North Dakota Paramedic Receives National Award During EMS Week

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — Columbia Southern University (CSU) recently recognized paramedic and director of operations Sean Roed at Lake Region Ambulance Service in Devils Lake, North Dakota, as the 2023 Outstanding EMS Professional of the Year.

A leader in public safety education, CSU established the Outstanding EMS Professional of the Year Award to recognize students and graduates serving in the EMS field for their commitment to saving lives, professionalism, and their accomplishments in the field. Each year, the award is bestowed upon a new winner during National EMS Week (May 21-27).

Roed, who is pursuing his bachelor’s in EMS administration with CSU, became interested in EMS at 16.

“Initially, I started training so I could become a medic in the military, which was my dream as a child. I developed a disease, which kept me out of any branches of service, but not from serving in different ways. I then chose to serve my community by becoming an EMT and becoming a volunteer firefighter,” Roed explained.

After graduating high school in 1994, he attained his emergency medical technician certification, completed EMT-Intermediate in 1996, and became a paramedic in 1997. Also, during this time, Roed served as a volunteer firefighter at the Devils Lake Rural Fire Department where he later advanced to captain.

Since becoming a paramedic, Roed has been active in his local community. He serves on the board of directors for the North Dakota EMS Association, co-chair of the legislative advocacy committee, and member of the education and publicity committees. He serves on the Homeless Vets Coalition and the Region 3 Homeless Coalition, board of directors for both the Safe Alternatives of Abused Families and the Lake Region Suicide Prevention Coalition, and works with the Devils Lake Volunteer Fire Department.

Roed has several goals for his department and community including developing a community paramedicine program with Lake Region State College and he hopes to improve the way people see emergency medical professionals as more than just volunteers and part-timers. In part, this is one of the reasons he plans to pursue his master’s degree once he completes his bachelor’s.