News
Omvig accepts position with the BAS
Scott Wagar
01/03/2012
Mette Omvig has accepted a position with the Bottineau Ambulance Service and will serve in that capacity as its full-time EMT.
Omvig will become the first full-time EMT in the 50 year history of the Bottineau Ambulance Service, a position that had to be established because the ambulance service did not have enough volunteer EMTs to provide the proper service to assist the local area.
Luann Soland is pleased that Omvig has taken the position. “I feel confident that Mette will do a very good job with the Bottineau Ambulance service and the community of Bottineau,” Soland said.
Omvig has been a volunteer driver and EMT with the Bottineau Ambulance Service for three and a half years. She and her husband, Alan, are also the instructors for the department’s emergency vehicle operation class.
Her primary duty as the ambulance service’s full-time EMT will be to care for all 911 calls and transfers that come into the department from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the work week.
Omvig will also be responsible for cleaning, checking and stocking the ambulances, the bay area and classroom of the ambulance service, along with any other duties assigned to her. She will also assists in writing grants and assists in instructing classes, besides caring for the department’s paper work and billings.
Soland stated that Omvig’s additional duties with the ambulance service gives the volunteer members more time off to rest and focus on the jobs they have in the community.
“Prior to Mette accepting the full-time position, all volunteers to the ambulance service were responsible for doing these duties, especially the jobs in cleaning the rigs and bay area,” Soland said. “However, with a full-time person now, the volunteers will have more time away from Bottineau’s ambulance service to rest, have time with family and spend more time at their daily jobs.”
Omvig spent 22 years in the National Guard and the Reserves, where her duties included working with medical records, water purification and spending seven years as an instructor for an Army Reserve Unit in the State of Utah.
For the past 14 and a half years, Omvig has been employed in the county’s clerk of court office. Leaving her county position was a difficult decision, but one she felt she had to do now.
“I’ve always thought I would be at the courthouse until I retired. But I’ve always been interested in the medical field. It’s something that has intrigued me,” Omvig said. “So, I felt that if I didn’t do it now I never would.”
Omvig is eager to start her new position with the ambulance service.
“I’m excited to hold this position,” Omvig said. “It’s a new challenge and I have a great team to work with. I am really proud to be part of this team because we all work so well together, along with working with the local law enforcement, border patrol and fire department.”
Another change coming to the Bottineau Ambulance Service is new board members. Luann Soland has made the decision to retire from the Bottineau Ambulance Service Board after serving on it for 13 years. However, she will continue on as an EMT for the service.
The new board members will includ: Art Lund, president; Lynn Jahner, vice president; Alan Omvig, treasurer; and Tammy Ovitt, secretary.
The Bottineau Ambulance Service is looking for volunteer drivers and EMTs. Individuals, who are interested in joining the Bottineau’s ambulance service, contact Lund at (701) 228-3005, or Omvig at (701) 228-6901.