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HomeMy WebLinkAboutS Proclamation Emergency Medical Service Week and Recognition of EMS Agencies’ Achievements S-a�-vim ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A PROCLAMATION EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WEEK May 19 through May 25, 2002 WHEREAS, Governor Michael F. Easley will proclaim the week of May 19 through May 25, 2002 as Emergency Medical Services Week in North Carolina, and WHEREAS, The Emergency Medical Service in Orange County is a complex system involving Telecommunicators, First Responders, Law Enforcement Officers, Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, Nurses, Doctors, Volunteers and Employees of Orange EMS and Rescue Squad, County Staff, the UNC Hospitals Emergency Department, the UNC AirCare program, and various private enterprises, and WHEREAS, The citizens of Orange County benefit daily from the dedicated efforts, knowledge, and skills of this team of emergency services personnel, and WHEREAS, The citizens of Orange County support the emergency services and their efforts to improve the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury, and WHEREAS, The Orange County Board of Commissioners publicly acknowledge their support and appreciation to all the members of the Orange County Emergency Medical Services System, NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim the week of May 19 through May 25, 2002, as EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES WEEK and encourage all citizens of Orange County to continue to support their EMS system. This the 21 st day of May, 2002 Barry Jac air Orang County rd f Commissioners 4 MEMORANDUM To: Rod Visser, Assistant County Manager From: Kent McKenzie, Emergency Medical Services Director Date: April 29, 2002 Re: Recognition of EMS Performance Achievements From time to time, personnel in the Orange County Emergency Medical Service System are privileged to have the opportunity to use their extensive training and equipment to make a real difference in the life of a resident or visitor. In many cases, the caring and compassionate work done by personnel in the system is overlooked. In a few rare instances, individual citizens or visitors provide letters or phone calls expressing their gratitude to specific EMS personnel and to the system at large. Sometimes, by design or providence, personnel are able to revive persons who have suffered complete cardiac and respiratory arrest; that is, people who are clinically dead. A letter from the family of one such person, a young man just 19 years old, was circulated to the BOCC in the recent past. This young man suffered a cardiac arrest just before Christmas of 2000, and Orange County's Emergency Medical Services System was activated. On that chilly December day, telecommunicators, firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, nurses, and physicians within the system were all involved in caring for this young man and his family. As a result of the coordinated work of this professional team, his heartbeat was restored and the young man now has the rest of his life to look forward to. It is important to recognize that while the actions of the specific people who revived this young man did save his life, their actions do not make those individual team members more valuable or honorable than others in the system. All members of the system are capable of providing care that makes a difference in an individual's life, and it is important to recognize all members of Orange County's Emergency Medical Services System. Media coverage of last September's terrorist attacks focused public attention on the specific acts of courage that occurred during responses to those events. Although the public's focus has been on those responders who died doing their jobs, many other admirable acts of courage by emergency services personnel across the country and around the world go unwitnessed and unrecognized every day. During the annual national Emergency Medical Services week, all citizens are encouraged to remember and thank the many personnel who stand in service around the world. To specifically recognize some of the many Emergency Medical Services personnel in Orange County at the BOCC's May 8, 2002 meeting, staff from the county's Department of Emergency Management Services will identify personnel from various EMS system agencies for recognition and for presentation of certificates of appreciation to the agencies. Integral Emergency Medical Services agencies Caldwell Fire Department Carrboro Fire Department Cedar Grove Fire Department Chapel Hill Fire Department Eno Fire Department Hillsborough / Orange Rural Fire Department Mebane Fire Department New Hope Fire Department North Chatham Fire Department Orange County Emergency Management Communications Division Orange County Emergency Management Emergency Medical Services Division Orange EMS & Rescue Squad, Inc. Orange Grove Fire Department University of North Carolina Hospitals White Cross Fire Department As each agency name is called, members of that department will stand and remain standing while a representative coming forward to receive a certificate of appreciation.