Royce Eller, Habersham Emergency Medical Technician, has served his community on the frontlines of emergency services since 1974. Throughout his career, he has put the safety of his community before occupational challenges, personal challenges, and the changing landscape of Habersham’s emergency services. Today, he’s protecting frontline workers with personal protective equipment (PPE).
Eller has worked to get Habersham’s emergency services the supplies they need to save lives for the past forty years; during the COVID-19 pandemic, those supplies are more vital than they’ve ever been. Emergency service employees tasked with the safe transport of COVID-19 positive patients need properly fitting PPE to ensure the safety of themselves and their patients. Eller has worked tirelessly to make sure these resources make it into the hands of frontline workers.
“The last thing we want is for any of our employees to come in contact [with the virus] and become COVID positive,” says Habersham Emergency Services Director Chad Black. “He [Eller] has taken all the precautions and done what we’ve asked him to do, and we’ve been extremely fortunate that we’ve not had to quarantine any employee, even with as many patients as we were transporting there for about two to three weeks.”
Of his many achievements in emergency services, one at the forefront of Habersham’s public safety is Eller’s hard work in helping establish Habersham’s ambulance service. He helped take the county from funeral home vehicles to the ambulances and emergency vehicles we see in and around Habersham today. These vehicles are essential to the transport of COVID-19 patients in Habersham, director Black says, recalling a single day in which emergency services transported 13 COVID-19 patients.
Eller has worked his fair share of disasters over the course of his career, including the 1977 Toccoa Falls dam break, which claimed the lives of 39 people. Working on the frontlines during COVID-19 is uncharted territory, but Eller isn’t one to back down from a challenge. No matter what challenges Eller faces, Black says he overcomes them “with a smile.”
“He has seen a lot of change in the emergency services, [and] has taken the changes one step at a time,” says Black. “Most might have thrown in the towel, but not Royce. You can go to any service and bring up the name Royce Eller– everyone has a story of some type to tell about him.”
If you know a Hometown Hero in Northeast Georgia who deserves to be recognized for their efforts in the fight against COVID-19, email [email protected]
