Woodard said.

After the training, there are some tough runs.

“The hardest run I ever made was a baby. The grandpa hands me a baby, who [he] said was four months old, but turned out to be seven years old and addicted to cocaine,” said EMS and volunteer firefighter Rommell Colson.

“You can go out to 50 or 60- year-old and they had a chance to do things, had a full life,” Colson said. “The baby’s are the hardest.”

And with the limited number of staff, there are times when the Henry County Emergency Medical Service (HCEMS) shuts down, usually in the evening and on weekends.

But, there are also times when EMTs, part-time and full-time, who continue to make runs even after they end the regular shift.