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‘They just get hooked’ By Steve Boyarsky Jan 01, 2023 12:45 AM A A Ed Sutton runs the Explorer program for Mercy Flights. [Jamie lusch / Mail Tribune] Editor’s note: Community Builder is a periodic Q & A series providing perspectives from local people involved in significant change in Southern Oregon. Today’s conversation is with Ed Sutton, longtime volunteer with Mercy Flights’ Explorer Post. Q: How long and in what capacities have you been involved with Scouts? Ed: I’ve been a Scout all my life. I went through Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Explorers. Then, I got back into Scouting with my sons. My oldest son, Jeff, was in and out of Scouting, but he was more interested in sports. I was Scoutmaster with Paul Schroeder with a troop with my younger son, Tim. Tim got his Eagle Scout and was interested in being a paramedic. He went to Mercy Flights to see if they would start an Explorer program. And they did. So I followed him into that. I’ve been an EMT (emergency medical technician) for 50 years. I’ve always been involved with fire and emergency services. I’ve been a volunteer with the Explorer program at Mercy Flights for 27 years. Q: What do you see young people gain from their involvement in your Explorer Post? Ed: Exploring is the career education division of Scouting. Typically, fire departments, big police departments or hospitals sponsor a post. It’s unusual for an Explorer Post to be sponsored by an ambulance company. Our post gives young people an in-depth look at medical careers. Explorers get hands-on experience to see if that’s what they want to do before they spend a bunch of money on school. Q: What experiences do the Explorers get involved with? Ed: Mercy Flights is an ambulance service, so we teach EMT skills. We teach them how to assist the medics on the ambulances. They learn about the equipment, how it works and how to keep it clean. After they go through training, they’re allowed to ride along on shifts with the ambulance crews. That gives them real hands-on experience to see if that's the type of career they want to do. Many of them become EMTs or paramedics or pursue other medical careers. We've had Explorers become doctors, physician’s assistants, various kinds of nurses, paramedics, firefighters, EMTs and police officers. Q: Haven’t you taken your Explorers to Scout Jamborees as medics? Ed: We’re part of Scouting, so back in 2001, we took a group to the National Scout Jamboree in Virginia to serve on the medical staff. Our Explorers work in a clinic at a base hospital for the two weeks of the National Scouting Jamboree. When the Jamboree is over, we always take a trip into Washington, D.C., to see the sites and observe as volunteers in the Washington Hospital Trauma Center. They ride along with the D.C. fire department and ambulances and fly on the MedStar helicopters. It is absolutely amazing! We’ve staffed medical clinics at six Jamborees over the last 25 years. We’re going to one this coming summer. So, we’re gearing up some fundraising. Q: What do you think the involvement in Explorers teaches young people beyond the career training and specifics of EMT training? Ed: We accept young men and women as young as 14 .... Through (age) 20 is the group for Exploring. Not all 14-year-olds are ready for the subject matter. We have to judge that. Just like Scouting, we’re teaching them to become adults, to be responsible. If you want a medical or public service career you’ve got to behave yourself and act responsibly. We also teach leadership. It’s a youth-run organization very much like a Scout Troop. They elect their own leaders: a president, a vice president and a training officer. Explorers learn medical skills, but then they need to teach those medical skills to other Explorers. They learn to stand in front of people and make presentations. We’re trying to make them good adults. They get a chance to learn important skills and maybe find a career path. Q: What has working with Scouts taught you? Ed: Well, you have to be flexible (laughs). We’re looking for the kids that do well in school, who look you in the eye, give you a firm handshake and are Class A. Sometimes we get young men and women who struggle in school; they need Explorers as an incentive to do better. To join, they must attend at least three meetings before they can apply. There’s a youth committee interview, an application and they have to be recommended by their school. They need references, just like a job application. It’s not for everyone. They might see severe injuries or even death. We don’t consider it a failure if a youth doesn’t continue. That’s a success because it helped them figure out what they don’t want to do, as well as what they want to do. However, most of them stay involved for years. Q: How did you get to Southern Oregon? Ed: I was born here; I grew up in Central Point. I graduated from Crater High. Q: How have you seen the Rogue Valley change in the past 60 years? Ed: Obviously, it’s changed dramatically. I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in Central Point. I went all the way through the same school system. I have lifelong friends from there. People are so mobile these days, so a lot of kids don’t get that. I consider myself very fortunate to know people and this area so well. I went away to college and came back. I love it here. Q: What do you love about it? Ed: I like the weather. I love all four seasons. And there’s plenty of stuff to do. I’m very outdoorsy, and I’ve been involved with Scouts all my life, so lots of camping and hiking. We’ve got so many wonderful things that are so close. I choose to live here. Q: What do you think would make Southern Oregon better? Ed: I’d like to see more opportunities for youth to help kids figure out what they want to do. The high school programs are finally getting a little better at that, so I’m encouraged. Schools went away from that for a while, telling all kids you need to go to college. That doesn’t fit for a lot of our youth. I spoke to a class recently at South Medford High School about medical careers. A lot of kids think they want to be a doctor, but they don’t have a clue how to get there. And they don’t realize all the other medical professions that are possible. For more than 20 years, our Explorer post has taken trips to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland over spring break. Our youth get to work and job-shadow any department they want at OHSU. They get to see different types of nursing and tech jobs. We have been instrumental in helping these young people figure it out. It’s been wonderful to provide these opportunities for the kids. That’s what keeps me going. Q: You mean seeing the light turn on in kids’ eyes ? Ed: Oh, yes. The first time they hear the blood pressure, it’s like, ‘Whoa, that’s what that is.’ Teaching them to assist a paramedic start an IV, the hands-on part is amazing. That’s how you grab ’em. They just get hooked. To see them get accepted into a nursing program, EMT or medical school is so rewarding. We provide the opportunity, and they do the hard work. Q: How does Mercy Flights benefit from sponsoring the Explorer Post? Ed: Mercy Flights has been so supportive over the years to exposing young people to EMT and other careers. The trips to the Jamborees and Portland are fully supported by Mercy Flights. There’s a liability to it. Say to an ambulance service or a fire department: ‘Let’s throw some teenagers on your ambulance. What could go wrong?’ (laughs) The key is training them properly before you put them in those situations. Mercy Flights does a wonderful job. There are about 10 volunteer Explorer advisers to guide the young people at Post 131. It’s part of their mission; it costs them extra to have teenagers on ambulances. In turn, the Explorer Program does all of the community service events for Mercy Flights. We do medical standby for 60 or 70 events a year — 4- to 6,000 hours of community service every year. So, it’s a two-way street. The kids get these wonderful opportunities not only to learn a career, but also give to the community. Big kudos to the company and the board of directors. Q: Is there a shortage of people going into the emergency medical services? Ed: There’s a nationwide shortage of paramedics right now, even locally. So, we’re trying to create more ways to get young people involved. We have 30 youth in our program, which is pretty much at full capacity. We’re trying to find ways to expand that capacity. There are some things in the works for internship programs at Mercy Flights. They’re going to get more opportunities for young people. Q: How was your son, Tim, inspirational in starting the Explorer Post? Ed: My son, Tim, passed away. He started the Explorer Post. He became an EMT, was working for Mercy Flights and was a volunteer fireman with Phoenix Fire Department. He got a kidney transplant from me when he was 9 years old. Ten years later, his kidney was failing and he needed another transplant, this one from his brother. He died suddenly of heart failure a couple weeks before the transplant was scheduled. He started the Explorer program, along with Garrett Schroeder, now Dr. Garrett Schroeder. Tim was the president of the club and the first Explorer hired by Mercy Flights This is all in honor of Tim. Many of our Explorers get their EMT and paramedic education on the Tim Sutton Memorial Scholarship. It was his vision. Kids are still inspired by his story. It’s a big deal. What he started has come so far. About Mercy Flights Explorer Post 131 Mercy Flights ambulance service has sponsored Explorer Post 131 for 27 years. Explorers are a branch of Boy Scouts open to 14- to 20-year-old men and women. The Post provides emergency medical training and career opportunities in the medical field. Explorers participate in 60 community events as on-site medics. Some of their community events include: Scout Camps, Special Olympics, Pear Blossom, ALS Walk, YMCA event and school health fairs. If you would like to know more or make a contribution to their Jamboree trip this summer, contact Mercy Flights at 541-858-2600 or mercyflights.com.