SASKATCHEWAN - The King Charles III Coronation Medal is a visible and tangible way to recognize outstanding individuals who have made a difference in their communities. To be eligible for the honor, recipients must have made a significant contribution to the country, a province, territory, region, or community.
Denise Houk-Blain was among those recognized in a special ceremony on Jan. 9 in Maidstone.
After serving two and a half decades in healthcare as a paramedic and emergency pre-hospital care personnel, Houk-Blain says she is honoured with the recognition bestowed upon her.
This remarkable career began as a volunteer medical first responder in 1999. In 2000, Houk-Blain upgraded her education to the Emergency Medical Responder level and began working on the ambulance in Lloydminster. From there, she upgraded to Primary Care Paramedic in 2001-2002.
The nomination outlined, “Denise’s passion and desire to do more for her patients and provide high quality care to them drove her to continue to upgrade her education to the Advanced Care Paramedic level in 2013.”
The newest King Charles medal recipient is now the Operations Manager for the Central West portion of the province with the Saskatchewan Health Authority where she continues to serve the communities in her area with dedication to the profession and great pride in serving rural Saskatchewan.
26 years and counting in Sask. healthcare role
In an interview with the News Optimist, Houk-Blain, who lives on acreage in the RM of Buffalo, between Wilkie and North Battleford, says she is now in her 26th year of service in Saskatchewan healthcare.
Her career has evolved a number of times since beginning as a volunteer medical responder in Lone Rock, Sask. in 1999. Houk-Blain now serves as Operations Manager for the Central West part of Saskatchewan, since April of 2020, with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
Houk-Blain explains her position as OM role for an area that includes Lloydminster to North Battleford, south to Kyle and west to the Alberta border, and everything in between, making for 17 sites in total, 13 SHA sites and oversees four contracted sites.
“EMS is both challenging and rewarding. While working on care some of the challenges faced are working in high pressure situations where quick thinking and critical decision making are critical in uncontrolled environments, shift work with long extended hours which often conflict with special holidays/family events, and taking care of the family after a serious event or loss of their loved one – it’s not just about caring for the patient, “acknowledges the King Charles medal recipient.
Houk-Blain outlines many career highlights
Houk-Blain also adds, “There are many rewards. Some of the most rewarding moments I have had are helping a mother deliver a baby, being able to problem solve and make a treatment plan for a patient, but most of all, being that “someone” for a patient who may not have a family member present when they are in pain or scared. One of my most touching moments was transporting an elderly patient to the city who suffered from a stroke. He later came to see me and thanked me for “being there” for him and let me know how much it meant to him for me to hold his hand and kept him calm on the way to the city. Sometimes it’s the simplest things that have the biggest impact.”
The SHA OM says she has had many highlights in her quarter century of service in her healthcare career that include:
- Taking an active role in bringing Advanced Life Support (ALS) to Lloydminster and area residents
- Expanding the Community Paramedicine program to additional rural areas in the province, allowing patients to receive wellness checks, education on medications and their medical conditions, and making referrals to connect the patients to other programs that will support their wellbeing.
- Taking an active role in rural and remote stabilization in the province which includes creating more positions allowing for more appropriate staffing levels to ensure better care and timely responses to emergencies.
- Being able to be a part of so many peoples’ journey - seeing the importance of pre-hospital care and the impact it has on patient outcomes.
- Spearheading fundraisers, food drives and raising money for local charities that greatly impact the lives of people in the community.
Houk-Blain’s responsibilities as operations manager to Central West Saskatchewan are many and include such things as recruitment and retention initiatives in the province as well as creating policies and work standards for the betterment of EMS across the province.
While Houk-Blain says she is not currently serving on the frontline, she has the ability to if there is a need.
“Growing up, I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field whether it be with animals or people. When I started as a volunteer Medical First Responder, my goal was to provide initial care to patients in my home community until an ambulance arrived and took over care.”
The career drive began after her first few calls, where Houk-Blain developed a passion for the profession, so thus began the necessary training to be able to work on the ambulance.
Fulfilling her desire to provide a higher level of care for her patients, she went on to advance her education to enable her to serve in other roles
“I saw a sign once that said “Paramedics – ordinary people doing extraordinary jobs”. I have never done the job to be recognized for what I do – it’s just what I do. I believe everyone has a profession that is right for them. Being a paramedic was right for me. I am truly honored to be a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal and have my years of service contributions to Saskatchewan EMS recognized,” proudly exclaims Houk-Blain
