Chief Rita Camarena born to lead South Houston EMS

South Houston EMS Chief

Rita Camarena was born in the back of a pick-up truck in 1976. The man who delivered her—Mike Telschow—also founded the South Houston EMS.

She was born and raised in South Houston and pretty much also in the South Houston EMS.

Camarena started working for the department when she was 15 through a high school program called Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA). When considering which health field to explore, she was drawn to EMS.

She started volunteering with South Houston EMS as part of her schooling. She enjoyed it and took the next step. At 18, she became a certified EMT with the agency.

And her boss was Chief Mike Telschow.

“He’d always tell me that he delivered me,” Camarena said.

The reminder was always kind and friendly but with a joking tone that let her know he was the boss.

She continued to volunteer with the agency—and with Telschow—before transitioning with the rest of her colleagues to a paid position about 20 years ago.

Now, she is chief of South Houston EMS, a department of the city of South Houston. She manages a staff of 22 to 25 employees. “It fluctuates,” she said.

The EMS agency held its 6th Annual Crawfish Boil in March, a fundraiser and a community event that she credits Assistant Chief Anna Aina-Stine for starting and organizing each year.

“It’s just something different, and it brings the morale of our department up,” Camarena said. “The kids hang out with each other.”

The EMS agency has grown and evolved since Telschow retired in 2001. Camarena stayed and continued to advance in the department.

She still remembers Mike Telschow’s influence on her career and life.

“He always told us, ‘People come into your life, and you never know what they mean to you until they’re gone. He meant a real lot. You know, I learned a lot from him.”

Telschow passed away in 2005.

She responded to the medical call at Telschow’s home.

“That was my call. It was like the beginning to the end,” Camarena said.

“It opened a book and closed a chapter.”

Why did you choose emergency medicine? Did someone or something influence you?

Since I was a child, I’ve always been excited by emergency situations. I can remember having my father chase fire trucks so I could see the firemen fight fires. I was intrigued by the way they crawled inside of these burning structures to extinguish the fire. When I turned 17, I joined the local fire department and became an EMT. The rest is history.

Q A

6 questions with Emile “Sam” Miller

Nurse Manager, Emergency Services, UTMB Health Galveston Campus

How do you get through a tough shift?

A

By focusing on the positives of the day. We have a lot of people who come here in pretty bad shape secondary to some horrific traumatic and medical emergencies. Some of them we are not able to save because of the damage that is done. However, every day we show up to work, we make a positive impact on patients. Some of these positive impacts are not grandiose, but nevertheless very impactful. It can be something as simple as comforting a child who is scared to have stitches or shots, and then have them give you a big ol’ hug at the end of a visit. You know, sometimes it’s just the simple things.

A I cannot speak on a specific recent event, but I will say this: Our EMS partners are some of the best in the industry. They go out into some of the most austere environments and provide excellent prehospital care. EMS has come a long way in the past 10 to 15 years. The advancements in prehospital care are directly related to our patients having positive outcomes. Some of the areas include stroke recognition and treatment, STEMI recognition and treatment, airway management, administration of antibiotics in the field, hemorrhage control and the initiation of blood products in the field. Make no mistake about it, without the prehospital care that is provided, some of these patients would never even make it to the hospital. I tip my hat to those guys. 05

What is your favorite type of food? Do you have a recipe for that?

What do you do to relax when you are not at work? And why do you do that?

A

I spend time with my wife and hang out with my friends.

I do this because my wife tells me I’m going to do it. LOL. I like hanging out with my wife because she brings a great deal of peace to my life. It’s just cool to be around her. My friends are also very important to me. When I’m with my friends, I get to wild out a little bit, smoke cigars, cook and watch sports. My wife is not fan of smoke.

04

What can you tell us about a recent EMS-related case that was a success? Was there a medic who made a difference? Tell us about it.

A That’s easy—BBQ! Man, I love some good BBQ. As mentioned earlier, cooking and BBQ-ing is one thing that I find to be very relaxing. I have actually won BBQ competitions. I can’t tell you my recipe, but if you go down the dirt road, behind the fourth tree, across from the pond, buried under a rock you’ll find the recipe. If you find it, you can use it. 06

What’s something you want people to know about you?

A I hate public speaking.