Local paramedics recognized for decades of service in the Peace region

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Two Peace region paramedics are celebrating several decades of service in the medical industry.

John Te Bulte, unit chief in Fort St. John, is celebrating 40 years of service and currently supervises and supports 32 paramedics.

Dawn Reierson from Dawson Creek is celebrating 25 years. She worked part-time as a paramedic while raising a family and teaching first aid classes, but now she works full-time as a primary care paramedic.

Energeticcity.ca’s Steve Berard sat down with Te Bulte and Reierson on January 10th to discuss how it feels to have their service recognized, what their jobs are like, what they recommend to others considering entering the medical industry, and more. 

Te Bulte started in the service in 1984, serving in the Kootenays for 15 years before coming to Fort St. John in 2003. 

Reierson, who has lived in Dawson Creek since she was three years old, says it has been a blessing to serve in the city. 

“To actually serve in my home town for my entire career has been pretty wonderful,” says Reierson.

When asked how it felt to receive recognition after so many years of service, Te Bulte said it was “very humbling.” 

“We enjoy the work, Love serving our communities, and are pretty committed to our communities along with the colleagues we work with,” said Te Bulte.

“We’ve been very fortunate to be able to do our careers as long as we have, and [it] feels almost surreal to have it recognized,” Reierson added.

The two paramedics say the best part of the job is that every day is different.

“We don’t know what we are going to get when we walk in the door at the start of our shift,” said Te Bulte. 

When asked what advice they would give to people looking to join the service, they encouraged people, saying it is a rewarding career that makes a difference in people’s lives.

“We have that opportunity to be in people’s homes in some of the worst moments of their lives and make a big difference to give them a little bit of peace and security,” says Reierson.

Reierson is very committed to her job and says she often jokes that everybody will need to bury her at work one day. 

“I love my job; I want to do this for as long as humanly possible,” says Reierson. 

The full episode can be viewed below: