They return home physically weary, often with blood staining their shoes and tragic images of human heartache and trauma burned into their minds.

It may sound overly dramatic, but for the dozens of highly-skilled volunteers that dedicate their time to Montezuma County’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS), it is reality. This is National EMS Week, a time for the community to commemorate the commitment and selfless nature of these unsung heroes who deserve more recognition for the lives they help to save. This year the focus is on prevention, the utopian cure-all for the majority of accidents, which happen in rural areas more frequently than in urban areas.

"It is a time to honor them and tell them thanks for all they do for us," said Randy Smith, director and instructor for the EMS programs at San Juan Vo-Tech. "This week we want to make people aware of how they can be safer in their everyday lives."

Parents and their children are encouraged to attend Pediatric Trauma Prevention booths and activities from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at Parque de Vida. The event features the children’s jungle mobile, an interactive injury-prevention learning tool that guides participants through different safety orientated lessons in a sort of makeshift jungle environment.

"First the kids are given seven safety lessons and then go inside to the jungle mobile for the interactive portion, where there are more hands-on lessons to be learned with some using computer CD ROMS," said Lori Cooper, director of the Montezuma County Health Department.

The curriculum includes courses on water safety, falls, bike and pedestrian safety, seatbelt use, what to do in an emergency and fire safety. The free event takes a proactive approach to dealing with the challenges rural areas face in health care.

The death rate from accidental injuries in most rural areas is more than twice the rate for the larger cities, according to the American College of Surgeons. Their studies show that almost two out of every three deaths involving motor vehicles occur in rural areas. In addition, statistics show that trauma is the number one killer of children under the age of 14, causing more than 10,000 deaths per year. Eighty percent of deaths for those between the ages of 15 and 24 are also trauma related, according to the surgeon group.

Responding at a moment’s notice in cooperation with area fire districts, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), First Responders and paramedics are an essential component of what is known as the "Golden Hour" of medical-rescue operations — the time-frame from impact to the operating room that gives a critically-injured patient the best chance of survival and recovery.

Smaller towns especially rely on that volunteer commitment because they lack the tax base to pay for emergency technicians, Smith said. But because of a high "burn out" rate from the emotional burden of experiencing human tragedy first-hand and the time commitment required for EMS volunteers, recruitment is still a priority.

"We could always use more volunteers because retention is on the decline," Smith said. "Without volunteers here there would be no EMS system, and because of the stress involved, the meetings, and yearly training we always need to have a fresh group ready and trained to back-up our veterans when they need a break."

The web of volunteer rescue-personnel and EMT’s that cover the front lines of a serious accident or medical emergency provides a needed safety net for the community, so take time out to show appreciation for a job well done.

"If you run across one of these people, shake their hand and give them a pat on the back because here we rely on our volunteers," said Kent Lindsay, an EMS volunteer with the Cortez Fire District and a Montezuma County Commissioner. "We get up at all hours of the night and day to do this, and it can get pretty tough; you see a lot of hardship, but there are a lot of rewards too.