Dr Deputy

West Central Tribune

Jeff Ho is just like any other average working American. He gets up in the morning, maybe gets a stretch in and puts on his pants one leg at a time.

But when he gets ready to choose exactly what his workday attire will be, Ho makes a decision on whether he’ll wear a lab coat, a deputy uniform or sport jacket.

“I think (my kids) are a little mystified by what Dad actually does,” said Ho, a 40-year-old Minneapolis resident with two young daughters. “Because one day I’ll put on this (sheriff’s deputy) uniform, the next day it will be a pair of scrubs to go to the hospital, the next day it will be a coat and tie to go give a lecture somewhere. So I’m not really sure if they are at an age where they understand that yet.”

Dr. Ho, or Deputy Ho if you prefer, treats patients in Hennepin County Medical Center’s Emergency Room, teaches University of Minnesota medical students, and enforces the laws as a Meeker County sheriff’s deputy.

The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office hired Ho in 2006 after the Dassel Police Department folded and the city contracted with the county for law enforcement. Ho had been an officer for the Dassel department, and before that had been employed by the Renville County Sheriff’s Office. Ho, who wants to continue working in law enforcement but needs a part-time post to accommodate his schedule as a physician, said most law enforcement agencies in the Twin Cities area don’t hire part-time officers.

“Anytime you can have an expert out there, it’s so nice,” said Capt. Brad Lindgren of the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office, referring to Ho’s expertise in Emergency Medical Services. After Ho was hired, Lindgren said it was a “no-brainer” to advise Ho to carry medical tools – such as medications and advanced airway devices – while on patrol.

Lindgren said Ho picks up a shift at least once a month and sometimes up to once a week. And during those hours, Lindgren said, Ho’s medical skills have been appreciated.

“It is very comforting to have him on when there is a medical (call),” said Meeker County Sheriff Mike Hirman. “He was a good find and we’re very glad to have him.”

But how does an ER doctor become a deputy?

For this Orange County, Calif., native, it began with Ho serving as a paramedic with a California fire department while he attended college. Ho went the medical route in a circuitous attempt to honor his parents’ request. Ho said he had wanted to be a police officer since he was young, but his parents would assist him with college financially only if he avoided law enforcement.

“I looked at it as ‘this is kind of a way I can sneak around my parents,’” Ho said.

He began his residency in 1992 at the Hennepin County Medical Center. Looking to “get back on the streets with the paramedics” after his residency, Ho trained to become director of the Hennepin County Medical Center’s Emergency Medical Services.

Since taking this position in 1996, Ho has also instructed University of Minnesota medical students as an associate professor.

“Dr. Ho is one of the most unique and probably talented emergency physicians I am familiar with,” said Dr. Bill Heegaard, assistant chief of emergency medicine at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. “He combines great medical training and knowledge base with a unique experience and knowledge base in EMS, as well as law enforcement.”

Ho said he thinks working both as a doctor and deputy allows him to perform both jobs at a higher, more efficient level. It’s a “unique set of credentials” that is shared only by about six other people in the U.S., Ho said.

Ho said he can’t appreciate his wife and daughters enough for their support, and he still manages to coach soccer teams and wedge in golf games. Ho said he is very precise about scheduling work, making sure not to miss important family events as “they take priority.”

Ho said he won’t slow down until “I start feeling like I’m 80.” Until then, Ho somehow continues to wear three kinds of work pants.

“I wake up every morning and I really look forward to going to work and accomplishing something,” Ho said. “Of the things I’m involved in … I see them as respectable, noble … and that is a great motivator.

“But coffee helps,” Ho added with a chuckle. “Straight espresso.”