Mike started working in the wheelchair department of Metro West Ambulance in 2012 and climbed the ladder to Field Training Officer shortly after. While working, he is also attending The National College for Technical Instruction studying paramedicine. Mike moved to Oregon from Southern California 3 years ago and enjoys spending time with his family, his wife, two dogs, and soon to be daughter! Mike has told us he “Enjoys EMS because it takes the principles and satisfaction of giving great customer service that he learned spending years in retail and takes it to the next level.” He loves coming into people’s homes where they are having the worst days or months of their life and the challenge of meeting their needs and hopefully having a positive impact on that person. A favorite story of his that he likes telling new hires that he is training for the department is something a patient once told him while transporting to dialysis. She asked him if he liked his job, and he told her, “of course but doing Non-Emergency transports is not the end goal, I am going to paramedic school.” She replied, “While that’s nice, I want to remind you that even doing Non-Emergency transports you are saving lives. Because without medical transport, people like me would die. I need to get to dialysis and to my doctor appointments, and without you I would die.” Mike takes great pride in his work here at Metro West Ambulance and continues to go above and beyond the call of duty. We would like to applaud him for his continued efforts and loyalty to his patients, facilities and to our company as this year’s Star of Life.”