The members of Helderberg Ambulance would like to wish all of the readers of The Altamont Enterprise a wonderful holiday season.

The month of November was snowy, cold, and busy. We had 42 calls last month, which resulted in 28 transports. There were 24 medical calls, 1 trauma, and 3 motor-vehicle incidents. We also did 5 standby calls for the Albany County Sheriff’s Department. There were 26 calls in the town of Berne, 14 calls in the town of Knox, and 2 in the Town of Westerlo.

So far this year, the ambulance squad has responded to 375 calls.

Mass-casualty drill

On Sunday, Nov. 10, the squad had a mass-casualty drill at the Berne-Knox-Westerlo  Central School. We would like to thank the superintendent of schools, Dr. Timothy Mundell, for allowing us to practice a simulated school-bus accident.

Thank you, also, to the 14 students who participated in the drill and to Dave Clark, head mechanic, for providing us with two buses. The squad members learned how to think outside the box when trying to remove injured students from the bus.

2020 officers

At our Dec. 5 meeting, the squad elected the following individuals to lead the squad in 2020:

—Captain: Dave Tiffany;

— Lieutenants: Tom McQuade, Krista Safford, and Neal Hogan;

— President: Alan Zuk;

— Vice president: Randy Bashwinger;

— Secretary: Millie Zuk;

— Treasurer; Beth Jones and her assistant will be Cynthia Johnson; and

— Board of Directors member: Dave Harnett.

Blood drive

Helderberg Ambulance Squad will be hosting an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Cole Hill Station from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you would like to donate, please call the American Red Cross at 1-800- RED CROSS or call 518-458-8111.

It is very important that you pre-register so the American Red Cross supervisors know how many workers to send to the station. If you donate and use the quick check-in, be sure to use the ZIP code for the ambulance bay, which is 12059.

Vial of Life

There are new guidelines for emergency medical technicians and transporting patients to the hospital. We are now required to provide the name of the medication you are taking, the dose, when it is taken, and how you take the medication.

We are asking that, as part of the new year, you take a few minutes to update your medication lists. 

The squad has purchased Vial of Life magnetic files for the front of your refrigerator. If you would like a magnetic file, please call the station and leave a message. The phone number for the station is 518- 872-9111. Do not use this number for a medical emergency. Always use 9-1-1 for an emergency.

Now that winter has officially arrived, we ask that you shovel your walkways so that we can safely get you or a family member out of the house. Our new ambulance with 4-wheel drive has been a great asset this winter.