Pictured: Patrick Kiernan (NICE Systems) with Kathleen Bouchard, Dispatch Supervisor, Patriot Ambulance

Kathleen Bouchard, a Dispatch Supervisor with Patriot Ambulance, Inc. is this year's Line Supervisor of the Year in the NICE PSAPs' Finest contest. Kathleen was nominated by Donald Girard, former Director of Operations for Patriot Ambulance. Headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Patriot Ambulance provides emergency and non-emergency medical transport to over fifty thousand customers a year. When floodwaters forced the evacuation of the third largest nursing home in Massachusetts, Kathleen Bouchard rose to the occasion. Here's her story.

It had been pouring for three days straight. Seventeen inches of rain had fallen in just 72 hours and more was in the forecast.

By late in the day on May 15^th, 2006, the Spicket River had surged to eleven feet - three feet above flood level. The worst flooding in 70 years had forced the closure of many Merrimack Valley schools and businesses - and sent thousands of residents fleeing for higher ground.

Meanwhile, officials at Mary Immaculate Health/Care Services, a nursing home that sits on the banks of the Spicket River, had set up two five-foot berms to keep the floodwaters from breaching the facility. But as the unrelenting deluge continued, the Spicket rose another foot, drowning out any hopes that the berms might hold.

In the early morning hours of May 16^th, the berms gave in to the overflowing river. As the floodwaters inundated the nursing home, rising up the elevator shaft to the first floor, officials ordered an emergency evacuation. The water also flooded the road leading up to the home, making it impassable.

The main issue then became how to evacuate and safely transport Mary Immaculate's 245 mostly elderly residents.

Kathleen Bouchard, who was on duty that day at the Patriot Ambulance dispatch center in Chelmsford, describes what happened next.

"They decided at the last minute when the sandbags weren't working that they needed to evacuate - so we had to very quickly ensure we had the staffing and trucks in place to evacuate and transport the residents. It was very involved," she says.

As ambulances lined up on a street nearby the nursing home, National Guardsmen, first responders and emergency transport crews converged on the scene to help. A makeshift road was built along the back entrance of the home and then the delicate task of transporting the frail residents began. Rescuers waded through knee-deep water, floating many of the residents out to dry ground and waiting vehicles in waterproof laundry bins.

While evacuating the residents to safety was a team effort on the part of all who responded on that day - Donald Girard, who nominated Kathleen for the PSAPs' Finest award, lauds Kathleen's contribution. "During the evacuation, Kathleen took charge to insure that all the trucks and equipment needed was in place. She managed to keep track of all 245 patients as they were safely transported to hospitals, and other nursing homes and care facilities."

Just before 5pm on Tuesday, May 16^th the last of the Mary Immaculate residents was evacuated to safety. When all was said and done, all 245 displaced residents had been shuttled out of the flood zone to safe havens in 30 nearby cities, without incident or injury.

"Kathleen did an outstanding job of coaching her fellow dispatchers and keeping control in a high intensity incident," says Girard. "She is a leader and without her knowledge on that day, it could have all gone wrong."

"I'm flattered," Kathleen says. "But honestly I was just doing my job as I would on any other day."

Beyond humility, Kathleen embodies another quality that is the cornerstone not only of Patriot Ambulance, but of many who are called to the profession of public safety: teamwork.

When asked how she felt about receiving the PSAPs' Finest award, Kathleen, is quick to share the recognition. "I would like to recognize all the crews who had the demanding job of getting the residents to safety - and then later relocating them to more permanent locations while the nursing home was closed for repairs," she says. "I would also like to acknowledge my fellow dispatchers. I think they do an incredible job and deserve credit as well."

Learn more about the 2007 PSAPs' Finest Award Program recipients.

CLICK HERE to visit the Insight 2007 PSAPs' Finest web page and view video stories for each of this year's winners.

CLICK HERE to read the announcement of the 2007 PSAPs' Finest winners.

CLICK HERE to view dramatic images of the Lawrence, MA flood of 2006.