HomeShamong Letters & OpinionsLetter to the Editor: Joe Everman

Letter to the Editor: Joe Everman

Deputy Chief Joe Everman writes in his Letter to the Editor a plea for more volunteers.

I am the Deputy Chief of EMS Operations for Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company. I’ve been a part of Emergency Medicine as a volunteer for over 30 years, and I don’t believe that the volunteer spirit in America is dead.

Emergency volunteer agencies across the country are operating with half or less the number of volunteers needed to fully respond to emergencies in their coverage areas. Shamong is no different. New Jersey State Department of Health mandates a licensed ambulance respond with a minimum of two EMT’s to any call. We currently have four Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) trying to carry the load.

That number needs to be closer to 20.

If you are currently EMT certified, we need you now.

Nurses can challenge the written EMT test for certification. We’ll train you. Qualified candidates will attend local 250-hour EMT training programs funded by IMVFC. Others will attend the in-house 56 hour Emergency Medical Responder training prior to going to EMT school.

Membership in Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company (IMVFC) Emergency Medical System (EMS) Brigade requires a minimum commitment of eight hours a week to be available to respond to calls for help to 9-1-1. That’s an average of approximately 35 hours a month.

Life or death situations do happen, but they are very rare. Better than 95 percent of what we do is just helping people when they are hurting and scared.

Please contact me directly.

Joe Everman

Deputy Chief, EMS Operations

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