Paramedic Unit News

Click here to view HISTORY OF A MEDIC

Learn the origin of the "Medic."

In 1966, the American College of Emergency Physicians revealed a study on
accidental death and disability that showed a person had a better chance of
survival in a combat zone in Vietnam than on the average city street.

Click here to view EMS: A COMMUNITY EFFORT

Consider a career as an EMT or Paramedic.

January 2010

2009 Year End Stats

Total Calls For Service for 2009:  6477. That is up over 3% from 2008's 6265 calls for service.

 

A special thanks to Paramedic Robert Lutz for his compilation of the year end data.

**all data collected in unscientific data due to uncontrolled variables.

July 2009

Appointment

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Diona Jennetti on her appointment to a full-time position with the unit. Diona has previously worked for a commercial ambulance service as well as the City of Batavia Fire Department. She holds several instructor statuses and will be a great addition to the unit

June 2009

Appointment

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Christopher Mitchell on his appointment to a full-time position with the unit. Christopher has previously worked for commercial ambulance services. He was the recipient of Thomas F. Proctor III Memorial Award for Professional Conduct in 2007.

May 2009

Appointment

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Kyle Bates on his appointment to a full-time position with the unit. Kyle has been a part-time member of the unit since September of 2008. He will be an asset to the unit as an instructor in various courses.

Boys Who Called 9-1-1 to Save Their Father Meet Dispatcher

    March 24th was just an ordinary day for the Kreiger boys, Cole, 6 and CJ, 8. They had come home from school and were just "hanging out" with their father while their mother went to the store. Then, suddenly, their father had a seizure and collapsed to the kitchen floor. They knew that they had to do something fast. Cole got the phone and dialed 9-1-1 while CJ stayed with their father and told Cole what to say. The 9-1-1 call was received by Public Safety Dispatcher Kristine Wohlleben at the Town of Tonawanda Communications Center. "The boys did a great job by calling 9-1-1 and giving information about their father's condition." said Dispatcher Wohlleben. The paramedics responded, provided advanced life support and transported Mr. Kreiger to a local hospital. Chris and Melissa Kreiger are very proud of their boys.
    When Mr. Krieger returned from the hospital, the boys had plenty of questions regarding their call to 9-1-1. They wanted to know where the call went and who they spoke with. On May 30th, arrangements were made in conjunction with the Paramedic Unit and the Communications Center for the boys to meet Dispatcher Wohlleben, tour the Communication Center and get a closer look at the Paramedic Response Vehicle and equipment.

           
Click on photo for larger image

April 2009

Retirement

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Kent Hixon on his retirement from the unit in April. Kent has served the residents of the Town of Tonawanda since 1976. We wish him all the best of luck in his retirement.

2008 Stats

Total Calls For Service for 2008:  6265 that is up over 2% from 2007's 6122 calls for service.

 

A special thanks to Paramedic Robert Lutz for his compilation of the year end data.

**all data collected in unscientific data due to uncontrolled variables.

September 2008

Appointment

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Kyle Bates on his appointment to a part-time position with the Unit in September. Kyle has a background of 19 years in EMS. He's worked for a commercial ambulance service for several years as well as an air-medical service. We wish him all the best of luck in his new position.

August 2008

Carly's Crossing '08

Carly's Crossing is an open-water swimming event fundraiser for pediatric cancer research and patient programs at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Joe Zwierzchowski, a family friend of Carly and lifelong swimmer, envisioned Carly's Crossing in 2003 as a tribute to her. Every year the Town of Tonawanda Paramedics and their Medical Director, Dr. Joseph Takats III volunteer their time as medical support for the safety of the swimmers and other participants. See pictures from the event here.

National Night Out - August 5th

The Town of Tonawanda hosted the 25th National Night Out held at Lincoln Arena on Tuesday August 5th from 6PM-9PM.

The annual NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is designed to:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;

• Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs;

• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and

• Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Last year's National Night Out campaign involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 10,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In all, over 34 million people participated in NNO 2007.

The 25th National Night Out had a change in venue which proved beneficial when rains threatened to end the event early.

     

     

     
The Town of Tonawanda Police, SWAT Team, Paramedics, Animal Control and S.P.C.A.
 displayed their equipment and were available to answer questions from the public.

May 2008

Appointment

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Matthew De Rose on his appointment to a full-time position with the Unit in May. Matt brings an excellent EMS background and has worked in Emergency Medical Services for 12 Years. We wish him all the best of luck in his new position.

March 2008
Special Birthday

    Last March, the Tuttle Family has a surprise delivery and it did not come from the postal service. Braedan Rohan Tuttle decided he could wait no longer to be born. 911 was called and help arrived. Paramedic Scott McDonald along with the assistance of the Kenmore Volunteer Fire Department delivered Braedan at home. The Tuttle Family asked Scott to stop by Braedan's 1st birthday party to help celebrate.

Retirement

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Paramedic Wayne P. Busch on his retirement after 34 years with the unit. Wayne was one of the original medics when the unit was formed in 1974. We all wish him the best in his retirement.

February 2008

Appointment

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Matthew De Rose on his appointment to a part-time position with the Unit. Matt brings an excellent EMS background and has worked for a commercial ambulance service for several years. We wish him all the best of luck in his new position.

August 2007

Carly's Crossing '07

Carly's Crossing is an open-water swimming event fundraiser for pediatric cancer research and patient programs at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Joe Zwierzchowski, a family friend of Carly and lifelong swimmer, envisioned Carly's Crossing in 2003 as a tribute to her. Every year the Town of Tonawanda Paramedics and their Medical Director, Dr. Joseph Takats III volunteer their time as medical support for the safety of the swimmers and other participants. See pictures from the event here.

August 2007

Unit Losing Valuable Member

    Paramedic Sean Hulsman will be leaving his fulltime position with the Unit this month to follow a career in teaching. Sean has had a long desire to teach and will be teaching Earth Science at a local high school. He was the original webmaster of the Unit's official website as well as contributing photographer and reporter. His own website http://www.coolearthscience.com/ explores the exciting and fascinating science of our planet! His rather large shoes will be hard to fill. "Mr. Hulsman," as he will now be referred to, has been with the Unit for 5 years and will remain as a part-time paramedic. We all wish him the best of luck on his new career.

August 2007

Appointment

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Kristian Rutenkroger on his appointment to a fulltime position with the Unit this month. Kristian Rutenkroger was appointed to a part-time position a few months ago, but with the departure of Sean Hulsman will fill Sean's spot on the fulltime roster. Kristian brings an excellent EMS background and has worked for local private ambulance services for several years. We wish him all the best of luck in his new position.

August  2007

National Night Out - August 7th

The Town of Tonawanda is hosting the 24th National Night Out to be held at Hoover School on Tuesday August 7th from 6PM-9PM. Come join your neighbors!

Put your porch lights on to show all that we are united in keeping our town a safe place to live, work, and play!

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is designed to:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;

• Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs;

• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and

• Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Last year's National Night Out campaign involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 10,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In all, over 34 million people participated in NNO 2006.

The 24th National Night Out started out a bit soggy but rebounded with an all around nice evening. Click here to see pics from the event.

June 2007

Appointments and Promotions

    The Town Paramedics would like to congratulate Jerry Uschold on his promotion to Assistant Chief of Police. Assistant Chief Uschold has served in the department since 1984 and has held several patrol and administrative positions including the rank of Lieutenant and Captain. He is also a member of the Tonawanda Police S.W.A.T. team. We wish him all the best of luck in his new position!

    We would also like to welcome a newcomer to the Paramedic Unit. Kristian Rutenkroger was appointed to a part-time position with the Unit. Kristian brings an excellent EMS background and has worked for local private ambulance services for several years. Currently he is also employed by Rural / Metro Ambulance. We are confident that he will compliment our highly experienced and professional roster.

June 2007

Further New Technology

    For the last few months the Paramedic Unit has been piloting a new piece of equipment in the treatment of patients with respiratory distress. The treatment is known as CPAP which is a much easier acronym for “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.”  For those readers who are not impressed by big words and acronyms, the standard English translation is simply “breathing assistance.” Basically the CPAP unit provides extra pressure and high flow oxygen when a patient who is having trouble breathing inhales. This extra pressure helps to open and keep open small airways to facilitate better oxygenation. Our first trials have been extremely successful with patients reporting very rapid relief of their symptoms. We are very glad to have access to this equipment and are proud to continue to offer state-of-the-art treatments to our community.

June 2007

Brighton Field Days Returns

    Brighton Fire Company opened its annual Field Days this week with the customary parade on Friday evening, June 22^nd. The parade included various Town fire company apparatus, marching firefighters, Town Police vehicles and Honor Guard, and of course the Paramedic Truck and Special Operations Trailer. Bike Medics Jon Cinelli and Dave O’Connor joined the parade and patrolled the route as several hundred residents and visitors lined the streets. The Gordon Highlanders and Caledonia Pipes and Drums played traditional bagpipe tunes and several noteworthy public officials also walked with the parade.

    It was a beautiful evening for such an event. The sky was clear, the temperatures were moderate and everyone in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves. The parade showcases the Town’s exceptional emergency responders, and the Field Days raise money to support the Brighton Volunteer Fire Company.