Steamboat Springs — Six weeks after starting his job as an emergency room technician at Yampa Valley Medical Center, Bret Martin was called to serve.

The Wyoming National Guard medic was deployed to Saratoga, Wyoming, in May to help with spring flooding. Martin was given 12 hours notice and was then gone for eight days. His unit placed 27,000 pounds of sandbags.

Even though the YVMC emergency room was understaffed, Emergency Department Director Paula Golden was supportive of Martin’s service and found a way to make it work.

For that, Golden was presented with the Patriot Award Wednesday at YVMC.

“The support that my immediate supervisor and the entire hospital have shown me has been absolutely amazing,” Martin wrote in the nomination. “My wife is also a nurse at the same hospital, and they have been so supportive of her, as well. Truly a great patriotic employer.”

The Patriot Award is given by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an all-volunteer agency under the United States Department of Defense that was founded in 1972. The organization’s mission is to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee’s military commitment.

Steamboat Springs rancher Jim Stanko is the area coordinator for the organization.

In 2014, Routt County Sheriff Garrett Wiggins was presented with the Patriot Award.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247, email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @SBTStensland