Kate Boyd Dernocoeur
Since 1979, Kate Dernocoeur, NREMT and firefighter (ret.), has written numerous books, articles, and columns for emergency service personnel. In 1979, she wrote the second cover article for JEMS, and many more followed. She was an active speaker at many EMS conferences for more than 20 years.
Her start in emergency service was with the Vail Mountain Rescue Group (Colorado), and she served with Denver’s famous Paramedic Division from 1979 to 1986. As of 2019, she was an EMT-firefighter for the Ada, Michigan, Fire Department and a SARTECH-II with Kent County SAR’s K9 Unit. She began her work as a medical examiner investigator (MEI) in 2016. Kate coauthored the seminal book for dispatching, Principles of Emergency Medical Dispatch, with Dr. Jeff Clawson, MD (first edition, 1988) and authored A Worthy Expedition: The History of NOLS in 2017.
She was also editor of one of the first online EMS magazines, MERGINet, from 2000–2003. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University’s College of Communication and an MFA in creative writing from Western Michigan University. Her wide-ranging blog, “Generally Write” can be found at www.KateDernocoeur.com. A Colorado native and mountain girl at heart, Kate has been settled in Michigan since 1987.
