Dave Doebler introduced Mike Catalano and Chief Tim Wood from the Newark Arcadia Volunteer Ambulance Service last week.
Opening and Invocation led by Pat Albrecht
Wellness Report – Elsie Dedrick - cancer diagnosis, Bob and Jean Bendix - home with COVID
Guests: Luis Barbosa - exchange student
Snapple Facts:
- Elephants are capable of swimming up to 20 miles per day
- Children grow faster during spring time
- There are 21 “secret” highways in the interstate highway system. They are not identified as such by road signs
- All scorpions glow
- Cats can hear ultrasound
- Frogs never drink
Announcements:
- Camp ONSEYAWA annual dinner at Club 86 on Friday, Nov. 10th at 5:30 pm. Raffle tickets will be sold beginning next week
- Camp ONSEYAWA fall clean up at Camp Whitman at 9:00 am on Saturday, Oct 14th. See Gary Reilly if you are able to lend a hand.
- Service Above Self on Thursday, Oct. 26th - nominations are due by 10/5.
Happy Moments:
- Had a good time on their cruise - unfortunately came home with COVID
- Josh McCrossen - he and his wife spent 4 days at the Glenn Iris Inn - had a wonderful time
- We video taped a “Happy Birthday” for Andrea Malach, our outbound exchange student in Denmark.
Queen of Hearts. Evie Taylor did not pick the Queen - the pot continues to grow.
Program: Dave Doebler introduced our guests: Mike Catalano and Chief Tim Wood from the Newark Arcadia Volunteer Ambulance Service.
Mike Catalano - President of the NAVA Board of Directors: Mike grew up in Gates, NY and currently lives in Newark with his wife and family. After graduation Mike joined the Navy where he served for 21 years, both active and reserves. Involved in public safety for 31 years, Mike began at the Chili Fire Department where he volunteered for 13 years as a dispatcher, fire fighter and EMT. He has worked at Monroe Ambulance for over 30 years and came to Newark Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in 2012 as the project manager.
Chief Tim Wood has been a part of the public safety profession all of his life. He started as an explorer at Gates Volunteer Ambulance and Monroe Ambulance at the age of 14. Tim is an EMT with many years of experience and a registered AHA instructor in CPR/BLS (Basic Life Support). He has served in many supervisory roles throughout his career, including Monroe Ambulance and The University of Rochester. Tim resides in Williamson with his wife, who is also a volunteer with NAVA.
NAVA began operations as a community based volunteer agency on July 1, 1977 to provide the Newark/Arcadia area with better levels of service and faster response times than what was offered prior to that time. NAVA was created through the efforts of three nurses from the Newark Wayne Community Hospital who felt that the community needed access to the higher levels of pre-hospital emergency care.
NAVA’s call volume has increased over the years from approximately 800 in 1977 to the present level of nearly 2900 calls per year. NAVA has changed a lot since its first days and continues to progress by keeping pace with the latest in technology and emergency care procedures.
Even though the word “volunteer” is part of their name, they are employees and are paid. There are 9 full time positions, 5 part time positions and some volunteers. There are 2 ambulances and 1 emergency response vehicle. The average response time is under 7 minutes - the national average is 14 minutes. They are certified in Basic Life Support (BLS) - rather than Advanced Life Support (ALS). If ALS is required they must call out for another unit that is classified as ALS. The village does not pay for the services. The annual costs are approximately 600,000 per year.
So what happens when you call an ambulance? 911 call technicians screen what is needed (BLS or ALS) - if a BLS call then they will respond. When billed, the monies go to Newark Arcadia Ambulance Service.
NAVA covers the town of Arcadia and the Village of Newark. Each community service signs a mutual aid agreement to allow them to travel to other communities to help when needed.
- Finger Lakes Ambulance Service is a private operation that is based out of Clifton Springs. They back up all the agencies in Wayne County.
- Any chance if NAVA go back to being an ALS service? Probably no - by going to BLS their costs were reduced dramatically - over $80,000/year.
- Donations are gratefully accepted by sending checks to: Newark Arcadia EMS
A huge thank you to Mike and Chief Tim for their dedication and service to the Town of Arcadia and Village of Newark.
Closing Message: “Be there for others, but never leave yourself behind.” Dodinsky