Jim Cline, Sr., 1937-2013
I did not know him personally, but I knew people that worked with him. With NJ having had so few paramedics, relatively speaking, everyone seems to know who the long timers are and their certification numbers. I've only ever heard great things about him.
Anyhow, this guy was in one of the first paramedic classes ever held in NJ in 1976. Just by virtue of being one of the first, he was a pioneer. From what I heard, he worked the street until he was 72 and then spent a few years in the office. So much respect for him and so many of the other pioneer Paramedics.
Anyhow, here is something he wrote when he retired, which is a great read and gives an idea of what it was like way back when.
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I first got into the world of EMS in the early 1960’s – 1961, or thereabouts. At that time, there was no such thing as CPR, ‘5 points’ or anything else considered to be ‘advanced training’ at that time. EMS just had to have American Red Cross Advanced First Aid training. CPR didn’t come to exist until the late 1960s.
In 1970, EMT training came to NJ by way of the Highway Safety Act of 1968. The first EMT class was in 1970. I took the course and was the first EMT on the Moorestown First Aid Squad. The only problem that existed was that the “old timers” on the squad felt that what they had been doing for the past thirty to forty years was good enough – they felt they didn’t need to know about patient assessments or blood pressures, for example. Whenever I had to take a blood pressure, I had to do it on the way to the hospital, and I had to bring my own stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. I was told to “practice being a doctor somewhere else.” They didn’t want me “wasting time” assessing patients. As time went on and more of the younger members enrolled in EMT training, we were soon able to convince more and more people that the need for proper patient assessments was imperative. It took a lot of explaining to convince them that there was more to it, and that it wasn’t really “wasting time.” You have to remember, these were the days of “scoop and swoop.”
In 1975, the State of NJ came to the Burlington First Aid Council meeting and said they would like to have EMTs sign up for a pilot paramedic course. Some of us signed up, having no idea when the course might be. In mid 1976, I received a phone call asking if I was still interested in taking the pilot paramedic course. They said that there was space available, but that I would have to attend the course immediately – that very night, in Trenton at the Helene Fuld School of Nursing. Of course I went, and here I am thirty five years later, not regretting a single minute of the past years!
I was paramedic certified in fall, 1976. My NJ certification number assigned was 0043 – which means I was the forty-third paramedic to be certified in the state of NJ.
Why was it I got into EMS? When I first started, I was working as a delivery person for a local liquor store, and was always in town when the sirens would sound for a squad call. I soon got into the habit of following the ambulance. Since I was already a volunteer fireman, I was being asked to help assist with lifting patients, directing traffic, and with whatever else had to be done. Soon thereafter, I was asked to join the first aid squad. As many of you EMS personnel know, once it’s in your blood, you can’t get it out. You quickly get used to the gory messes, and you soon start to feel like you make a difference. I was a fan of “Emergency” when it aired on TV, and the actors on that show were our idols. We wanted to be just like them.
When the first seven or eight members became certified paramedics with Burlington County Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly, NJ, we didn’t have a truck yet. We had very little equipment. The county gave us radios, and the Hospital Foundation soon got us a van to use, but we had to have cake sales, yard sales, hoagie sales, and anything else we could to raise money for equipment, such as portable heart monitors and more advanced radio systems. We also served as volunteer paramedics for the first two years, and were not compensated. In the meantime, I worked full-time in maintenance for the Moorestown Board of Education. Once the hospitals were permitted by the state of NJ to begin billing for paramedic services, we began to be compensated for the services we provided as EMS providers. Since many of us volunteered more hours to EMS than we did to our full-time jobs, most of us quit them and became full-time paramedics instead.
Our first ACLS course was in 1978. At the time, ACLS was for physicians only. We asked if we could audit the course to see if we could learn something applicable to our prehospital work. When it came time to take the ACLS exam, we aced it. The following year, they opened the ACLS course to both nurses and paramedics. In 1981, I was an EMS supervisor. When our director of EMS at the time fell ill, I was promoted to ‘acting director.’ Then in 1983, they posted the position as being open. I applied for the position, and was turned down. Despite being disappointed, I applied for a new position with West Jersey Health System when I heard they would begin services at the Jersey Shore in conjunction with the hospitals in Atlantic County. I left Burlington Memorial on a Friday, and was working at West Jersey before the weekend was over. Within four months, I was transferred to the shore project as assistant supervisor on the midnight shift. I have been working nights ever since. I resigned my position as assistant supervisor when my son, Jim Jr. was born, and when my wife became disabled.
I have not regretted a single minute of the past thirty five years. I have worked with the best group of people ever, all who are dedicated to caring for other individuals. I will never forget the good feeling I’d get when I knew I’d done my best for that person, and hopefully made that person feel better. This is the reward for doing your job.
To all you young folks – keep in mind that you have been trained to take care of your patients. Treat them the way you would want to be treated, and how you’d want your family treated. Never forget to introduce yourself, to help make them feel comfortable, and to remind them that you’re there for them. You would like them to remember you for a job well done. Occasionally, I meet people whom I treated fifteen to twenty years ago, and they still remember what I did for them. This makes me feel good.
-Jim Cline, Sr. MICP 0043
I did not know him personally, but I knew people that worked with him. With NJ having had so few paramedics, relatively speaking, everyone seems to know who the long timers are and their certification numbers. I've only ever heard great things about him.
Anyhow, this guy was in one of the first paramedic classes ever held in NJ in 1976. Just by virtue of being one of the first, he was a pioneer. From what I heard, he worked the street until he was 72 and then spent a few years in the office. So much respect for him and so many of the other pioneer Paramedics.
Anyhow, here is something he wrote when he retired, which is a great read and gives an idea of what it was like way back when.
----
I first got into the world of EMS in the early 1960’s – 1961, or thereabouts. At that time, there was no such thing as CPR, ‘5 points’ or anything else considered to be ‘advanced training’ at that time. EMS just had to have American Red Cross Advanced First Aid training. CPR didn’t come to exist until the late 1960s.
In 1970, EMT training came to NJ by way of the Highway Safety Act of 1968. The first EMT class was in 1970. I took the course and was the first EMT on the Moorestown First Aid Squad. The only problem that existed was that the “old timers” on the squad felt that what they had been doing for the past thirty to forty years was good enough – they felt they didn’t need to know about patient assessments or blood pressures, for example. Whenever I had to take a blood pressure, I had to do it on the way to the hospital, and I had to bring my own stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. I was told to “practice being a doctor somewhere else.” They didn’t want me “wasting time” assessing patients. As time went on and more of the younger members enrolled in EMT training, we were soon able to convince more and more people that the need for proper patient assessments was imperative. It took a lot of explaining to convince them that there was more to it, and that it wasn’t really “wasting time.” You have to remember, these were the days of “scoop and swoop.”
In 1975, the State of NJ came to the Burlington First Aid Council meeting and said they would like to have EMTs sign up for a pilot paramedic course. Some of us signed up, having no idea when the course might be. In mid 1976, I received a phone call asking if I was still interested in taking the pilot paramedic course. They said that there was space available, but that I would have to attend the course immediately – that very night, in Trenton at the Helene Fuld School of Nursing. Of course I went, and here I am thirty five years later, not regretting a single minute of the past years!
I was paramedic certified in fall, 1976. My NJ certification number assigned was 0043 – which means I was the forty-third paramedic to be certified in the state of NJ.
Why was it I got into EMS? When I first started, I was working as a delivery person for a local liquor store, and was always in town when the sirens would sound for a squad call. I soon got into the habit of following the ambulance. Since I was already a volunteer fireman, I was being asked to help assist with lifting patients, directing traffic, and with whatever else had to be done. Soon thereafter, I was asked to join the first aid squad. As many of you EMS personnel know, once it’s in your blood, you can’t get it out. You quickly get used to the gory messes, and you soon start to feel like you make a difference. I was a fan of “Emergency” when it aired on TV, and the actors on that show were our idols. We wanted to be just like them.
When the first seven or eight members became certified paramedics with Burlington County Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly, NJ, we didn’t have a truck yet. We had very little equipment. The county gave us radios, and the Hospital Foundation soon got us a van to use, but we had to have cake sales, yard sales, hoagie sales, and anything else we could to raise money for equipment, such as portable heart monitors and more advanced radio systems. We also served as volunteer paramedics for the first two years, and were not compensated. In the meantime, I worked full-time in maintenance for the Moorestown Board of Education. Once the hospitals were permitted by the state of NJ to begin billing for paramedic services, we began to be compensated for the services we provided as EMS providers. Since many of us volunteered more hours to EMS than we did to our full-time jobs, most of us quit them and became full-time paramedics instead.
Our first ACLS course was in 1978. At the time, ACLS was for physicians only. We asked if we could audit the course to see if we could learn something applicable to our prehospital work. When it came time to take the ACLS exam, we aced it. The following year, they opened the ACLS course to both nurses and paramedics. In 1981, I was an EMS supervisor. When our director of EMS at the time fell ill, I was promoted to ‘acting director.’ Then in 1983, they posted the position as being open. I applied for the position, and was turned down. Despite being disappointed, I applied for a new position with West Jersey Health System when I heard they would begin services at the Jersey Shore in conjunction with the hospitals in Atlantic County. I left Burlington Memorial on a Friday, and was working at West Jersey before the weekend was over. Within four months, I was transferred to the shore project as assistant supervisor on the midnight shift. I have been working nights ever since. I resigned my position as assistant supervisor when my son, Jim Jr. was born, and when my wife became disabled.
I have not regretted a single minute of the past thirty five years. I have worked with the best group of people ever, all who are dedicated to caring for other individuals. I will never forget the good feeling I’d get when I knew I’d done my best for that person, and hopefully made that person feel better. This is the reward for doing your job.
To all you young folks – keep in mind that you have been trained to take care of your patients. Treat them the way you would want to be treated, and how you’d want your family treated. Never forget to introduce yourself, to help make them feel comfortable, and to remind them that you’re there for them. You would like them to remember you for a job well done. Occasionally, I meet people whom I treated fifteen to twenty years ago, and they still remember what I did for them. This makes me feel good.
-Jim Cline, Sr. MICP 0043
