Questions & Answers with community faces

Leonard (Lenny) Merrill III (39) was born at Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital in Frankfort. He grew up helping at his father’s sawmill on Grace Road, attended Crystal Lake Elementary, and graduated in 2003 from Benzie Central High School, where he participated in the Building Trades program. Following high school, Merrill joined the Benzonia Township Fire Department as a paid volunteer and began working as a plumber’s apprentice. In the fall of 2003, Merrill attended the Northwest Regional Fire Training Center near the Northwest Michigan Fair Grounds in Traverse City for “FireFighter 1 and 2 with haz-mat operations,” a class that is held two days weekly and every other weekend for a total of 295 hours of education.

As time went on, Merrill grew increasingly fond of emergency services and decided to become more involved with the fire department by attending a medical first responder (MFR) class over the fall of 2005 and the winter of 2005-2006; this class teaches basic life-saving skills, including CPR, first aid, and emergency medical care. Soon after, Merrill was laid off from his plumbing job; he took this as a sign and decided to apply to, and was subsequently hired at, Benzie County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in 2006. There, Merrill worked in patient care, assisting EMTs and attending calls with the fire department. That spring, Merrill learned that he would become a father; his first daughter, Kylee, was born later that year. 

In the fall of 2006, Benzie EMS evolved to a more streamlined and efficient service by combining the paramedics of EMS with the BLS (Basic Life Support) stations, to set the foundation for today’s EMS operations in our county. Due to licensing regulations, medical first responders (MFRs) and paramedics are less than the minimum staffing requirements, so Merrill needed to go back for more education in order to maintain employment with Benzie EMS—he began classes to become an emergency medical technician (EMT) that fall and completed the courses in late spring of 2007. 

After that, Merrill decided that he would like to continue his professional growth and pursue a career in EMS, so he began the journey to become a paramedic. Merrill began classes that would total to 1,024 hours of education and clinical time, learning the basic ropes, and in 2009, he achieved his dream to help people in tragedy and crisis as a paramedic. 

Merrill was immediately employed by Munson Medical Center as a primary paramedic and was paired with another, more seasoned EMT. This is where he says that his true education came—by responding to emergencies and interacting with actual patients. However, Merrill soon wanted to return to his roots, and so he accepted a position back with Benzie County EMS shortly after the birth of his second daughter, Clara, in 2012. Since that time, he has worked part time for various different agencies, enjoying different types of EMS services and working as a firefighter, as well. 

In 2015, Merrill again went back for more classes—this time, to become an instructor coordinator (IC), which can educate EMS professionals. After becoming licensed to teach, some of the classes that he was tasked to put on were for the rangers at the National Park Service via coordinating subject matter experts and instructing a few classes here and there. These conferences would take place over three eight-hour days at the Almira Township or City of Frankfort fire departments. In December 2015, Merrill also welcomed his third daughter, Khloe.

In September 2017, Merrill decided to take a break from EMS and applied to the Benzie County Jail. While there, he learned about the effects of substance abuse and problems of mental health. In 2018, Merrill welcomed his last child, Leo.  Though Merrill appreciated the opportunity to work in corrections, it was short-lived, as he began to crave the EMS life of helping people in chaotic circumstances and once again returned to Benzie EMS in June 2019—at this point, after years of coming back to it over and again, Merrill knew that EMS was his calling. 

At the request of the Benzie County Fire and EMS Association, Merrill put on a First Responder class and fell in love with instruction of initial education. In 2022, Merrill began to put together an application to host an initial education course throughout the county. After hours of computer work, emails, and conversations with mentors, he was able to license Benzie EMS as an initial education site. Merrill’s latest accomplishment was to successfully apply for an initial EMT class. Today, you can find Merrill on shift, making emergency calls in the ambulance.

In his “off time,” Merrill works to be a successful business owner and real estate agent—he has owned Crystal Outdoor Services, a lawn and snow company, for a few years and he got his realtor license in April 2022—and spends time with his partner, Rachel Bender, and his children going on hikes, camping, watching drive-in  movies, and making crafts.

Continuing with our interview series on impactful Benzie County characters, The Betsie Current caught up with Merrill when he was between shifts in the ambulance.

The Betsie Current: What made you want to be an EMT? What do you enjoy about this line of work?

Lenny Merrill: For me, it was kind of an evolution; I eventually got to a place where I knew I wanted the responsibility of being a paramedic. I wanted to help people. I wanted that weight on my shoulders. I knew I could handle the tragedy and sickness. In 2003, when I left high school, I joined the Benzonia Township Fire Department. That fall, I attended the fire academy at the Regional Fire Training Center. Following that, there were medical calls that the fire department attended to help Benzie EMS; I wanted to be part of that. So, back to the training center I went, to obtain a medical first responder [MFR] license in January of 2006. From there, I applied to Benzie EMS to work shifts with an EMT. As a Basic Life Support [BLS] ambulance, an MFR and EMT can work together. Then Benzie EMS evolved the system, setting the foundation of how we staff today. Unfortunately for me, the ambulance became an Advanced Life Support [ALS] ambulance, in which the truck must staff an EMT and a paramedic—I’m not sure if that is law or a Medicare/Medicaid requirement. From there, I went to a Munson EMS program that was held in Thompsonville and obtained the EMT license in June of 2007. Then I went to Baker College of Cadillac for paramedic and was licensed in July 2009. Since then, I’ve worked for West Shore EMS, North Flight Grand Traverse County, Peninsula Township, and Frankfort Fire Department and have been with Benzie EMS since 2012 as a full-time paramedic, aside from a nearly two-year hiatus, when I worked as a corrections officer for the Benzie County Sheriff’s Department. My last personal licensing achievement—I obtained an instructor/coordinator license in June of 2016, so I can educate providers and give them credits for a three-year license renewal, and now I am able to teach EMS credits, pending approval of the application that I recently submitted to the state.

Current: What does a typical day of work look like for you? 

Merrill: Shift starts at 7 a.m., when we talk to the off-going crew about their previous shift—ambulance statuses, supply needs, maintenance needs, hospital statuses, or events that need attending to. Then comes checking the truck [ambulance] to make sure the truck isn’t deficient of required supplies that were overlooked from previous calls. I like to visit Paul Oliver [Memorial Hospital in Frankfort] to see what they have in their department that may need to be transferred for more specialized care. From there, we attend calls when a request is made. While on scene, we investigate what the nature of request is and decide what the best course of care is. Generally, if we feel the patient is going to be admitted, they need to go to a hospital with the best available resources. For instance, cardiovascular, neuro, gastric, renal, etc. We also are requested to take patients that need to be transferred from Paul Oliver to another hospital, such as Munson in Traverse City, or to Cadillac or Manistee. From there, we complete our patient care reports for records and billing, attach the paperwork to the call, and submit the report for quality and assurance. Typically, a 12-hour shift ends the next day at 7 a.m., however, if we get held over, we are off duty when we get back to the station and complete shift change. It’s hard to say how many runs we’ll make in a shift—emergencies are not scheduled, so the call may come at 3 p.m. or 3 a.m.  I seem to get four calls a shift fairly often, but sometimes it’s much more or sometimes it’s none at all. Generally, we attend to calls  anywhere that a 911 is requested. Most of the time, it is within Benzie County, but I’ve gone as far as a residence in Manistee County, nearly to Tippy Dam, but Arcadia and Copemish are more common response areas that lie outside Benzie County lines. It all depends on the availability of neighboring agencies. Typically, though, we stay in Benzie County; when we are out of ambulances, neighboring agencies back us up, too.  For me, I am the education coordinator and work on EMS education requests. Recently, I filed paperwork and all the associated documents, and with the help of a bunch of people, we were able to license Benzie County as an EMS sponsor site to educate up to an EMT level. Which means we can hold our own state-approved EMT and MFR initial education classes. Following that, I filed a schedule for EMT basic and will be holding an EMT class this winter that is being funded by the Benzie County Fire and EMS Association.

Current: How have you seen your work grow and change? How do you hope that it will continue to grow? What is next?

Merrill: The industry has changed quite a bit! Treatment is science-driven. For instance, when I started EMS two decades ago, everyone got oxygen, and lots of things qualified for spinal-motion restriction, and tourniquets were seen as a last-ditch effort. Now, we treat people with oxygen carefully, because it can actually make certain illnesses worse; the actual need for a backboard was much less than what we were providing—elderly would get pressure sores from laying on the board until they could get their spinal cleared, comfort levels, anxiety, and more movement to the spine than having the patient move themselves. Now, instead of a backboard, they will typically get a cervical collar that helps keep the neck in line, if there is an injury. As far as tourniquets go, they are now the go-to for uncontrollable bleeding in trauma. Another big thing to note is that everyone is short-staffed in the medical field, and EMS is feeling it, too. That has been a change since I started in this field. Which is why I’m really excited to be able to teach new EMS recruits now. I’m passionate about EMS education; I had the opportunity to educate students to get their first responder license a few years ago—I fell in love with teaching skills that will be useful. Seeing the moment when students became confident in their skills is amazing.! More so, these providers will be saving lives! I find extreme satisfaction in knowing that I helped them learn the skills to do it. Recently, I have received approval to hold an EMT class, and I am very excited for that, as I help set the foundation for students to learn how to save lives and continue to be the best emergency care providers they can be at the next level of skills.

Current: What kinds of things do you do for fun, when you are not working? What other things are you involved with? How did you get involved with them, and why are you passionate about these causes?  

Merrill: I enjoy most outdoor activities. Hiking, geocaching, scuba diving, fishing, hunting. I started my own outdoor lawn and snow business back in 2021, the summer following the COVID-19 pandemic, and that had eaten up a lot of my free time. I became a real estate agent in 2022 and want to change directions to do the absolute best I can, and I will be dedicating time to that endeavor in the future. 

Current: How have you seen Benzie County/Northern Michigan change since you grew up here? What are your hopes for the area in the future?

Merrill: For my view, I’ve noticed that there has been a decrease in fire/EMS recruiting. I’d like to think that the younger generations will step up to the plate and fill the shoes of the seasoned firefighters and pre-hospital medical professionals before they retire and we lose their valuable life experiences.

Current: What are the biggest challenges and rewards of living/working in Northern Michigan, in general? What is the best or most rewarding part of your job?

Merrill: Challenges of working in Benzie are that I generally know who I am responding to. Growing up in Benzie and having deep roots in the community, you really get to know who your neighbors are. The thing about EMS is that we are generally responding to people’s worst fears. Best case scenario, I see people walking around after an incident and know that I played a part in their recovery. Worst case scenario, the nightmare came true and now their lives are impacted, and we couldn’t do anything about it. In that moment, my presence after the event can generate a painful memory. I’ve transported friends and family and also total strangers. Sometimes the best thing that can happen is we do the absolute best we can do, and people will come up to me after and say, “I’m glad you were here,” or ”It was so comforting that you were here for us.” By far, the most satisfying thing is when my parents tell me about someone who said I was there and how proud of me they are. Lastly, I would like to express gratitude to the community for meals that have been purchased for me and my coworkers as a “thank you” for our services. Working EMS has been a roller coaster ride, and to be thanked by the public is such a privilege—Benzie County and surrounding areas are absolutely amazing with the support that they offer the emergency services community.

Current: What could Northern Michigan do to attract more and/or retain talented people in this area? What else does Northern Michigan need?

Merrill: The most obvious answer is more pay; however, we see places showing fairly high pay and still struggling to find workers, so I’m not sure pay is the complete answer. For some people, it’s about retirement and medical insurance, so a decent employment package is a must. Education-wise, if you want to become a firefighter, departments generally pay for you to attend a fire academy; EMS license, again, generally paid trainings. A reward that improves people’s lives would be a motivation—one thing that I have thought about is doing a first responder class for high school students. If they find the material intriguing, they can continue a career in that line of work or, at the very least, have an understanding about what to do in emergencies.

Current: What are your favorite local events and activities? Any favorite dining, recreation, hiking spots?

Merrill: I’m not a big public event person, aside from holidays like the 4th of July. I love partaking in family events, such as canoe trips on the Betsie or Platte rivers, music at a local brewery, wine-tasting. Food-wise, Platte River Inn, Lucky Dog, Vita Bella, A&W, Jim’s Joint are all top-notch meals; Perks of Frankfort is great for a breakfast sandwich and a specialty coffee. The National Park Service has some amazing hiking trails and land that you can explore that is absolutely breathtaking, along with the [Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy] trails south of Elberta on M-22, such as Old Baldy and more. There’s no shortage of opportunities here!

Current: What does your perfect fall day look like in Benzie County? How would you spend it?

Merrill: I love the cool weather, but I don’t want to be cold, so a temperature that is warm enough to wear jeans and a hoodie; a bonfire with hot dogs; cooking ribs; fresh doughnuts; making apple cider with the family. Celebrating our freedoms, blessings, and achievements.

Interested in taking an EMT class with Lenny Merrill this winter? Email medic.lenny@gmail.com for more information.

To learn about Merrill’s realtor services, lenny3re@gmail.com