From saving lives to delivering babies

For two decades, Maribeth Barbuch was in the middle of emergency situations in Port Washington.

She was a comforting presence for people in their worst times — after accidents or a medical crisis. 

But she also was there in good times, delivering three babies during her 20 years with the Port ambulance service.

“It was wonderful, and I’m glad I got to do it,” Barbuch said, noting she still gets Christmas cards from some of those families.

“There are so many low points that you need that.”

Barbuch retired from the Port ambulance service on Jan. 1, exactly 20 years after she started, and was honored for her service by the department during its recognition ceremony on Feb. 3.
Fire Chief Mark Mitchell called Barbuch the “backbone” of the city’s emergency medical service for many years.

“She was probably the most dedicated  person we had,” he said. “She had a wonderful bedside manner, and she cared a lot. She was really special. 

“When Maribeth puts her mind to it, she goes all in. We were lucky she did that for us.”

She was one of the driving forces behind the city’s paramedic unit, with Mitchell saying she “blazed the trail,” writing the operational plan.

Barbuch was the EMS lieutenant for much of her time with the department, responsible for scheduling crews, ordering supplies and ensuring the ambulance was ready to go when needed, Mitchell said.

And she was always ready to fill in when needed, he said.

“She threw her hat in the ring for everything,” Mitchell said. “It wouldn’t be anything to have her take 200 hours on call a month. 

“She just had a real zest for it. She’s the kind of person you wish you had a dozen of. She had so much enthusiasm and dedication.”

But medical service wasn’t always Barbuch’s craft. She started out in meteorology, working out of Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee, and was a storm chaser.

But as her three children got older and their slate of activities got longer, she said she needed to be closer to home.

Motivated by a desire to serve her community and help others, she joined the Port Fire Department, starting first as a driver for the ambulance.

The department put her through EMT school, where she obtained her basic certification, then earned her EMT-intermediate certificate.

“I wanted to keep going,” Barbuch said, so she put herself through paramedic school, even through the Port department wasn’t a paramedic unit at the time.

“I told Mark, ‘I’m going to paramedic school and I want to work here so let’s go for this,’” she recalled.

She, Mitchell and Deputy Chief Jim Riley did much of the work to get the department certified by the state as a paramedic unit. The designation was approved in 2011, and although the department was given a year to get it up and running around the clock, they met that goal within a few months, Barbuch said.

“We got a lot of help from Thiensville,” she said, noting it was the first department in the county to be a paramedic unit.

Being a paramedic allows the department to offer patients a higher level of care. 

But for Barbuch, the best part of the job is being able to use her skills to offer one-on-one care.

“For the most part, except in extreme circumstances, you can operate with what you know,” she said. “You can take care of a lot of injuries in the field.”

Her favorite calls varied throughout the years. 

“When you’re younger, you always want the worst calls,” Barbuch said, noting they got the adrenaline pumping. “As I get older, I liked the simpler calls where you could make a difference.”

The low points, she said, ran the gamut from bad accidents to overdoses to young people in the midst of cardiac arrest.

“There are ones that’ll never go away,” she said. “You just want to make them comfortable and make them feel safe. At the very least, you can help keep them calm. You can offer them some pain relief. Those are wins.”

Like many EMTs, Barbuch said, she suffered burnout.

“You just kind of struggle through it,” she said. “You focus on the good things, take some time off if you can.”

For Barbuch, the ambulance service was a family affair, which sometimes made it a little easier. 

Her husband Tom, a retired Port police officer, was a driver for the ambulance. Her son Jonathan, better known as Boomer, and daughter Beth served as EMTs, while her son Sam served as the department’s Sparky mascot for several years.

Barbuch branched out from the ambulance as well, working with the coroner’s office in Ozaukee County for 16 years.

But the time came to retire, she said — although she hasn’t given up her career yet

Her husband, who after retirement worked security for Aurora Health Care, moved to a management position with the company three years ago and began working in Green Bay.

Barbuch continued to work for the Port ambulance, working one shift a week, but she decided the lengthy commute was too much.

The couple moved to Wausaukee about a year ago, and she’s now an EMT with the Wausaukee Rescue Squad.

“There are fewer calls,” she said, and more office work.  

But, she said, she still feels the reward of helping others.

“When you save someone through CPR or advanced life support, those are the wins,” she said. “I think it all balances out at the end of the day.”