Woodbridge Native, Now Rescue Paramedic For FDNY, Honored

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Woodbridge native Ashley Heintjes just received Columbia Southern University’s (CSU) 2025 Outstanding EMS Professional of the Year.

May 18-24 was National EMS Week in the United States.

Heintjes currently lives in New York City, where she works as a rescue paramedic for the New York City Fire Department.

She grew up in Woodbridge and never planned to become a paramedic or EMT. However, her life changed when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago.

"I needed to adjust my life to make sure I could get her to her treatments," she said. "The community college I was attending at the time was offering an emergency medical technician class in the evenings. I initially thought of it as a bridge semester, but I immediately fell in love with the profession and haven’t looked back."

Since being hired by the FDNY, Heintjes has been nominated many times for the EMS Professional of the Year award.

“Of the many things I’ve learned, this may be the most important: Empathy, compassion and advocacy are universal. They transcend language, religion, race, sex, gender, culture and creed. Meeting your patient on the most basic level of one human being caring for another lays the foundation for their care experience,” she said.

"To be honest, I have found myself at the mercy of imposter syndrome before wondering if I was really making a difference or contributing to our field, like many other members of the EMS community," she said. "For this reason, to have been nominated for this award by my peers is truly its own reward. I would not be the paramedic I am today without the guidance and support of my family, mentors and partners.”

Columbia Southern University is an online university that was established to provide an alternative to the traditional university experience. CSU offers online associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees such as emergency medical services administration, emergency management, fire administration and occupational safety and health.