Dana Russell is a Lieutenant and Mobile Critical Care Paramedic with Jan-Care Ambulance of Raleigh County, Inc., whose career in emergency services spans nearly five decades of clinical care, leadership, education, special operations, and public service.

Dana’s interest in EMS began after watching the television series Emergency! As a teenager in 1976, he was so determined to enter the profession that, at age 14, he misrepresented his age to enroll in EMT classes. Although the state later rescinded his early certification, Dana continued pursuing his calling. At 18, he began volunteering with Valley EMS, serving as a dispatcher, driver, EMT, and eventually a Paramedic under Dr. Bill Rose.

His career soon expanded into leadership and critical care. Dana became one of the first three Paramedics with the newly formed Boone County Ambulance Authority and later served with the Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority as a Critical Care Transport Paramedic, supervisor, and manager. At Charleston Area Medical Center, he worked across three emergency departments, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, critical care transport, and Charleston Med Base.

Dana went on to spend 17 years as a Flight Paramedic with HealthNet Aeromedical Services. His extensive special-operations experience also included serving as Captain of the KCEAA Dive Team, membership on its Special Operations Response Team, industrial medicine at the Rhone-Poulenc Chemical Plant, and service as Chief SWAT Medic for the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office. Throughout his career, Dana has shared his experience with future providers by teaching EMT courses and Paramedic coursework for Marshall University. In parallel, he has devoted decades to the volunteer fire service in roles including Chief Medical Officer, engineer, rescue technician, and HAZMAT specialist.

In 2017, Dana joined Jan-Care as a Critical Care Transport Paramedic. The following year, a catastrophic illness left him dependent on ventilator support and paralyzed for more than a year. He was placed on total disability and told he would never walk again. Determined to return to the profession that had defined much of his life, Dana undertook an intensive rehabilitation effort and returned to Jan-Care in 2019.

Dana’s return to active service embodies the same perseverance and commitment that have characterized his entire career. From ground and flight medicine to special operations, education, fire service, and critical care transport, he has dedicated his life to caring for others and strengthening emergency services throughout West Virginia.

Jan-Care Ambulance of Raleigh County, Inc. is proud to recognize Lieutenant and Mobile Critical Care Paramedic Dana Russell as a Star of Life.

Brandy McClellan is a Captain in Field Leadership and Paramedic with Jan-Care Ambulance whose career in emergency services began with a simple flyer and grew into more than 25 years of service, leadership, education, and mentorship.

While working as a CNA at Summersville Hospital, Brandy noticed a flyer advertising an EMT class. Although she knew little about EMS at the time, she signed up, completed the course, passed the exam, and submitted an application to Jan-Care that same night. In August 1999, she joined Jan-Care as an EMT and also began serving her community as a first responder in the fire service.

Brandy has never stopped learning—or teaching. She began teaching CPR and first aid in 2001, became a Paramedic in 2007, and earned her Critical Care Transport certification in 2014. Today, as a Captain in Field Leadership, she draws on decades of experience to support Jan-Care’s patients, crews, and operations.

Her commitment to service extends well beyond the ambulance. Brandy rose from first responder to firefighter and now serves as Captain and Secretary/Treasurer of the Boomer Volunteer Fire Department. She also serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Fayette County Fire Association. In 2022, she became a founding member of the association’s Critical Incident Stress Management team, helping ensure that the responders who spend their careers caring for others have support when they need it themselves.

For Brandy, however, the most meaningful part of her career has always been the people—the patients she has cared for, the lives she has touched, and the coworkers and fellow responders who have become family. Her career reflects compassion, perseverance, teamwork, and a genuine desire to be there when others need help most.

More than 25 years after answering that first unexpected call to EMS, Brandy remains proud to serve and grateful for the opportunity to continue doing the work she loves. Jan-Care Ambulance is proud to recognize Captain and Paramedic Brandy McClellan as a Star of Life.

Tracey Gray serves as the Director of Education at Jan-Care Ambulance Inc., where she is at the forefront of training over 400 emergency services personnel. Under her guidance, Jan-Care has seen innovations in hybrid EMS education, making it accessible, accredited, and always relevant. As she says, “I take pride in developing personnel competently to be ready to work once certified.”

Tracey’s commitment to EMS is rooted in her service to the nation. Beginning her journey at the Army Medical Department, Department of Combat Medic Training in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, she achieved distinction by graduating from the U.S. Army’s pioneering non-segregated combat medic training. Her 26 years of simultaneous service in the Army Reserve and civilian EMS culminated in her retirement as a soldier, but her spirit to serve the community as an EMS leader never waned.

Achieving the rank of 1SG E-8 in the Army, Tracey held profound responsibilities in a Ground Ambulance Unit. Her military training, encompassing combat medic to military-specific medical evacuation procedures, combined with her role as an Army Basic Instructor and Army Reserve Career Counselor, showcases a breadth of leadership and expertise. These accomplishments are underscored by a host of military achievements including the Army Commendation Medal with V Device and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

In the civilian realm, Tracey’s commitment to EMS is unyielding. Having attained her National Registry Paramedic certification 28 years ago, and later her Critical Care Paramedic in West Virginia, she is the clinical helm for critical care at Jan-Care, supervising 30 Critical Care Paramedics. Beyond the ambulance, Tracey has served as a firefighter with the Ansted Certified Fire Department for over a decade, and specializes in Vertical and Swiftwater Rescues within New River National Park.

As an educator, Tracey’s aim is clear: cultivate tomorrow’s leaders. She ardently believes in removing barriers for students and ensuring when they graduate, they are fully equipped for the job. Her mottos, “Train as we fight!” and “BE, KNOW, DO,” encapsulate her philosophy of genuine mentorship and active skill-building. This passion for education is further evidenced by her myriad teaching certifications and her active participation in curriculum development for the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services.

With an educational background that boasts a Certificate in Paramedic, an Associate Degree in Emergency Medical Services, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership, Tracey is a beacon of knowledge and capability. Yet, at the heart of it all, she remains a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, cherishing her family and the outdoors.

For all her accomplishments, Tracey Gray remains dedicated to the ethos of service, education, and paving the way for future EMS leaders. She is truly deserving of the 2023 Stars of Life award.

Paul Seamann’s EMS career began on a chilly October weekend in 1981, when West Virginia implemented the crazy idea of closing down its recently constructed 876-foot-high single arch bridge and allowing BASE Jump parachutists from around the world to legally plunge into the near vertical gorge resplendent with its hardwood trees at the height of their fall colors, only to land on the rocky shores of a Class 5 mountain river.

While traveling cross country with his newly minted EMT card, Paul came upon the wild celebration and assisted the local Jan-Care Ambulance rescuers, treating the injured jumpers whose three crash landing options appeared to be rock, tree, or river. Forty years later, Paul Seamann is still present at every WV Bridge Day, and is still leading the Jan-Care medical operations on the shores of the mighty New River.

Over the past four decades, Paul has added a few additional accomplishments to his résumé. He has become a Paramedic and has worked 137 cardiac and traumatic arrests, and has provided advanced care as a CCT Medic. Paul also has his RN degree, and has worked in the ED And ICU while simultaneously instructing over 150 National Registry EMT and Paramedic students across the mountains of southern WV. He is also a frequent presenter at state and national conferences.

With a master’s in healthcare administration and a busy career as Director of Operations of the state’s largest EMS agency – overseeing 120,000 responses across twelve rural counties – Paul’s continuing love for the raw and interpersonal aspects of the EMS profession has kept him deeply involved in helping guide EMS forward. He has continuously held leadership positions in local EMS and hospital councils, the state EMS Advisory Council, and the statewide Medical Review Committee. Paul also is President of the WV EMS Coalition and the WV EMS Administrators, as well as an active member of the Legislative Task Force and of numerous protocol, active threat, pediatric, and other specialty committees. He is an NAEMT state advocate, and is an active participant in many AAA programs.

Paul Seamann, who has driven across all fifty states and has traveled to twenty-five countries, is fond of inspiring new recruits to EMS with a simple statement: “If you want to BE SOMEBODY, to make a real difference in a person’s life, then EMS is your home and we welcome you aboard.”

Paul has been instrumental in the progress of EMS since the 1990s. He is a staple at Jan-Care Ambulance, and has played a major role in the overall success of Jan-Care Ambulance.