KY EMS saved man from mamba snakebite. Now, they might get sanctioned | Opinion
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Powell County EMS administered anti-venom during April emergency snakebite call.
- Kentucky EMS board may sanction responders for lacking 'wilderness paramedic' status.
- Zoo officials credit swift EMS action with saving life, urge rule flexibility in emergencies.
It’s not every day that a Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services meeting in Frankfort gets previewed in People magazine.
But the one scheduled for Tuesday morning in Frankfort is high profile because two Powell County paramedics are in trouble for saving a man’s life from a deadly snakebite.
That’s right, and one of the paramedics incidentally, is Powell County Judge Executive Eddie Barnes. He was on duty in his other job as an EMS worker in Stanton back in April when he got a somewhat familiar call from the Kentucky Reptile Zoo in Slade.
The co-director of the zoo, Jim Harrison, had been bitten by a Jameson’s Mamba snake, which is highly toxic. The zoo’s other director, Kristen Wiley, told me, they keep anti-venom on hand and took it to Stanton to meet the ambulance because it requires an IV.
They believed him because they’ve all known each other a long time, and Barnes has helped him before, Wiley said.
Harrison was about to pass out, but told the paramedics what was going to happen — first paralysis, then a heart attack. So they gave him the anti-venom in the helicopter on the way to the University of Kentucky emergency room.
But according to People and Lex18, which first reported the story, two years ago, the statewide EMS board made a rule that said anti-venoms could only be administered by first responders with “wilderness paramedics.”
So they were called in front of the board.
“I was flabbergasted,” Wiley said.
The zoo has anti-venom licensed through the FDA under new drug development, which is very rare. She and Harrison have gotten to know medical personnel at UK and at the Clark Regional Center so they understand these very rare cases that might, and have, come their way.
“I think it pretty likely they saved his life,” Wiley said.
“To me, an emergency situation is when you want someone who can be flexible and respond to what’s in front of them, and that’s exactly what they did. Not, ‘wait, let me check the rules and see if I’m allowed to save your life.’”
Harrison has been bitten before because the zoo routinely extracts venom for medical research.
Harrison and Wiley will be at the hearing if Barnes and his colleague need any supportive testimony.
Neither Judge Barnes nor the state EMS board responded to calls for comment.
Let’s hope some common sense prevails at Tuesday’s hearing.
This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 3:51 PM.
