Alpine resident is
SD Paramedic of the Year
By Mary
Davis
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — San Diego Medical Services Enterprise honored local
Alpine resident Keith Naylor, naming him “Paramedic of the
Year.” Naylor received the award to culminate National EMS Week,
held at the end of May.
Paramedics from around the county were nominated by
their peers, and the top candidates’ names were submitted to a
review committee. The panel examined the 12 finalists’
performance histories, their quality assurance records, and
their relevant accomplishments for the prior year. In the end,
Naylor emerged victorious, garnering the coveted award.
Winning this prestigious award is one thing, but what
makes Naylor’s accomplishment even more incredible is that he’s
been a paramedic for a mere four years, and at 25, is one of the
youngest recipients.
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| Alpine
resident Keith Naylor poses with his Paramedic of The
Year award. He is one of the youngest recipients of this
award. |
Naylor works a floater position, and his assignments can take
him anywhere from Del Mar, to San Ysidro, to La Mesa. He
especially enjoys working pulmonary cases. “That’s where
paramedics can really make a difference (between life and
death), and I get a lot of satisfaction in treating those
patients.”
But Keith isn’t the only Naylor with a penchant for
medicine. Wife Kyrstyn Naylor works as a scheduler, and
previously worked at Grossmont Hospital — a location that holds
special meaning for the Naylors.
While many couples can make the claim they met at work,
few have done it in as dramatic a fashion as the Naylors.
“Kyrstyn was in a room giving chest compressions to a
critically-ill patient. I was in the doorway watching her,”
Keith said.
Kyrstyn continued the story. “Afterwards, Keith came up
and started talking to me, and I was really not in the mood … I
was hot and sweaty and not interested in meeting someone right
at that moment.”
Little did they know that particular moment would
change the course of their lives. Now married for a year, the
couple is expecting twins in December.
Keith is a lifelong east county resident, born in El
Cajon and raised in Alpine. He played lacrosse and water polo in
high school. He also raced quads, a sport at which he excelled,
and earned him a “Rookie of the Year” award.
Some people seem to have a natural calling in their
lives, and Keith appears to be one of them. As an Eagle Scout in
Alpine’s Troop #105, Keith was involved in a rescue operation
during a desert outing.
On a trip to Lake Powell, a man was trying to make it
down a steep dune, and it collapsed under him. The man became
buried under a vast amount of sand, and 15-year-old Keith
valiantly dug him out.
Keith then organized a human chain to get the man back
up the terrain in order to receive medical attention. Although
the man later succumbed to his injuries, Keith was awarded a
heroism award from the Boy Scouts.
Keith’s mom, Silvia Naylor, said, “From a young age,
Keith always had a level head, and liked to help people.”
Traits like that are no doubt what earned Keith his
award, and Alpine residents are lucky to be able to call him
‘neighbor.’
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