Peru paramedic Shauna Breckenridge leads with compassion

When Shauna Breckenridge, of rural Streator, was 12 years old, she was attending her cousin’s birthday party when tragedy struck – a man got his foot caught in a three-wheeler.

Breckenridge and her father were the first to arrive on scene, Breckenridge said. But, instead of paralyzing fear, she recalled being fascinated by the scene.

“My brain couldn’t comprehend what I was looking at,” she said. “I’m like, what am I looking at? And then it dawned on me that I was looking at bones and muscles and I’m like that’s so cool.”

Breckenridge said that incident “piqued her interest” into the possibility of becoming a first responder. However, it wasn’t until her father-in-law became ill that she began her journey.

“I started taking care of him and did his dialysis and his insulin pump,” she said.

During her time taking care of her father-in-law, his nurse asked her if she was already a nurse because she was “really good” at taking care of him.

She brings her compassion for people, especially children and she works very well with patients that are mentally disabled or mentally ill.”

—  Teresa Beckett, of Wenona

So, Breckenridge started off as a mental health first responder in 2015 and worked two years in psychiatry before receiving her EMT certification.

She said her time spent in mental health was a double-edged sword at times, seeing the bad side of mental health and how poor the care is.

“I see the glaring discrepancies for people with mental health issues,” she said. “I do see they’re trying to fix it. They have Arukah and they have more people that will come and talk to the people or try to talk to them through the phone.”

She said they try to help people stay at home if they can. But, if they can’t, then the police get called in and emergency services.

Two and half years ago, Breckenridge received her paramedic license and now works as a paramedic at Peru Ambulance.

“Getting my mental health aid first has really helped me work with the psychiatric patients,” she said.

Brent Hanson, director of Peru Volunteer Ambulance Service, said Breckenridge is a strong asset to the community as she enjoys assisting patients.

“She’s pretty confident in her skills,” he said. “She’s very outgoing, very caring, compassionate and she is very thorough in her assessments.”

Breckenridge’s passion is mental health and said one of her long-term goals is to see not only better mental care in the Illinois Valley, but also more help for the elderly.

“I would like to see people who actually go in and check to see how safe their houses are and make sure they are talking their meds,” she said. “And they’re getting the help they need and they’re getting to doctor’s appointments and they’re getting answers.”

Breckenridge said checking in on mental health patients and the elderly helps ensure they are able to stay in their homes longer.

“We have such an aging population and just trying to get them more help, so they don’t have to call us all the time,” she said. “I mean I personally love going and helping little old ladies, and they’re usually super thankful and everything, but I’d like to see it where they have more independence.”

Breckenridge said paramedicine, the type of assistance she is asking for, is where a person goes in to check in on the elderly every week or checks in on a person who was recently released from the hospital.

“Big cities have it more, but it would be nice to see it here because it also cuts down on readmits,” she said.

She explained that if someone was recently released from the hospital with pneumonia and they are brought back, you may find they were not doing their breathing exercises at home.

“But if you have someone going in and checking up on them,” she said. “And finding it – because that one little exercise is so good to keep them from getting readmitted.”

Right now, our region only offers home health care, Breckenridge said, which patients have to be eligible for.

Teresa Beckett, of Wenona, who has been friends and colleagues with Breckenridge for about six years said her empathy for the community is unparalleled.

“She brings her compassion for people, especially children,” she said. “And she works very well with patients that are mentally disabled or mentally ill.”

During her time as a paramedic, Breckenridge said she has had one field save. It was a full arrest, but they were able to revive him and he walked out of the hospital.

She said it was shocking to learn she had managed to save someone’s life.

“Most of our full arrests don’t turn out that way, unfortunately. So, it was good to hear that he actually survived,” she said.

One goal Breckenridge said she still hopes to accomplish during her time as a paramedic is to acquire her stork pin.

“It has to be considered a field delivery so that means not delivery at a hospital,” she said. “So, either in their house or in the ambulance.”

She said a friend of hers from Streator delivered a baby in a car once.

“They’re pretty rare,” she said.