The month of February was  busy for the Helderberg Ambulance Squad. There were 26 calls during the month. Sixteen calls were medical and 10 were trauma. We continue to be proud of our response time which is 12 minutes from the time the pager goes off to the time we get to the scene. 

Every quarter we send survey letters to those patients who were transported to the hospital. This quarter we are sending out 50 letters. The survey questions include:  Did the crew respond in a timely fashion? Did the crew behave professionally? Was the patient transported safely? Was the patient made as comfortable as possible? Was the crew considerate of the household and family? Did the crew clean up after themselves?

The surveys which have been returned are very favorable. We thank all those who returned the surveys. We are using these results to help the squad continue to offer the best service possible.

George Gebe and Dave Harnett delivered sub sandwiches to the Albany County Highway workers at the Cole Hill Station and at the Township Station. We wanted to show our appreciation for all the times these crews helped us out during inclement weather.

On March 25, there will be a recognition night for Gerald O’Malley for his 45 years of service. 

On Feb. 25, Debra Barnes Breitenbach, from Helderberg Kiwanis, delivered several tote bags to the ambulance bay. These tote bags contain a book, activity book, crayons, and pencils. These tote bags will be given to the parent when we are transporting a child. Debra has packets for young children and children who are in their teens.

The Kiwanis decided to adopt this project because when a youngster is sick, the last thing on the parent’s mind is to bring something for the child to do while waiting for test results. We appreciate all of the work that Debra did in purchasing and putting together these tote bags. 

There will be two American Red Cross Blood Drives in the town of Berne. The first drive will be March 24, at the Berne Reformed Church, and the second drive will be to benefit Jody Sisson on May 1, at the Berne Reformed Church. You can contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767 to set up an appointment.

COVID quiz

COVID has been with us for a year. Here is a true-or-false quiz to see how well you know about COVID:

— The full name for COVID is coronavirus disease 2019.

— Symptoms of COVID include loss of taste and smell, fever, chills, cough.

— A person could have COVID and have no symptoms.

— Once you have had the COVID vaccine, you can still get COVID.

All of the answers are true.

Mask up and stay safe.