Difference makers: Jacob Ambach put lifesaving skills to good use

Spokane paramedic Jacob Ambach is a lifesaver.

Last year, he played a key role in saving five people who were having a heart attack and received a Stars of Life Award by the American Ambulance Association.

Ambach, who works for American Medical Response and as a volunteer administrative captain with Newman Lake Fire and Rescue, was one of 128 people honored with a Stars of Life Award during a recent ceremony in Washington, D.C. Of the recipients, 32 worked for AMR or other companies owned by Global Medical Response.

Ambach said he was grateful to learn he had helped save five lives. While he and other paramedics don’t always know what happens to the patients they transport, AMR tracks patient outcomes, he said. A cardiac arrest patient is only considered a save if the person leaves the hospital completely neurologically intact with no ill effects from the heart attack, Ambach said.

Due to privacy laws, Ambach can’t discuss the patients for whom he cared. He said he also has to give credit to the other paramedics and EMTs who helped with patient care.

“A couple of them, I was the only paramedic there,” he said. “I couldn’t get my saves without the help of other coworkers.”

Jack Busch, AMR operations manager, praised Ambach’s work.

“This award is among the highest honors an EMS professional can receive,” Busch said. “Jacob earned every ounce of his recognition for his amazing EMS skills that saved the lives of five cardiac arrest patients last year.”

Ambach was nominated for his award by one of his coworkers at AMR. Having five heart attack saves in one year is unusual, Ambach said. “It’s a lot in our county,” he said. “It’s the most in 2022 out of our operation.”

He said he appreciated receiving the Stars of Life award and meeting the other award winners. “They have incredible stories, just as much as I do,” he said. “It was a wonderful experience.”

He said treating a cardiac arrest patient is something like directing an orchestra, making sure everything that needs to get done, including monitoring vital signs and administering medication, is getting done. He said each cardiac monitor includes a metronome to measure out the correct cadence for chest compressions, but at this point, he said the rhythm is second nature.

“It’s permanently ingrained in your brain,” he said. “It just becomes natural.”

While performing CPR is stressful, Ambach said he is usually on autopilot.

“You have the same routine,” he said. “You treat them all the same.”

It’s very common for AMR, which responds to 200 calls a day in Spokane County, to get calls about chest pains, Ambach said. “A lot of them don’t turn into cardiac arrest,” he said.

Ambach was thinking about a career in law enforcement, but his twin brother kept telling him about his volunteer work with Newman Lake Fire and Rescue. Ambach also started volunteering there 11 years ago.

“I went and checked out the fire district and was hooked,” he said. “That’s actually what got me into EMS.”

Ambach was a volunteer for two years before taking a job with AMR. But being an EMT wasn’t enough and Ambach finished paramedic school, which requires hundreds of hours of training and classroom work.

“I wanted to do more,” he said. “As an EMT, you have limited skills you’re able to do. I wanted to do more to help people on their worst days.”

Though he’s just recently been promoted to an associate supervisor position with AMR, he still volunteers with Newman Lake Fire and Rescue. He lives in the community and is on call whenever he isn’t at his day job. “If I’m not here, I’m there,” he said.

Ambach said it’s the constant change in his job that keeps him coming back. “I see something different every day,” he said. “That’s what gets me the drive.”

He said he’s also grateful for the support he receives from his wife, Brisa.

“Without her, I would not be where I am today,” he said.