Liz Martinek

EMS Coordinator, Baystate Health: Age 34

Liz Martinek

Liz Martinek misses riding in the ambulance. Sort of.

She was an EMT and then a paramedic for many years, and thoroughly enjoyed that work, despite its physical and mental toll.

“I like being there for people on the worst day of their life because I want to make it better,” said Martinek, who has moved on to what is, in many ways, an even more rewarding role: that of EMS coordinator for Baystate Health.

This is a role with a lengthy job description that includes everything from coordinating internal and external quality-assurance and education initiatives to helping plan and execute Baystate Health’s EMS Week activities and Disaster Day, an annual event that partners Baystate Health physician residents with all-level first responders from local communities in a staged mass-casualty disaster.

“We bridge the gap between EMS agencies, whether they’re fire departments or private ambulance services, and the hospital side,” said Martinek, who is based at Baystate Noble Hospital and works with several different fire departments from area municipalities and even Six Flags New England. “We do a lot of overview of the pre-hospital medical care that is happening out in the field and make sure that providers are following the state protocols and the standards of that care, with an eye toward continuous improvement and patient safety.”

Martinek brings a wealth of experience to her current role, from her years as a paramedic to her work as ambulance coordinator for Baystate Health and as service quality manager for Alert Ambulance — as well as her experiences during the pandemic, when her role changed to include more outreach to patients.

Indeed, she was honored by her colleagues as a Pandemic Response Hero for her patient-assessment efforts at a Westfield assisted-living facility that led to the immediate transportation of six patients in need of an emergency-room evaluation of their COVID symptoms.

Active in the community, Martinek serves as Baystate Health’s medical captain for the IRONMAN competition in Western Mass. In that role, she recruits and oversees the volunteer services provided on site during the event by physicians, nurses, paramedics, EMTs, and other emergency responders.

With encouragement from her husband, Kreig, Martinek said she got into CrossFit and has fallen in love with it, giving her more energy for doing things with her two children, Lindsay and Matthew.

—George O’Brien