SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Cindy Welch, a supervisor with Regional Emergency Medical Service Authority (REMSA), was recently awarded the national “Jerry Love ASM Leadership Award” for her exemplary leadership in the emergency medical services (EMS) field. Welch earned the award in Kansas City, Mo., in March while attending the Ambulance Service Managers (ASM) program presented by Fitch & Associates in cooperation with the American Ambulance Association. The ASM program is designed to assist supervisors and managers to better handle the multitude of issues they face on the job.
During the two-week ASM program, participants vote for a peer who best exemplifies the values and actions of a true EMS leader. Welch was selected for her leadership skills and ability to build relationships. She will be honored at the annual American Ambulance Association Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas this November.
The “Jerry Love ASM Leadership Award” is dedicated to a 2006 ASM graduate from Gold Cross Ambulance in Salt Lake City, Utah. Love was considered a model EMS leader. He passed away unexpectedly just after making a strong impression on the ASM community.
ASM is a certification program designed to develop leadership competencies and sharpen essential management skills specifically for the EMS industry. The program consists of two six-day onsite learning sessions and includes online individual project assignments and scheduled conference calls or web meetings completed in advance of the onsite sessions. There were 38 ambulance managers from around the country involved in the same program Welch was a part of, including two additional REMSA supervisors, Lisa Cote and Lester Nelson.
Welch’s interest in the EMS field developed in high school when she enrolled in a first responder course at 17-years-old. While attending TMCC, Welch became certified as an EMT-Basic in 1999. Pursuing a career in the medical field, she worked at Saint Mary’s Emergency Room as a tech for seven years. During that time, she went through the fire academy and began working at Central Lyon Fire Protection District. It was there that she was introduced to working on an ambulance. Welch decided that though she enjoyed the fire service, she truly had a heart for medicine and specifically EMS. She joined REMSA in 2006 and two years ago she was promoted to EMS supervisor.
