As fire chief and nurse, Pritchard has an eye for innovation

Jonathan Pritchard, MN ’10, keeps four vaccine vial caps on his desk as a reminder of why his work matters, and of what’s possible when nurses innovate.

Pritchard, who was named chief of the Cottage Grove Fire Department (CGFD) last December, is proud to be a nurse who’s also a paramedic and firefighter. That combo has enabled him to serve his community in innovative ways — like when he led, as assistant chief, the CGFD to partner with Washington County Public Health and Environment to deliver COVID testing and, eventually, vaccination.

Pritchard never wanted to choose between being a first responder and a career as a nurse — so he didn’t. He embraced both paths early on: his grandmother was a nurse, and an EMT program Pritchard attended in high school — followed by firefighter training after graduation — proved exciting and rewarding. “I fell in love with it and joined a volunteer fire department in the west metro,” he says.

Accepting a job as a hospital ER tech at the same time, Pritchard recalls marveling at the nurses around him. “I was amazed at these nurses, the amount of knowledge they had and literally they could go through the most difficult situations, but then walk to the next room and treat somebody with compassion and love,” Pritchard says. “It’s a science and an art, and they truly embrace that.” 

Pritchard finished his undergraduate degree — in history and sociology — in 2007, then accepted a research job on the Minnesota Heart Study (while also working part time for the Hopkins Fire Department). Pritchard knew he wanted to continue his education, and the U of M’s 16-month Master of Nursing (MN) program, which serves midcareer professionals from non-nursing backgrounds, seemed like a perfect fit. “I like to learn a lot,” Pritchard says. “I want to be continually learning.”

MN cohort’s ‘shared mission’ 

The familial vibe of his 48-person MN cohort affirmed the choice. “You find that bond. When you meet other people who’ve been through the MN program, they’re legit here for the right reasons. It’s that shared mission,” Pritchard says. He completed the MN degree at the end of 2010, and in early 2011 accepted a position at the U of M hospital in the surgical intensive care unit while continuing to work for the Hopkins Fire Department.

There, Pritchard used what he was learning at the U to secure a grant to implement a home safety program. “Fire prevention is really public health, because we’re trying to figure out how to prevent fires, prevent injuries,” he says.

Pritchard found it gratifying to work directly with community members in their homes. “It was this profound revelation, how important that was.”

In 2013 Pritchard accepted a position in the emergency department at St. Paul’s Regions Hospital. His promotion to supervisor in 2015 enabled him to further develop his leadership and mentoring. He moved from Hopkins to Maplewood, to be closer to Regions, and joined the White Bear Lake Fire Department — which has its own ambulance service. “Since I was a nurse and also had my EMT, I got to work in the ambulance. I fell in love with EMS and decided to get my paramedic certification.” 

Innovating on the fly

A tempting opportunity arose in 2019. “I knew some people working in Cottage Grove at the fire department and they were like, ‘Jon, this is the perfect job for you. They’re looking for somebody who wants to be innovative.’” Pritchard was named deputy fire chief of CGFD just months before COVID exploded. 

As the pandemic took hold, “all these testing problems were happening; we all felt helpless. I thought, there has to be something we can do,” Pritchard remembers. “I emailed our city administrator and said we can help with this testing issue. We can train paramedics to do these tests. 

“So we ended up partnering with Washington County Public Health. It took some time, getting funding through the state. But we were able to create a testing team, and we got it up and running in time for the fall 2020 COVID surge. I think we ended up testing over 3,500 people over five weeks,” Pritchard says. “And we had such a great relationship, we ended up helping with their vaccine effort. They were able to give about 50 more doses a day because we had a couple paramedics working with them.” 

When his boss retired last year, Pritchard was named fire chief. “I get paid a lot less than what you can in nursing leadership, but I love this job,” he says. Under his leadership, the department is piloting a new community paramedic program, helping older residents with fall assessments and partnering with the police department to “reach out to folks with mental illness and substance use disorder.” With a seemingly bottomless well of energy, Pritchard still works two shifts a month in the ER at Regions, too.

“I love firefighting and EMS. I love working as a nurse. It’s like these two parallel paths, and I love both of them so much,” says Pritchard. “This is my dream job. Even doing paperwork and budgets, none of it feels mundane —because you’re pushing the mission forward.”