Honorees

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Year Honored
1993
Honoree
Raymond F Hood
Agency
Suwanee County EMS
Agency City
Suwanee County
Agency State
FL
Last Call
12/27/84
Cause of Death
Non Ambulance Involved MVC
Biography
Ray Hood was a field paramedic and served as assistant director and crew chief for the Suwannee County Department of Emergency Service in Live Oak, Florida. Because Ray was one of only two field paramedics and a small team of emergency medical technicians with one ambulance on duty at any time to serve both Suwannee and Lafayette Counties, Ray worked diligently with his partner to bring advanced life support services to that area. This became a reality not long after Ray's death and today the Suwannee County Department is an advanced life support service.<br /> <br /> Ray and Lisa Hogan were married for four years, and he welcomed being a father to his two step-children, Jason and Jamie. They were active members of Westwood Baptist Church. Even though he had his "feet of clay," Ray was known as a good and kind man with a gentle and caring way of dealing with people. He is still missed by his parents, Bill and Ann Hood, his sisters, Priscilla Parker and Virginia Akers, and his step-brother, Gene Hicks.<br /> <br /> On the morning of December 27, 1984, Ray had worked a stressful twenty-four hour shift involving eight emergency calls and hoped his stand-by duty would be uneventful. He was almost through with his shift when he was called in to cover the county office. The 4:00 a. m. fog and his exhaustion helped explain why he failed to maneuver a curve, causing his car to strike a concrete barrier. Ray died on impact at the age of 32.<br /> <br /> Since Ray's death, Suwannee County emergency medical workers are required to have twenty-four hours off between a shift and stand-by duty.<br /> <br /> Honored 1993