AUSTIN — Austin-Travis County EMS are usually the first people on scene of tragedies and working under grueling conditions to save lives. Now a new show on A&E will give communities a first-hand look at what exactly they're up against when duty calls.
Austin was one of four cities selected to be featured on the show in addition to Yonkers, New York; Tucson, Arizona; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "Nightwatch Nation" is the new series from executive producer Dick Wolf and 44 Blue Productions that follows EMTs as they respond to emergencies of all levels at all hours of the night. The show also gives a look into the call centers the moment an emergency breaks out and all the moving parts it takes to get medical attention on scene as quickly as possible.
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"You see two paramedics show up on scene but there are dozens of people helping to get those paramedics to you," said medic Bob Luddy.
Captain Holly Craghead and Luddy, both of Austin-Travis County EMS, are on the show. Both are all too familiar with being placed in intense situations, and said that being featured on the national stage is also a bit unnerving.
"We're honored. Very honored, and it makes me nervous. And a little nauseous," laughed Craghead.
"Agreed. It's a big responsibility. The first day that the production crew showed up to the station, I kinda had this 'OK, this is really happening. OK.' We're going to do this and do our best to do it right," Luddy said.
The two shared that they're looking forward to giving fellow community members a look at what all their job entails.
"Many people think of us as just ambulance drivers. We come pick you up and take you to the hospital," Luddy said. "We're expected to perform with the medical education and the medical expertise of a team of emergency room physicians and nurses. We're expected to do our job with the physicality of a firefighter. We're expected to go into dangerous situations with the authority on scene of a police officer. And we're expected to do it in the middle of the night with a car that's upside down in a ditch."
Craghead explained that a major component of their daily lives involves community. While many of the calls might involve high intensity situations, it's the day-to-day interactions with people that matter just as much.
"It's not just the really sick and the injured, we actually go out and try to figure out, 'What is the problem?' We have the ability to give people the medical care that they need, whether it's emergent or if it's a follow-up care, we have the ability to refer our patients to whatever specialty they might need," said Craghead. He shared they are also able to help facilitate follow-up appointments.
On top of the demanding job and on-call schedules, the two are also parents.
"My family has been very supportive, they're very excited about it. They think that's neat. My friends have done nothing but give me a hard time, which I love. Thank goodness," said Craghead.
"That's one of the reasons why I did this, was so they [his children] could see what dad used to do," said Luddy.
"Nightwatch Nation" premieres Thursday night, Aug. 16 at 9:30 p.m. CST.