BY BRIANNE RICH
Emergency Medical Services Week is a time to recognize the daily efforts of the community’s EMS providers, which include local ambulance services, fire departments and 911 dispatch center personnel.
They attend training continually, keeping their lifesaving skills current with the latest innovations in emergency medicine.
• Capt. Michael Maak is a paramedic and 22-year veteran of the Medina Fire Department
“EMS is a vital public service and we (the Medina Fire Department) are proud of the service we are providing for the community,” Maak said.
“We have been providing services to the Village of Medina and surrounding communities as first responders since 1984, and we have been providing paramedic ambulance services to all of Orleans County since July 2007,” he said. “We have handled all of the calls we have received — some good and some bad. Last year, we had two saves after (providing) CPR; that was a great feeling.”
First Responders from Albion, Barre, East Shelby, F-M-H (Hulberton), Lyndonville, Ridgeway, and Shelby fire companies respond to 911 emergencies in their local communities and provide emergency medical services until the paramedics or ambulance arrives. These first responders are volunteers who contribute their free time to learning lifesaving skills for the benefit of their communities.
• Central Orleans Volunteer Ambulance Inc. of Albion provides emergency ambulance services to Albion, Barre and Carlton. Administrator Sue Behrend said COVA has served the community as a non-profit organization since 1979. The company is supported by “donations and third-party billing” for their services.
COVA has approximately 50 members. Some are paid, but most are volunteer. “We pride ourselves in our good working relationship with our neighboring agencies.” Behrend said.
Stan Farone, one of COVA’s founding members, was honored for the “years of dedications” he has provided to COVA. He founded COVA along with five or six other people, in 1979 to fill a need in the communities of Albion, Barre and Carlton. Farone reportedly retired from COVA in April.
“I want to spend more time with my wife and travel, but I will still volunteer for COVA from time to time,” he said.
• Mercy Flight Inc. provides emergency air ambulance service to Western New York with its five helicopters based in Buffalo, Batavia and Olean. Established in 1981, the service has flown more than 17,000 patient missions in the past 27 years.
The helicopters are staffed with a pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic.
“We fly about 700 missions per year. Summer is our busiest season,” said flight nurse Anne Hedges-Creighton from the Batavia base.
• The Orleans County E-911 communications center is staffed by 12 public safety dispatchers who provide police, fire and emergency medical dispatch services for the entire county. These dispatchers handle all of the 911 calls in Orleans County and communicate with all of the Orleans County sheriff’s deputies, local police officers, fire departments, ambulance services and all state and federal police and homeland security agencies. The dispatchers are all trained and certified in medical dispatching procedures, as well as police and fire dispatching procedures. They attend continuing education training every month. In 2008, the E-911 communications center handled approximately 25,000 emergency 911 calls.
All of these agencies work together in unison to provide the residents of Orleans County with emergency medical services every time 911 is called. Whether they are paid or volunteer, these professionals dedicate their lives to saving our lives.
Local News
June 3, 2009
HELP: Emergency responders honored for hard work, dedication.
- Local News
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Market on Main will offer fresh produce, baked goods
Medina’s Main Street has more than its fair share of spots to pick up prepared food, but starting this summer there will be a place to buy artisanal bread and locally-grown produce.Dave and Bonnie Reigle have operated a produce stand on their Ridge Road farm for 17 years. They plan to open Reigle’s Market on Main in the former Whole Nine Yards and be open year-round as a bakery and produce store.
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Lyndonville BoE approves budget propositions
The Lyndonville Board of Education approved the four propositions district residents will vote on May 15, including the school’s $12,964,687 budget.The 2012-13 budget decreases spending by 1.28 percent, but the property tax levy will rise by 1.95 percent to $4,620,374. The estimated property tax rate is $18.40, an increase of 1.38 percent and a bump of a quarter for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
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Medina BoE OK's budgets for May 15 vote
Medina Central School District residents will have the option this May to vote for a budget that does not raise the property tax levy next year, but does increase the district’s budget by 1.74 percent.
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Ridgeway sets public hearings
The Ridgeway Town Board will hold two public hearings at its next meeting on May 21.
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Hoag will host STEM summer camp
The Hoag Library in Albion isn’t set to open until the weekend after Independence Day, but preparations are well underway for a two-week summer camp for a select group of Albion students.
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Growing like a weed
The Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s Home and Garden Show had a new home this year, and a record crowd came out to Knowlesville for helpful advice, information about local businesses and organizations, and a wide range of activities, promotions and giveaways.
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Village budget talks continue
Medina’s 2012-13 budget is coming together at a series of meetings between department heads and village board members that largely focus on projected spending plans and areas where cuts can be made and additional revenue can be found.The board met Monday with Police Chief Jose Avila, who said his department budget will be less than the current year despite increasing salaries and associated benefits.
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Hoag Library era nears in Albion
The transition of Albion's long-time library to a modern South Main Street facility is quickly approaching, which had the Swan Library Board of Trustees discussing the closing of the current library in early June, a month of movement and plans to resume service at the new Hoag Library on the day after the facility's July 7 grand opening at their Wednesday meeting.
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Pillars hosting Titanic evening
The extravagant experience that the high-class passengers enjoyed on the first and final voyage of the RMS Titanic will be replicated in a dinner at The Pillars Estate’s new ballroom this weekend.The Pillars echoes the luxury liner’s grand staircase and chandelier, with historic touches throughout the restored County House Road mansion’s ballroom.
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Shelby formalizes reserve funds
The Town of Shelby has had a highway equipment reserve fund for as long as Supervisor Skip Draper can remember, but to be safe the town board formally created the fund and other others Tuesday.Draper said the origins of the town’s long-standing funds, used to prepare for large expenses and avoid a yo-yo-ing budget, were questioned in an audit of the town’s finances.
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