It’s the middle of the night, and the unthinkable happens: an emergency, a person is in need of medical help. A call to 911, a dispatch later, and local men and women in uniform are racing to the scene — to perform CPR, to administer lifesaving medicine, to stabilize accident victims awaiting an EastCare helicopter that will fly the injured to the nearest trauma center.

In many cases, these people who rush to the scene are the difference between life and death. Some of them are paid. Others are strictly volunteer. They don’t view their actions as heroic, however. It’s simply a civic duty, and part of the job of being an EMT or paramedic.

This week is national EMS week. President Gerald Ford was the one who put EMS on the calendar, in 1974 designating a week each year to recognize the critical role of EMS practitioners.

In Beaufort County, the role of the county in EMS has been expanded over the past two years, with more and more squads adding paid paramedics and the advent of Beaufort County EMS, a squad created to fill gaps in service throughout the county. The intention is to provide the same quality of service to all residents of the county, regardless of where they live.

That service is essential. What is also essential is that those who work in the EMS field are recognized for the work they do.

In the moment, these men and women do all they can to provide basic to advanced medical care to those who are suffering, yet they often never know if a patient recovered from an illness or injury. Once patients reach the hospital, an EMS provider’s job is essentially done, and they may never know just how their actions changed the course of someone’s life for good.

So, this week is the time to share an EMS story. Thank EMTs or paramedics. Make sure they know just how their work has benefitted family and friends — and an entire county.