EMT helped elderly woman who had no one

For many, a job is just that - a nine to five.
But for Wanda Smalls, it’s a way of life.
The Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) assigned to Jamaica Hospital went above and beyond the call of duty earlier this year to help an 81-year-old patient, and for her efforts, Smalls was honored by Borough President Helen Marshall on Wednesday, December 5.
“I like to help those who need help,” said Smalls, who noted that she was inspired by the EMTs who responded when her own mother had a stroke.
The 31-year-old married mother of two has been in the medical field since 1994 and an EMT for seven years, and in that time, she has helped countless people.
“Some jobs are very difficult,” she said earnestly. “Those involving kids or traumatic events, sometimes they get to me.”
Sometimes she gets to her patients - by reaching out to them and touching their lives.
“In the little time we spend with them [the patients] we give them confidence - tell them everything is going to be OK,” she said.
This was the case in January of this year when Smalls responded to a 9-1-1 call placed by a social worker about a South Jamaica patient with no heat or electricity in her home.
Smalls remembers that day as frigid.
“When we walked into the house it was colder than outside,” she said. “[The patient] had on so many layers.”
Smalls told The Courier Sun that the patient did not want to go to the hospital and insisted that the problem could be rectified by replacing a fuse.
“She brought me downstairs and I replaced the fuse,” Smalls explained, “but after a few minutes it went out again.”
The EMT then called Con Edison, and, after about two hours of cajoling, convinced the woman to go to Jamaica hospital.
“I made a deal with her - I told her that if she went to the hospital I would do anything she wanted,” Smalls recalled. “I promised to visit her.”
And she did, even going so far as to leave her own phone number as an emergency contact.
After a few days, the woman was set to be released. Many wanted to put her in a nursing home, but she wanted to return to her own house.
Smalls agreed to check up on the patient, and - on her day off - picked her up from the hospital, brought her to her home, and helped to get her settled.
She even arranged for the woman to get a home health aide for a few hours a day, as well as food delivered by Meals on Wheels.
Smalls’ care continued for about three months, at which time the woman’s family moved her down to Florida.
Nearly a year after her good deed, Smalls was recognized at Borough Hall.
“Thanks to Wanda’s efforts, this woman had heat, electricity, health care assistance for eight hours each day, Meals on Wheels and a new friend,” said Marshall.
Of being honored, Smalls said, “My daughter [Brianna, 9] was so proud of me. I loved it. Not only does it make people want to help, but it gives them the motivation to keep going.”