Politics & Government
The East Haddam Ambulance Association Reports an Increase in Volunteers
A new ambulance and an increase in volunteer participation were among the items discussed at the annual meeting.
The annual East Haddam Ambulance Association meeting was held on Tuesday evening, July 12th, at the East Haddam Firehouse, Company #1, located at 440 Town Street in East Haddam. It was held in conjunction with the regular monthly meeting.
Members met to discuss their 2010-2011 profits and losses as well as their projected budget for the upcoming 2012 year.
The association reported that the yearly expenses came out under budget and that they had a very low mutual-aid request rate for the year, attributed to an increased number of volunteers, which enabled a better ability to respond to emergency calls in general.
EHAA President Chris James said, "It may be attributed (in part) to the new 'Incentive Program' that was put into place about a year ago, which may have generated a better response from people wanting to volunteer."
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A new board member, Stephanie Pare, was elected at the meeting and welcomed to the team for a 3-year term. Laurie Neudecker and Xenia Coulter were also re-elected for the Board of Directors.
The new ambulance, a recently-purchased 4-wheel-drive Dodge Ram-4500, is set up with state-of-the-art radio and medical equipment. Also on board is an 'electric stretcher,' which is extremely helpful when needing to move and transport heavier or obese patients, and has the capacity to handle up to 700 lbs. of weight.
James would like to remind all East Haddam residents about the importance of having their home addresses clearly posted in case of any emergency, whether it be medical, police or fire.
Two key factors in ensuring your home address is clearly posted are visibility and size. On roadside mailboxes, for example, numbers should be reflective and a minimum of three inches in a simple, easy to read block script in a contrasting color to the mailbox. On a building, numbers should be larger, around 4-5 inches in size and be located in a spot where they are not obscured by a flag or other decorative accent.
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Any resident that would be interested in becoming a volunteer with the East Haddam Ambulance Association may contact Chief of Operations, Dean Anderson, at 860-208-7886. More information is available on their website. An online application for membership can also be found on the site.
The East Haddam Ambulance Association was founded in 1968 by a handful of townspeople, according to their website, and the ambulance responded to 86 calls in that first year.
