Pa. Woman Goes All Out to Help People

Dec. 15, 2013
Kelly Cramer is a volunteer firefighter, EMT and works as an ER nurse.

Dec. 15--Volunteer firefighter, emergency room nurse and emergency medical technician.

Any one of those job titles would seem to represent a capable, selfless and caring person.

Kelly Cramer just happens to be all three.

The lifelong Roaring Brook Twp. resident makes her living caring for patients as an overnight emergency room nurse at Pocono Medical Center and spends the rest of her time on call as a volunteer firefighter and EMT for Elmhurst-Roaring Brook Twp. Fire Company and Moscow Fire & Hose Company.

Early inspiration

A North Pocono High School graduate, Ms. Cramer, 30, said she was obsessed with the television show "Rescue 911" as she was growing up. At 17, she joined Elmhurst-Roaring Brook Twp. Fire Company as a first responder.

She went on to earn an associate degree in nursing from Luzerne County Community College and later joined the Moscow fire company because it had an ambulance in addition to ladder trucks.

In order to serve on the ambulance, Ms. Cramer completed numerous hours of EMT training in addition to her firefighting regimen. During the course of her education, she has participated in weekly in-house trainings that sometimes include cutting up junkyard cars or simulating rescue scenarios in a donated trailer.

Her skills have made her an important member of the team. On average, she responds to approximately 50 of the 200 to 300 calls that come in to Elmhurst-Roaring Brook annually, and between 100 and 150 of the 600 to 800 calls that come in to Moscow each year.

Ms. Cramer also takes her role at the companies a step further by organizing fundraisers to offset costs and keep the organizations operational.

"Being a volunteer is something I love, but being a volunteer is expensive," Ms. Cramer said. "We have to pay the bills, cut the grass, clear the snow just like any other household.

"It's ironic we have to raise money to volunteer," she added. "But the community is very supportive."

Ms. Cramer coordinates the annual chicken barbecues at both firehouses plus annual picnics, raffles and a Crockpot cookoff. She also serves as president of North Pocono Fire & Rescue Association, a group of 13 fire departments with a mutual aid agreement in the North Pocono area.

"We meet every other month to discuss problems and ideas," she explained.

Working well with others is a trait that also came in handy when Ms. Cramer visited Haiti for a week in 2010 following the devastating earthquake that rocked the Caribbean island.

Along with 15 other medical professionals, Ms. Cramer's mission trip gave her the chance to help the injured and displaced, as well as those who had no other access to health care for everyday maladies.

Different way

"It was incredible to see the difference of the American way," she said of her time in Haiti. "There, people have nothing. You give them a Tylenol and they could kiss you.

"They were so grateful for anything," she continued. "It makes you so appreciative of what you have."

And what she's truly grateful for in her own life are the close bonds she's found within the firehouses.

"The fire company is my family and all my friends," Ms. Cramer said. "I don't know where I'd be without it.

At home: Lives in Roaring Brook Twp. She is the daughter of Kenneth and Doreen Cramer and has a brother, Donald

At work: She is an overnight emergency room nurse at Pocono Medical Center.

Inspiration: Volunteers

Aspiration: To become a helicopter flight nurse

Diversions: Photography, cooking, baking and camping

Aversion: People who are unkind and hurtful to others

Quote: "I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, I can do, or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again."

Copyright 2013 - The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.

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