State Rep. Tim Bonner, R-17th, presents the Hometown Hero award to Allie Palmer on Sept. 11 during a meeting of the Rotary Club of Slippery Rock. Submitted photo

Empathy and compassion are what drive Allie Palmer to do what she does every day as a paramedic.

Palmer has worked as an EMT for about five years with the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Team. The most meaningful part of the job, she said, is helping people.

“Seeing the impact you have on people’s lives and their family members as well, and also working along fire and police, I feel really lucky,” Palmer said.

Palmer grew up in Slippery Rock. She graduated from Slippery Rock Area High School, and later, Slippery Rock University. Upon receiving her bachelor’s, Palmer stayed in her hometown, committed to serving the community she grew up in.

The SRU biology graduate and first responder was nominated as a Hometown Hero by the Rotary Club of Slippery Rock this year.

Medical director Steve Elliott said he nominated Palmer because of her dedication to the department.

“She started in school and continued after school,” Elliott said. “There’s a lot of careers she could have chosen while she was at SRU and she chose to work for a local fire department. That’s pretty admirable.”

He recalled a time when a pediatric patient and her father came to the station to thank Palmer and her partner.

“They had a moment there where they saw the station, walked around,” Elliott said. “The little girl was being appreciative of Allie being able to be calming.”

“(Palmer) is easily relatable,” he said. “The patients are reassured in a critical moment just by her being there. It’s not always the IVs, or the meds. The true care that we’re doing, it could just be a kind word that (Palmer) offers.”

Elliott noted that over the years, Palmer has responded to several calls that were severe in nature. Through it all, she has “always able to help the common team” and has gone “above and beyond.”

Palmer said that depending on what the patient’s needs are during the call, she approaches them creatively and tries to understand where they’re coming from. That’s part of what comes with the job, she said.

“I would say it’s a lot of compassion, a lot of paying attention and learning on your feet, learning from your co-workers,” she said. “You meet a lot of different people.”

Working as a paramedic is intense and no day is the same. Palmer said she enjoys not knowing where the day is going to take her. The work keeps her on her toes, she said.

Some days, Palmer says she runs no calls. Other days, the calls don’t stop.

“I go in with a positive mindset, and prepare myself for the day,” she said. “I’m upbeat and as positive about it as I can be.”

To keep herself grounded, Palmer said she checks in regularly with her friends and the rest of the team.

“I am super lucky to have a great friend group to rely on,” she said. “Slippery Rock, in part, is a really tight-knit group. We’re really good on checking in on each other to make the best (of) a bad situation.”

Being nominated as a Hometown Hero, Palmer said she feels surprised, honored and appreciated in her work.

From left, Abby Smith, president of the Rotary Club of Slippery Rock; Karen Riley, president of Slippery Rock University, Hometown Heroes Chief Jeff Hollidge, Allie Palmer and Robbie Keebler, state Rep. Tim Bonner, and Jack Cohen, president and CEO of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, gather Monday, Sept. 11, for a photo after the Hometown Hero presentations. Submitted Photo 2023

Recognized as Hometown Heroes are, from left, Chief Jeff Hollidge of the Harrisville Borough Police Department; Alice Palmer, EMT with the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Team; and Robbie Kebbler, firefighter by the Rock Rotary Club of Slippery Rock on Monday, Sept. 11. Submitted photo