Amish EMTs say stop calling us Buggy Drivers!

EMTs working in Belmont Pennsylvania are sick of being called a derogatory term, Buggy Driver. Belmont is a community made up of mostly Amish. Like many of their Amish brothers their primary means of transportation is horse and buggy.

Ishmael Yoder an EMT with Belmont EMS had this to say. “We might not have all the fancy electronic gizmos you non-amish do. But we still do the same job, just with more manual labor.”

EMT Yoder feels that by calling Amish EMS professionals Buggy Drivers their profession is being degraded. “We do more than act as a horse pulled taxi cab. In the back of that buggy I am applying leaches to infected tissue, using direct pressure on bleeding, and even sometimes use CPR.”

Yoder is not alone in his feelings. Amish EMTs all over Pennsylvania are trying to raise awareness. Amish EMTs in Iowa are also seeking be called by the right term. They hope they can get their brothers in traditional EMS to support them also.

Jebediah Miller an EMT in Kalona, IA, has been speaking up at his church. Unfortunately his words seem to be falling on deaf ears. “No one cares about us, unless they need us. They can hurt our feelings all they want as long as the fields are being plowed or barns are being raised. But the second someone is hurt, you better believe they want us to race to the scene to help.”

Miller says he prays each night that someday someone will call him EMT, just like all the other EMTs working in ambulances are called.