Nancy Brice
At 80 years old, Nancy Brice is like the Energizer Bunny, running circles around everybody she works with, said Kandi Nassy, fellow Karns City Regional Ambulance board member.
She was nominated as a Hometown Hero by the Chicora/East Brady Rotary.
A resident of Petrolia, Brice works two full-time jobs as a paramedic at Clarion Hospital Ambulance and Karns City, supports the Karns City Regional Ambulance board as a member and teaches courses including first-aid.
If that weren’t enough, Brice runs her own farm with around a dozen cattle, pigs and more than 100 chickens, said her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Blair, a former EMT who Brice helped train.
Brice, who received awards of recognition from the state Senate and House and Butler County last year, said she has 44 years of experience in the field.
“It seemed like a good, wholesome, healthy area to get into,” Brice said between shifts in an empty ambulance, on her way to transport a patient. “To help somebody has its own reward.”
Brice began training as an EMS member after the Butler County Mushroom Farm, also known as Moonlight Mushroom, closed. She raised three children and a niece as a single mother navigating a new career, Blair said.
“Every parent should have something they do that is separate from their children’s lives,” Blair said.
Charles Barnes, Petrolia Volunteer Fire Department fire chief, wrote a letter nominating Brice, and described her as a valuable community member and a critical part of the EMS for years.
Brice helped start the Karns City Ambulance Service in 2018 after seeing a shared need between Petrolia Fire Department and Chicora Fire Department, Nassy said, and volunteers her time to make sure the ambulance service has everything it needs.
When it became obvious the ambulance service would not survive on its own, Brice said she was invited to sit in on negotiations between the two departments.
Brice continues to take part in training courses to improve on her qualifications, Nassy said.
“The fact that she stays so active, you wouldn’t know (her age),” she said.
Working two full-time jobs, Brice is 110% dedicated to the field, Blair said. When the Karns City station is understaffed, she said her mother-in-law will stay on for an extra shift.
Brice described the work as “self-rewarding,” though the field is struggling amid an EMS crisis.
“We need more people, there’s no question about it,” she said, and noted more education among staff and community members could help spark ideas on how to prioritize which EMS calls lead to hospital visits.
Blair said her mother-in-law’s passion for the job is only matched by her compassion.
“She’s very caring,” Blair said. “I have seen her cry with patients, I have seen her laugh with patients … she’s very compassionate and she transfers that compassion onto her patients.”
The people are Brice’s favorite part of her job, she said. For someone to break into the field, Brice said, they need to care.
“Everywhere we go, we get to see people at their best and at their worst,” Brice said.
Her compassion and her dedication to her service are expressed every time Brice receives a call as a paramedic, Blair said.
“There was a lady in Chicora we were called to who had a brain aneurysm, and my mother-in-law sat on the couch with her and cried until we transported her,” Blair said.
She has a way with her patients that makes them feel more at ease, Blair said.
