National EMS Week is observed during the third full week of May each year. The tradition dates to 1974, when President Gerald Ford authorized the observance to celebrate EMS professionals and the vital work they do in communities across the country. It is a week of recognition events, memorial services, and public education — a formal pause to acknowledge a profession that rarely pauses at all.
This year’s theme, “Improving Outcomes, Together,” speaks to the collective responsibility of advancing patient care through clinical excellence, collaboration, and genuine investment in the people who deliver that care on Louisiana’s roads, waterways, and in its communities every day.
When Someone Calls 911 in Louisiana
When someone calls 911 in Louisiana, they are trusting a stranger to arrive quickly, assess a situation they’ve never seen before, and do the right thing under pressure. That stranger — an EMT, a paramedic, a firefighter-medic — almost certainly won’t make the news. They will not receive a standing ovation. They will finish the call, restock the rig, and wait for the next one.
Louisiana’s EMS providers bring advanced skills and innovative tools to these moments, including prehospital ultrasound, early stroke recognition, and whole blood transfusion capabilities that create measurable differences in patient outcomes well before anyone reaches a hospital. From Baton Rouge to the bayous to the rural parishes, these professionals train extensively, invest in their craft, and show up in conditions that most of us would consider reason enough to stay home.
Louisiana knows something about demanding conditions. The state’s geography, its weather patterns, and the particular vulnerabilities of rural and coastal communities make the work of first responders here uniquely challenging. And the numbers reflect that reality: Louisiana ranks among the top ten states in the country for 911 call volume, averaging 860 calls per 1,000 residents every year. That demand reflects a genuine picture of need. The Louisiana Department of Health reports that injuries alone account for more than 7,000 deaths and roughly 500,000 emergency department visits annually, with falls, motor vehicle crashes, and overdoses leading the list. Behind every one of those numbers is an EMT or paramedic who got there first.
The Risks First Responders Accept
Despite all the training and equipment, the work carries real risk. EMS providers and firefighters face occupational hazards that most people will never fully appreciate, like road dangers, exposure to violence, physically demanding work, and the emotional weight of witnessing trauma on a near-daily basis. They absorb what they see, and they return for the next shift.
Louisiana lost one of its own in the early morning hours of July 15, 2025. Jonathan Ashworth, 23, a volunteer firefighter with Beauregard Parish Fire Protection District 4, was driving through dense fog on Scallon Road to respond to an emergency call when his truck left the roadway and struck multiple trees. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife Tabitha, also a firefighter and riding alongside him that night, was injured. Jonathan had served his community since 2018.
Beauregard Fire District 4 Chief Eric Stracener remembered him simply, “He was the best person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was an asset to his community, his family, and this department.” Fire departments across southwest Louisiana flew their flags at half-staff. That kind of grief, spreading from one parish to the next, tells you something about how these communities value the people who answer the call.
Their families carry that weight too, and it deserves to be acknowledged.
A Salute from Kleinpeter Boutwell
The attorneys and staff of Kleinpeter Boutwell wish to recognize and salute Louisiana’s emergency medical services community — the EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers, firefighter-medics, and all who stand behind them. You serve our parishes and our people with skill, steadiness, and a generosity of spirit that cannot be fully repaid.
This month and every month, we are grateful for you.