Today, Mayor Rick Blangiardi officially proclaimed May 15th-21st, National Emergency Medical Services Week in honor of the city’s 276 Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians. The city’s EMS professionals are responsible for administering emergency medical treatment to one-million residents and millions of visitors annually. In 2021, Honolulu EMS responded to more than 124,00 911 calls, delivering advanced life-saving medical treatment and transporting nearly 55,000 patients to local emergency rooms.

“We have the highest trained Paramedics in the country. They are tasked with the most difficult work, to care for our residents and visitors during their medical emergencies. Our EMS professionals are working tirelessly, often times, responding to our loved ones during their worst nightmare,” said Mayor Blangiardi.

Today, is also EMS for Children’s Day and EMS took the opportunity to recognize this afternoon, 10-year old Cody Agnell. On March 31st, Cody came to the aid of his mother who was sick at their Kailua home. Cody recognized her illness and quickly reacted by seeking help from neighbors, who quickly activated 911.

“Although he was visibly worried about his mother, he was able to give me a history of the medical event, locate her identification and even knew the name of the her medication his mother was prescribed,” said Paramedic Andy Kumamoto, who responded to the call.

Cody and his parents attended today’s ceremony. His father, Brandon Agnell, who was away on a business trip during the emergency, thanked Honolulu EMS.

“Our family’s appreciation for the Emergency Medical Services cannot be overstated. It is unfathomable that these heroes, continued to risk their lives in order to save others’ throughout a multi-year’s long pandemic in which most of the country was advised to avoid “close contact” due to the threat of infection, and yet the Emergency Medical Services professionals not only went to work each day, but were ultimately the closest contacts to the most contagious individuals throughout the pandemic,” said Mr. Agnell.

Honolulu EMS officially made Cody a Junior Paramedic and told him they look forward to having him join the EMS ranks in 2030.