2008 Woodie Awards
Volunteers save lives in spare time
Kelly Janis
Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: Local News
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Embedded in the blaring sirens and flashy emblems that whir through the streets of Middlebury is an intricate network of dedication, passion and expertise.
The Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association, the only paramedic service in Addison County, is the ninth-largest ambulance service in Vermont and, with its 60-member roster, the largest volunteer squad in the state. The corps boasts a fleet of four paramedic equipped ambulances and a special rescue apparatus with which it provides emergency medical services, pre-hospital medicine and non-emergency and critical care transfers.
MVAA serves the towns of Middlebury, East Middlebury, Bridport, Shoreham, Orwell, Ripton, Salisbury, Cornwall, Weybridge, Whiting, and New Haven. Those situated within the squad's approximately 400 square mile jurisdiction relish in its proximity. "If you are calling 911 because your friend or relative is injured or sick, you want to know that there is a crew nearby who can be there rather quickly, rather than having to wait on a crew to assemble in Bristol or some place farther away," explained volunteer Annie Davison '08.
The ambulance corps fields approximately 2,000 calls a year, and it is rapidly growing. Scott Supernaw, Chief Operating Officer of the Association, estimates that the volume of calls increases by approximately eight percent each year, a trend he expects to continue. "MVAA has evolved from about a dozen first aid trained community members providing ambulance service, one used ambulance, for a hand full of towns to the organization we are today," Supernaw said. In spite of its mounting success, however, the squad is not immune to hardship.
On June 12, 2006, a MVAA ambulance was traveling on Route 7 in New Haven en route to Fletcher Allen Health Care Center in Burlington when it was struck head-on by a 1998 Subaru driven by Jennifer S. Laughlin, 44, of Castleton. Both vehicles were destroyed. Laughlin, who crossed the center line for reasons unknown, died instantly. The ambulance's five occupants, including a driver, patient, registered nurse and two rescue squad members, suffered assorted injuries.
The Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association, the only paramedic service in Addison County, is the ninth-largest ambulance service in Vermont and, with its 60-member roster, the largest volunteer squad in the state. The corps boasts a fleet of four paramedic equipped ambulances and a special rescue apparatus with which it provides emergency medical services, pre-hospital medicine and non-emergency and critical care transfers.
MVAA serves the towns of Middlebury, East Middlebury, Bridport, Shoreham, Orwell, Ripton, Salisbury, Cornwall, Weybridge, Whiting, and New Haven. Those situated within the squad's approximately 400 square mile jurisdiction relish in its proximity. "If you are calling 911 because your friend or relative is injured or sick, you want to know that there is a crew nearby who can be there rather quickly, rather than having to wait on a crew to assemble in Bristol or some place farther away," explained volunteer Annie Davison '08.
The ambulance corps fields approximately 2,000 calls a year, and it is rapidly growing. Scott Supernaw, Chief Operating Officer of the Association, estimates that the volume of calls increases by approximately eight percent each year, a trend he expects to continue. "MVAA has evolved from about a dozen first aid trained community members providing ambulance service, one used ambulance, for a hand full of towns to the organization we are today," Supernaw said. In spite of its mounting success, however, the squad is not immune to hardship.
On June 12, 2006, a MVAA ambulance was traveling on Route 7 in New Haven en route to Fletcher Allen Health Care Center in Burlington when it was struck head-on by a 1998 Subaru driven by Jennifer S. Laughlin, 44, of Castleton. Both vehicles were destroyed. Laughlin, who crossed the center line for reasons unknown, died instantly. The ambulance's five occupants, including a driver, patient, registered nurse and two rescue squad members, suffered assorted injuries.
Be the first to comment on this story