In celebration of National Emergency Medical Service (EMS) week, Steward Health Care hosted the second annual EMS Stewards of the Community Award ceremony on May 22 at the Tirrell Room in Quincy. Boston-based Steward, which operates nine hospitals across Massachusetts, recognized 22 EMS providers, including Boston EMS’ Nicholas Mutter and Kaitlin Joyce for going “above and beyond” in their interactions with patients at Carney Hospital.

“EMS providers are unsung heroes on the front lines in the battle against illness and injury,” said interim President Tom Sands, who presented the award to Nick and Kaitlin. “We are immensely proud to honor their hard work and commitment to quality care with these annual awards.”

The “EMS Stewards of the Community” awards show appreciation for emergency medical responders, emergency medical technicians and advanced emergency medical technicians, and paramedics who not only carry out the noble work of caring for others, but do so with a high degree of expertise, professionalism, and compassion. An internal committee of physicians and EMS Directors selected recipients among current providers in communities served by Steward.

Mike Timlin, former Red Sox relief pitcher and four-time World Series Champion, delivered the “Stewards of the Community” keynote address, sharing his first-hand account of being present at the open air concert in Las Vegas last October where a gunman fired 1,100 rounds from his hotel window into the crowd, killing 58 people and wounding 851. Timlin recounted the heroic efforts of the EMS responders and how seamlessly they worked together to save lives in a moment of crisis.

“If it weren’t for first responders like those being honored tonight, many more people would have lost their lives that night,” said Timlin, “These courageous men and women willingly rush into dangerous situations every day – they are truly heroes.”