Optimism, good attitude and hard work seem to be the winning combination that led William Quackenbush and Quinn Kimball to go from placing seventh at their first Health Occupation Student of America (HOSA) regional competition to earning fifth place at nationals.
According to Oxford High School Bio-Medical teacher Monica Petrous, this past school year was the first time Oxford had participated in the HOSA program, which she described as the ‘medical version of DECA or BPA (Business Professionals of America).
‘It’s like an introduction club for students interested in the medical field,? she said.
Petrous said there are two types of events ? a skills event where students demonstrate a particular skill in a certain area and a leadership event where the focus is more on public speaking and debate.
Quackenbush and Kimball both ended up participating in the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) category and were paired together as a team about a week before the regional competition in Farmington Hills in January, which didn’t give them much time.
‘I didn’t know the regional competition was coming until about five days before the event itself, so we had literally five days to prepare for that first initial event,? Kimball said.
Luckily, Kimball’s dad, Kim, president of the CERT Chapter in Brandon Township, was able to help train the boys in various skills.
However, competitions are composed of two parts, the first part being the written test and the second being the skill.
While they made it through the written portion they didn’t complete the skills portion, so they left early thinking they didn’t qualify.
Quackenbush noted the skill part was a ‘triage,? where they had to sort out patients in order of most immediate need for medical attention.
‘We didn’t study whatsoever for that written test. It was kind of like common sense. When we got to the hands on area, it was a two part event. We finished the first part and were just about to do the second part when called time,? Kimball explained. ‘We felt as if we completely bombed everything there and just wanted to go (home).?
So when they found out they placed in the seventh, which qualified them for States in Traverse City in April, they were ecstatic.
The boys ended up placing fourth in the state. However, only the top three teams get to go onto nationals, but for whatever reason one of the top three teams wasn’t able to go, which left an opening for Quackenbush and Kimball to put their skills to test once more. They got to spend three days in Anaheim, California.
At nationals, Quackenbush said they had to do different types of carries, such as a chair lift, wrap someone in a blanket and move them out, two-person carry and a backpack carry. They also had to treat bleeding and open airways.
The national event included an expo, where students got to talk with professionals in all sorts of different fields. Quackenbush said he and Kimball enjoyed talking with a respiratory therapist who had a pig’s heart on a ventilator.
‘He was so interesting. We asked him a lot of questions,? he said.
When it finally came time to announce the placements of teams, only the top 10 would be invited to the stage. Quackenbush said he was very nervous. ‘I was excited when they called us to the stage,? he said.
When they found out they placed fifth out of about 70 other CERT Teams, they were overjoyed. ‘I was flabbergasted,? Kimball added. ‘It’s indescribable that we got this far in our first year.?
He attributed their success to the help they received from his dad.\
‘That was completely necessary (to have him help train us). Along with that, this could have not been possible without the Brandon Fire Department and Brandon CERT Team because they provided us with training and material and equipment,? Quinn said. ‘They were essential to our success.?
Likewise, Kim was very impressed with both boys. ‘For two beginners, these guys showed (what) a little bit of spit and polish (can do),? he said. ‘They were phenomenal.?
Petrous said she was ‘impressed, but not surprised.? ‘Both of them are very modest, but very, very smart,? she added.
Petrous acknowledged the hard work of all of the students in the program. ‘They went in completely blind (when they joined this program) and they did it anyway. To be scared and to do it anyway is such an indicator of success,? Petrous said. ‘We had no idea what we were walking into (when we went to our first competition at regionals), so those 25 kids that stuck with me, I am so impressed.?