NEWS
September 20, 2007 First Annual PA EMS 911 Event Members of Mon Valley EMS attended the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania’s Annual PA EMS 911 Event held at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey / Harrisburg. This event was the first of its kind designed to recognize the importance of emergency services and the heroic efforts of this industry. The dinner was an opportunity for providers in Pennsylvania to honor their “heroes”. MVEMS staff had a wonderful evening with others from the EMS industry across Pennsylvania and celebrity guest speaker Randolph Mantooth, who is widely recognized for his portrayal of Los Angeles County Firefighter / Paramedic “Johnny Gage” on the 1970s NBC TV series “Emergency”. In the years since the show R Mantooth has maintained close ties with fire service and EMS professionals. He appears as a motivational speaker at fire, EMS, and 911 conferences all across the country. With this event, State Legislation has been introduced designating either September 11th or 12th as “Pennsylvania Emergency Responders Day”. Staff attending this event were Lil Farquhar, Chris Hepple, Bill Hess, Bernard Johnson, Randy Margarcelli, Ranelle Poziviak, Chad Williams, and Linda Zidek
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April 17, 2007 April 17, 2007 was just another day in the community. It quickly turned into a day that many people will never forget. On April 17, 2007 Donna Vesely was attending a wake for a friend at the Croation Home in Monessen. She was about to say a few words about her friend when she suddenly and without warning collapsed. Donna had a guardian angel arrive at her side very quickly, who knew CPR and took control of the scene. She assessed Donna for pulse and breathing and finding none, immediately started CPR. Heather Cordero was Donna’s guardian angel and Donna’s heart beat at this time. The call went out to emergency services and the police responded. Officer Jim Smith arrived to find Donna on the floor and Heather doing compressions. He assisted Heather for a few minutes, while waiting for EMS to arrive. Donna suddenly began to breathe on her own and her pulse returned. Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services Crew arrived and took control medical treatment for Donna. Terry Foster was the Paramedic and Russell Morgan was the EMT. They quickly got Donna ready for transport and on her way to Monongahela Valley Hospital, where she was quickly assessed and then confirmed that she had a brain aneurysm. She was flown to Mercy hospital for continuing care. Because of the quick care she received by Heather and Officer Smith and the EMS crew, Mon Valley Hospital and Mercy Hospital. Donna has made a surprising and full recovery. It is the opinion of Officer Smith that the action taken by Heather saved Donna Vesely’s life. For their life saving efforts Mon Valley EMS awarded the Silver Star Award to both Heather and Officer Smith at the Monessen Council meeting May 23, 2007. The Silver Star is awarded to an individual for providing a significant act of pre-hospital care that prevented the loss of life or injury of a resident within the community. William Hess, Administrator and Randy Margarcelli, Operations Manager, presented the awards to Heather and Officer Smith and thanked them for their quick thinking and administering CPR to a prominent Monessen resident and should be proud to have helped save a life. Mon Valley EMS is proud to present this Award to people who assist helping the sick or injured in our community.
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November 15, 2006 Topic: Founding Mon Valley EMS Member Honored at the 32nd. EMSI Banquet Mr. Howard “Snag” Paige was recently honored by the Emergency Medical Services Institute with the Responsible Citizen Award at their annual awards banquet held at the Greentree Radison Hotel on November 10, 2006. The Emergency Medical Services Institute is the designated organization by the Pennsylvania Department of Health tasked with oversight of Emergency Medical Services activities in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Emergency Medical Services Institute honored him for his long time commitment to local Emergency Medical Services. Mr. Paige was instrumental in the establishment of Monessen Ambulance Service in 1969. Monessen Ambulance Service was the forerunner of Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services. He remains active with Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services assisting in day-to-day operations. Mr. Paige is a life long resident of the city of Monessen. He is a World War II veteran and retired from Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel. He was married to the late Helen Paige, also of Monessen. He is a very proud father, grandfather and great-grandfather. |
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Director of Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Services visits Mon Valley EMS On November 10 2006, Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services received two very distinguished visitors. Mr. Joseph Schmider, Director of the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services Pennsylvania Department of Health and Mr. Thomas McElree Executive Director of the Emergency Medical Services Institute. Mr. Schmider is responsible for all aspects of Emergency Medical Services in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During their visit they inspected several pieces of specialized apparatus including Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services off road rescue Humvee and new mass casualty trailer. The personal equipment load out for members of the Region 4, Pennsylvania Department of Health Ambulance Strike Team was also inspected. The mass casualty trailer is a 18-foot trailer with enough medical equipment to triage and treat 50 patients. The trailer was purchased by the Region 13 Counter Terrorism Task Force and issued to Westmoreland County. Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services is responsible for housing, upkeep and deployment to mass casualty incidents in the region or state. Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services was chosen for this honor due to their active participation in Region 13. They were also founding members of the Region 4 Pennsylvania Department of Health Strike Team. The team deployed to the Gulf Coast for Hurricane Katrina and was on standby for several other incidents.
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October 7, 2006 On October 7, 2006 Belle Vernon Fire Department set up a chemical drill at the Belle Vernon Sewage Authority. Mon Valley EMS staff assisted the local fire departments and Fayette County Team 900 in operations. There were three victims and one firefighter exposed to the simulated chlorine leak which were decontaminated and treated by Mon Valley EMS.
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| Pictures Coming Soon September 25, 2006 On September 25 and 26, 2006 TSG Associates, a British company, started training Region 13 staff to begin the process of rolling out the SMART Triage System throughout the region over the next few months. To accomplish this task TSG associates asked Mon Valley EMS to send both Bernard Johnson and Randy Margarcelli to assist in training the Region’s trainers. It was known as the word wide tour, with four training sessions over the two days with courses held at the Allegheny County Emergency Operations Center, Jamison Hospital in Lawrence County, Cambria County Emergency Operations Center, and Fayette County Haz Mat Building. MVEMS staff assisted in instruction and coordination of each session. It was well worth the venture being able to spend time with the staff from TSG allowing Bernard Johnson and Randy Margarcelli to expand their mass causality knowledge as well as hone their skills further. The staff of TSG Associates is a wealth of knowledge and experience. These Gentleman would like to remind everyone to look for a future training session close to you and that this new triage equipment should be rolling out from the Region within the next few months.
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Pictures Coming Soon August 31, 2006 A joint disaster drill on August 19, 2006 was conducted between Koppers Industries, City of Monessen Fire Departments #1 & #2, and Mon Valley Emergency Medical Services. This disaster drill featured a simultaneous dual high angle rescue operation within the plant. At 9:00 am the plant simulated a rupture in a coke gas line which caused a small explosion injuring one employee on a smoke stack and a second employee injured on the top level of the bag house. Units from Monessen Fire Departments companies #1 & #2 responded to Koppers to contain the gas leak and assist Mon Valley EMS Team 570 in the rescue operation. The first rescue required responders from both agencies to gain access to the injured employee on a catwalk attached to the smokestack within the plant. Using both the Snorkel and Squirt trucks from the two fire departments, rescue team members and firefighters reached the injured employee. They provided medical care and rigged him into a stokes basket for a lowering operation using the fire department snorkel. The second rescue operation took place simultaneously with the first rescue operation. Members of Team 570 climbed to the top level of the bag house to gain access to the second injured employee who was located on a catwalk. Immediate medical interventions were begun as well as rigging both a hauling and lowering system to remove the employee to ground level. The employee was placed into a SKED and lowered to the ground for waiting fire and medical personnel. After both rescue operations which were concluded in an amazing fifty-minutes, the staff from Koppers Industries, Monessen Fire Departments #1 & #2, and Mon Valley EMS Team 570 conducted an after action review which will assist both City as well as Koppers Officials in the continued development of local response plans. From this after action all parties involved began work on the 2007 Koppers Disaster Drill that will involve operations along the Monongahela River. |
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August 24, 2006 The new name on the road these days is HUMMER®. For the staff at Mon Valley EMS this really is not the case. They have been operating a military model M996A1 HUM-V (HUMMER®) for rescue and paramedic response calls in the Mon Valley since 1998. On Monday August 21, 2006 the first group of employees from Mon Valley EMS received extensive off-road training in the use of this vehicle. This training was made possible through a gracious donation by Mr. Joseph Hardy and the staff at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Nemacolin Woodlands Off-Road Instructors put the Mon Valley EMS staff through their paces on their crown jewel of instructional courses, “The Rock”. The course is designed to demonstrate the capabilities of the Hummer® and introduce MVEMS staff to proper driving techniques. The training took place on Nemacolin Woodlands two-story observation deck as well as behind the wheel of MVEMS’s HUM-V. Some key elements of the driving course included a 60% incline, 40% side slope, vertical steps, water fording, clearance demonstrations, rock crawls and log crossings. These Hum-V operators from MVEMS completed the first stage of their training and will then in the near future proceed to Nemacolin Woodlands famous Crater course. The Crater, is a seven-acre, mile-long course encompassing several water fording ponds, multiple climbs, awkward descents, moguls and much more. The purpose is to challenge the staff of MVEMS in operating their Hummer® during off-road rescue calls when and where ever they may be needed. Throughout this fall, several groups from Mon Valley EMS will begin their training on “The Rock” or will be finishing up their training on “The Crater”. This training will be invaluable to the MVEMS staff. Mon Valley EMS and the staff that participated would like to thank Mr. Joseph Hardy and his knowledgeable staff for an experience of a lifetime, an experience that will enable these individuals to operate the MVEMS Hummer® in any condition or terrain to reach people in need of assistance.
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Members of Mon Valley EMS AST and Rescue Team 570 recently held joint training with Monessen Volunteer Fire Department #2 at the WCCC Public Safety Training site in Smithton. The training centered on the use of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus in various rescue situations. Evolutions included completing a search and rescue simulation in low visibility in a maze and the proper technique for emergency egress from a structure. If this was enough fun for the crew, they completed the training by taking a relaxing walk to the top of a six story structure in full gear and SCBAs. Other they a few aches and pains, everyone made it to the top. Left to right: Sean Whiten EMT Team Member and lead instructor, Nicole Johnson EMT-P Team Member, William Batton Team Member, Justin Santoro Team Member, Ryan Hess Team Member.
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