Key Largo EMS

07/15/2025

The numbers are in!

In 2024, we had FIVE volunteers at Key Largo EMS who helped staff 911 emergency service ambulances for more than ONE THOUSAND hours each. To put that into perspective, 1000 hours is forty 24-hour shifts or eighty 12-hour shifts. And these individuals went above and beyond that!

We are a proud volunteer-based organization with an extensive history of individuals who selflessly commit their time to serving the citizens of and visitors to Key Largo.

Help us take a moment to recognize and say thank you to the following individuals:

Leo Bello volunteered 1560 hours in 2024.

Anthony Milan volunteered 1499 hours in 2024.

Michael Sao-Pagan volunteered 1392 hours in 2024.

Jose Zuniga volunteered 1176 hours in 2024.

Daniel Gomez volunteered 1020 hours in 2024.

06/17/2025

We hope to see you tomorrow with Key Largo Public Library Branch - Monroe County ! Free event for kids 6-12!

🚨❤️ It’s time to Go Red and give a big THANK YOU to our local heroes!
Join us on Wednesday, June 18 for First Responder Appreciation Day at the Key Largo Library!
🚒🚓 Meet first responders, check out emergency vehicles, and enjoy games, & fun for all ages! MCSO - Florida Keys ~ Key Largo EMS ~ Key Largo Fire Department

06/15/2025

Last week, ten members of Key Largo EMS attended the First There First Care Conference in Hollywood, Florida. Lead paramedics and volunteers participated in hands-on training, cutting-edge classes, and expert-led lectures. Key Largo EMS remains committed to continuing education and clinical excellence—ensuring we’re always ready to serve our community with skill, compassion, and professionalism.

Pictured here: one volunteer, two lead paramedics, and a lead paramedic trainee attend a lecture on end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring.

06/15/2025

👩‍🚒🧯 Fire trucks, police cruisers, and rescue games—oh my!
Celebrate our real-life superheroes at First Responder Appreciation Day on June 18!
💥 Games, team fun, and hands-on exploration await. MCSO - Florida Keys ~ Key Largo Fire Department ~ Key Largo EMS

05/23/2025

At Key Largo EMS, it's the heart behind the badge that makes the difference. We're incredibly thankful for our dedicated staff and volunteers—your compassion, commitment, and teamwork are what make our community safer and stronger every day. Happy EMS Week!

05/21/2025

Happy EMS Week from all of us here at Key Largo EMS!

05/25/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

For EMS Week, we're profiling different staff members to give you an opportunity to get to know our employees and volunteers!

Meet Luis Tuero, one of our Lead Paramedics.

_____________

How long have you been with Key Largo EMS?
“I’ve been here since 2017.”

When did you first know that you wanted to pursue a career in this field?
“Since I was young, I’ve enjoyed working outside and with my hands and I was interested in the medical field. A good family friend of mine was a captain at a fire station and invited me for a ride along. After that day, I knew this would be a job I would enjoy.”

What advice would you give to someone who just started in EMS?
“To always remember you are talking with people at what could be the worst moment in their life so have compassion for what is going on.”

Who has been a mentor or role model for you in the organization, and how have they influenced you?
“Oscar Pinzon has been a great mentor to me. He is always willing to help, answer questions and very caring friend.”

What is your favorite part of your job?
“Helping people and the schedule is nice too.”

What kind of calls do you think you have the biggest impact on?
“I would say dive emergencies, since I go diving regularly.”

What are some of your favorite local restaurants?
“I really like Mikes BBQ and Key Largo Fisheries”

What’s a cause that you are passionate about?
“When it comes to work, I really believe in helping new comers as they come in. We all were new at some point and needed guidance. So, I am always willing to reach out and help them along the way.”

What are some of your hobbies?
“Anything outdoors really, but camping, fishing and scuba diving - would be my top 3.”

Tell me something about you most people don't know.
“My wife and I want to visit all the national parks in the US. We are currently at 14 out of 63.”

How would one of your work partners describe you in three words?
“Funny, hard-working and reliable.”

What is one thing you can’t live without?
“My family. They have always been there for me and I really appreciate their support.”

Describe an experience that has had a lasting impact on you?
“A few years ago, we worked a cardiac arrest and we were able to get ROSC and about 2 months later we were able to meet the patient and shake his hand and he thanked us for what we did for them. Later, he shared pictures of him hiking in a national park and how he was enjoying life. Knowing we really made a difference in his life has always resonated with me.”

What do you think is the most important skill that you bring to the table?
“I tried to be a hard worker if something needs to get done, I do my best to make sure it’s done.”

What brought you to Key Largo?
“As a student, I would come to Key Largo to do clinical rides and I enjoyed how the crews treated one another, so I decided once I was finished with school I would come here.”

What is your favorite drink at work?
“Cuban coffee.”

What, if anything, are you currently binge-watching? Or reading?
“Rewatching ‘Parks and Recreation.’ It’s one of my favorite shows.”

What's your late-night gas station go-to snack?
“Snickers candy bar”

What kind of dog would you be?
“Probably an Australian Cattle dog.”

With which cartoon character would you most wish to swap lives?
“Eliza Thornberry”

What's a song you know all the words to?
“‘Friends in Low Places’ by Garth Brooks.”

Do you have any pets? If so, what kind(s) and what are their names?
“Yes, I have 2 dogs. A 3-year-old Labradoodle named C**t, and a 15-year-old mix named Scotty.”

05/24/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

For EMS Week, we're profiling different staff members to give you an opportunity to get to know our employees and volunteers!

Meet Chris McCoy, one of our Lead Paramedics.

How long have you been with Key Largo EMS?
"Full-time since January, but I started as a volunteer in November 2023."

What made you get into EMS?
"As I approached the end of my law enforcement career, I realized I wanted to continue to serve the community. I realized I always had an interest in EMS that dated back to my childhood while watching the TV show, Emergency."

What advice would you give to someone who just started in EMS?
"Learn as much as you can, while you can. No two situations are the same, therefore you must have knowledge, skills and abilities in your 'toolbox.'"

What is your favorite part of your job?
"As silly as it sounds, actually helping people."

What or who are some of your biggest inspirations in the organizations?
"Despite being a smaller EMS organization, I am impressed by the dedication and professionalism of the staff."

What kind of EMS calls do you feel you specialize in?
"Complex, muti-discipline incidents."
What do you mean by that?
"Events involving multiple types of responders. IE: EMS, Fire, Law Enforcement and other government agencies."

Describe an experience that has had a lasting impact on you.
"Unfortunately, the Parkland Shooting of 2018."
Did you respond to that?
"Yes. That event drives my professional passion for critical incident response and training."

What’s a cause that you are passionate about?
"Let's put two things! One: shelter animals - every shelter animal needs a home. And two: Professionally, it's critical incident response. "

What brought you to Key Largo?
"Seeing the ambulance out on Overseas Highway. It got me to thinking, maybe I can volunteer there when I get home? So, I started inquiring about volunteering for Key Largo EMS back in July, while I working as a paramedic in Yellowstone National Park."

How would one of your work partners describe you in three words?
"The old guy."

Tell me something about you most people don't know.
"I love collecting and erecting Lego toy sets. So much so, I dragged my wife to the home of Legos in Denmark."

Do you have any pets? If so, what kind(s) and what are their names?
"I have three dogs, three rescue dogs: Brinny, Molly and Teddy. "

What kind of dog would you be?
"Your very generic shelter mutt, probably closer to a silly pit bull."

What is your favorite local restaurant?
"High Tide. They have a great breakfast menu!"

What's your late-night gas station go-to snack?
"Reese's' Peanut Butter Cups - THE BIG CUPS - because WHY would you get the small ones when you can get the BIG ONES!? It makes no sense to me."

What, if anything, are you currently binge-watching? Or reading?
"'I am reading Lies My Teacher Told Me' and binge-watching 'Mad Men,' again."

What's a song you know all the words to?
"'Jingle Bell Rock.'"

What is your go-to song to sing to a pediatric patient to sooth them or get them to calm down?
"'The wheels on the bus go round and round.'"

05/23/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

For EMS Week, we're profiling different staff members to allow you to get to know our employees and volunteers!

Meet Sarah Straub, Training Officer & Lead Paramedic.

_____________

How long have you been with Key Largo EMS?
"October 2024 will be my 3-year anniversary."

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
"I was a waterfront lifeguard for 10 years, 5 of which I was an EMT. Eventually, I promoted up and decided management wasn't for me. I missed the opportunity to help people one-on-one. So, I went to paramedic school 7 years ago and I guess the rest is history."

What’s a favorite quote or phrase of yours?
“George Bernard Shaw – ‘I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle’ for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.’”

Who has been a mentor or role model for you in the organization, and how have they influenced you?
"Ooooo! Kay Cullen. She's an amazing teacher. So patient and direct at the same time, she taught EMT classes for many, many years at Key Largo EMS with the college. I was so lucky to have the opportunity to teach with her and have her as a mentor."

What is your favorite part of your job?
"I love the comradery of working in EMS. We literally spend a third of our life at work and the people you work with become like family. You can learn SOMETHING from everyone that you work with."

What kind of EMS calls do you feel you specialize in?
"I love a complex medical call. Those calls make me go back and research and learn more about the pathologies. But I feel like I specialize in my ability to talk to people."

What is a cause that you’re passionate about?
“Education and learning. Learning is a form of growth and just like our cellular pathology when we stop growing, we technically begin the decay/dying process. So, the best way to live is to grow and the best way to grow is to learn. Never stop learning – no matter what the topic is. Just find something that interests you and chase that.”

What are some of your favorite local restaurants?
"KRUST is amazing. Local 'Mom & Pop' and made from scratch."

What is one thing you can’t live without while at work?
My pink stethoscope. It's an MDF and I hear so much better out of it."

What’s something surprising that not many people know about you? OR Tell me something about you most people don't know.
"Pink is NOT my favorite color."

What brought you to Key Largo?
"A partner of mine out in Texas encouraged me to try and move home to be closer to my family. I'm a conch from the keys. So, this was coming back home for me."

Describe an experience that has had a lasting impact on you?
"That same partner suddenly and unexpectedly passed away last summer. It was something I never expected to happen. It made me realize that a good work partner really is a part of your family. I was and still am close to his family. He's one of the reasons I will always carry pink trauma sheers. We both always carried pink trauma sheers, working together. It lead to some funny and awkward moments."

What's your late-night gas station go-to snack?
"Tom Thumb ICEE, a mix cola and cherry!"

What kind of dog would you be?
“A poodle. Smarter than you expect, strong bite and a working, water dog at heart.”

What is your go-to song to sing to a pediatric patient to sooth them or get them to calm down?
“‘Three Little Birds’ by Bob Marley and the Wailers.”

What's a song you know all the words to?
“‘Careless Whisper’”

05/22/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

For EMS Week, we're profiling different staff members to give you an opportunity to get to know our employees and volunteers!

Meet Leo Bello, one of our Volunteer Paramedics!

_____________

How long have you been with Key Largo EMS?
"I think just over 22 years."

What made you get into EMS?
"My boss asked me after my brother's death, if I would like to make a difference in people's lives and become an Emergency Medical Technician."

What's a favorite quote or phrase of yours?
"Stay cool and calm, it's their emergency, not ours." One of our old paramedics taught me that. His name is Brian Dula.”

Who has been a mentor or role model for you in the organization, and how have they influenced you?
"He would probably be the one - Brian Dula. He was really intelligent, educated and very cool and calm. He never seemed flustered on medical calls. He never yelled and he always knew how to make you play an important role on medical calls."

What brought you to Key Largo?
“33 years ago, I came here on vacation, I fell in love and moved here in 1994.”

What is your favorite aspect of volunteering?
“Helping people, helping my local neighbors, giving back to the community I live in.”

What kind of EMS calls do you feel you specialize in?
"Children - because I always know how to bring myself down to their level. I always know how to keep a smile on their face."

What is your go-to song to sing to a pediatric patient to soothe them or get them to calm down?
"I don't sing to nobody! But I always pretty much talk to them like a cartoon character - like SpongeBob SquarePants or Sylvester the Cat."

What’s a cause that you are passionate about?
"Patient care - provide good patient care!"

How would one of your work partners describe you in three words?
"Funny, jokester, sarcastic!"

Tell me something about you that most people don't know.
“I think everybody knows everything about me - I'm an open book.”

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
“Going to the beach, enjoying the ocean, and watching sunsets.”

What are some of your favorite local restaurants?
“Mrs. Macs, Keys Bite, and The Catch.”

What's your late-night gas station go-to snack?
“Circle K – SNICKERS”

What kind of dog would you be?
“Pit Bull - a Blue Nose Pit Bull - I love Pit Bulls they're my favorite kind of dog.”

Do you have any pets? If so, what kind(s) and what are their names?
“Ms. Eesa, she's a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.”

With which cartoon character would you most wish to swap lives?
“Foghorn Leghorn.”

05/21/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

For EMS Week, we're profiling different staff members to give you an opportunity to get to know our employees and volunteers!

Meet Ariel Betancourt, a former volunteer EMT and current Lead Paramedic Trainee

_____________

How long have you been with Key Largo EMS?
“I have been at Key Largo for a year and a couple of months as a volunteer and I just started as a Lead Paramedic trainee about a month ago.”

When did you first know that you wanted to pursue a career in this field?
“I first knew in High School. I realized I didn’t want to do work that involved sitting in an office all day. So, I researched EMS and Fire. And I realized that it was some of the most impactful work that you could do. The job takes a lot of courage and I thought it would be a job that suited me well.”

What advice would you give to someone who just started in EMS?
“I would say the best advice I could give is that we should never stop learning. No matter how good you think you are, there is always room for improvement. People’s lives are in our hands and we owe it to them to keep on learning.”

Who has been a mentor or role model for you in the organization, and how have they influenced you?
“I would say the biggest mentor has been Oscar Pinzon. He has taught me a lot, not just about EMS but how to handle myself on calls. He has helped to keep a level head in stressful situations. Not just in EMS, but also in life.”

What was your favorite aspect of volunteering?
“The sense of helping the community while volunteering is even stronger. I was genuinely there just to help, not just the community but our crews. I was able to help with everything while getting experience and that was my favorite aspect.”

What brought you to Key Largo?
“Another Paramedic Trainee, Fernando, told me about how he was volunteering. He told me about the daily training and how helpful it was for him and gaining experience. And now we were both hired at the same time as Lead Paramedic Trainees.”

Describe an experience that has had a lasting impact on you.
“We had a stroke alert this one time. And we came back to the hospital a couple of hours later and saw that she was doing drastically better. It shows that we really do make a difference in patient care and that our training does pay off.”

What do you think is the most important skill that you bring to the table?
“I would say, I work well under pressure. Whenever a stressful situation comes on, I’m good at remaining calm.”

What is your favorite part of your job?
“I would say the comradery as crew. The fact that we live together 48 hours a week. It’s one of my favorite parts. We get to go out and help the community together and that’s definitely my favorite.”

What are some of your favorite local restaurants?
“Either Mike’s BBQ or Buffalo’s Steak House.”

What’s a cause that you are passionate about?
“Advocating for those who are less fortunate.”

How would one of your work partners describe you in three words?
“Energetic, Dedicated and Humble.”

What is one thing you can’t live without when you’re on shift?
“COFFEE!”

What is your favorite drink at work?
“Ariel’s Cafecito Service”

What, if anything, are you currently binge-watching? Or reading?
“Binge watching – I am re-watching The Walking Dead, right now.”

What's your late-night gas station go-to snack?
“You go to the gas station, right? – you’re thirsty and you need a drink, right? So, you get your zero-calorie blue raspberry Gatorade – THEN you need your beef jerky for your protein, right? – but then you need that sweet treat, so you get your peanut M&Ms and THAT – that makes the perfect combo.”

What kind of dog would you be?
“Would you agree that I would be a golden retriever type of dog? It works. I think if people see a picture of me, that they will clearly see that I’m a golden retriever type of guy.”

With which cartoon character would you most wish to swap lives?
“Sponge Bob - live it the sea, do what I want to.”
Doesn’t he work for free?
“Yeah, but he lives in a pineapple under the sea!”

What is your go-to song to sing to a pediatric patient to soothe them or get them to calm down?
“Oh, it has to be Baby Shark – for some reason they love it.”

05/20/2024

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

For EMS Week, we're profiling different staff members to give you an opportunity to get to know our employees and volunteers!

Meet Julliano Serrano, one of our Lead Paramedics.

_____________

How long have you been with Key Largo EMS?
“Since November, so six months.”

What brought you to Key Largo?
"The similarity to my hometown in Puerto Rico."

What made you get into EMS?
"In 2010, one of my family members activated EMS and due to medical practice negligence, caused his death, inspiring me to be the difference in the community in the EMS system."

What advice would you give to someone who just started in EMS?
"Don't allow other people to discourage you, stay humble and keep learning."

What are some of your biggest inspirations in the organizations?
"Everyone here is always practicing to do their best for the community."

What is your favorite part of your job?
"Being able to fix someone's worst day of their life."

What kind of EMS calls do you feel you specialize in?
"Due to my persistent training, I have become an asset to critical patients and the geriatric population."

What are some of your favorite local spots to visit? OR What are some of your favorite local restaurants?
"Wahoo's Bar and Grill and Alabama Jacks."

What’s a cause that you are passionate about?
"Safe Haven."

Do you want to say more about Safe Haven?
"So basically, it's an organization that helps to give a second chance to abandoned newborns."

What do you enjoy doing outside of work? OR What are some of your hobbies?
"Being at work - Nah - being in the ocean."

What’s something surprising that not many people know about you?
"That I like to paint ocean pictures."

How would one of your work partners describe you in three words?
"Difficult, difficult, difficult - no - persistent, knowledgeable and encouraging."

Describe an experience that has had a lasting impact on you
"Saving the life of a child who was drowning."

You used to be a lifeguard, right?
"Yeah."

Was that near drowning incident in Puerto Rico?
"That was here, the mom wasn't paying attention. It was quick. I saw it happen and I got to her quick, I found her floating face down. It was so quick but she came back around, a little bit more [time] and I probably would have been doing compressions on her. I'll never forget that."

What do you think is the most important skill that you bring to the table?
“Knowledge and perseverance to always be ready.”

What is your favorite drink at work?
"Sparkling water - key lime flavor."

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
"To be able to scan and analyze human bodies. Imagine you can see X-rays, do blood testing, see everything on scene. I'm a geek. I'm a medical geek."

If you could be an animal, what kind of animal would you be?
"A Mako Shark!"

What is your go-to song to sing to a pediatric patient to soothe them or get them to calm down?
"I don't use songs, but I try my best to connect with them and show them love."

What's a song you know all the words to?
"’La Flaca’ by Jarabe de Palo”