THANKS, BRIAN — Brian Louks, left, receives an engraved MagLite from Cody Dobberstein and Jennie Johnson of New Richland Ambulance. (Star Eagle photo by Jody Wynnemer)
By RACHEL RIETSEMA
Staff Writer
For the last 20 years, it didn’t matter what time of day it was, Brian Louks always answered his New Richland’s Ambulance call of duty.
“This was my way to help the community,” Louks said. “It was more my niche.”
Louks never hesitated on scene either. It’s really not an option, ever.
“You’re it,” Louks said. “You’re there. You don’t have an opportunity to step back. You do the best you can.”
Sometimes however, he and his team required outside assistance to help the victims to the best of their ability.
“New Richland Ambulance is a basic life support service,” Louks said. “Upon arrival, I figured out if we needed advanced help. If we did, I called for advanced life support which was either North Ambulance of Waseca, Gold Cross in Mankato or Albert Lea Medical Center.”
Quite simply, this recent retiree could handle a lot of medical scenarios. It just came down to a matter of training.
“There are drugs we couldn’t administer because we didn’t have the training for it,” Louks said. “We also have a really good group of New Richland fire rescue people now. They were always there to help us lift and load, etc.”
Every two years, he received a re-certification by completing a 24-hour refresher course. Then, he also dedicated time every month to fine-tune his skills “at the garage.”
“You have to be an adrenaline junkie,” Louks said. “If there’s any place to make mistakes, that’s not the place for it.”
So, in order to ensure an error-free EMT career, he gladly turned in his uniform the first week of April.
“When I first started I was the first one up to the garage, but guess what,” Louks said. “I’m getting a little older and I’m the last one to the garage.”
He also admits that he will miss everyone involved in this service.
“We relied on each other a lot,” Louks said. “We formed a different bond because you’re in the same boat in bad situations.”
Also close to his heart are the fire department, city council and the police department.
“The best thing was all the people I worked with,” Louks said. “They are a great bunch of people. Anything we ever needed, they were supportive and made sure we had it provided.”
He extends a great big thank you to the community for their continuing support. His hat goes off to them.
“They have always been there to help us, which in turn, helps us support them,” Louks said. “I appreciate the city and them giving me a chance to do it.”
On the other hand, there are a few things he won’t miss anymore. And it’s not what you think.
“I won’t miss sleep,” Louks said. “I won’t miss Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners anymore either. My son told me that when I retired, I would have no more excuses for not coming over for dinner.”
He will have even more free time in November when he retires from his fire department responsibilities.
“If I had to choose anything I would do in the community, I couldn’t have picked a better place to go and a better group to work with,” he said. “There just comes a point in time where it’s time to step back and let the young people do it.”
