Honorees

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Year Honored
2011
Honoree
Karen A Hand
Agency
Broome Volunteer Emergency Squad
Agency City
Binghamton
Agency State
NY
Last Call
10/5/10
Cause of Death
Other Medical
Biography
Karen truly lived a life of service to her community and to her fellow man. An AEMT-CC, she was the Chief of the Broome Volunteer Emergency Squad and a Captain of the Lisle Fire Company EMS First Response Team. She served as a Deputy EMS Coordinator with the Broome County Office of Emergency Services, a position she held for 20 years. She also served her fellow EMS comrades as a member of the Southern Tier CISM Team and as a member of the EMS Advisory Board. She helped teach new EMTs as a CLI and a CPR instructor and is also a former Broome County 911 dispatcher. Karen also had membership in numerous community organizations.<br /> <br /> But Karen wasn't all work. She enjoyed the outdoors, snowmobiling in the winter and sailing in the summer, camping and working in her garden. She loved to dance and travel, visiting places like Hawaii and Mexico, but enjoyed visiting her son in the Air Force the most.<br /> <br /> On the morning of October 5, 2010, while providing care to a patient, Karen Hand, 55, suffered sudden cardiac arrest and was herself in need of care. Numerous units from surrounding departments rushed to render aide. Despite the best efforts of her fellow EMS providers and ER staff, Karen was unable to be revived.<br /> <br /> Karen was posthumously awarded the Broome County EMS Provider of the Year award and has also been honored with plaques for her dedicated service in the Lisle Fire Company and Medteam in March of 2011.<br /> <br /> Honored 2011