Ambulance squad seeks members

vernon-The GlenwoodnPochuck Volunteer Ambulance Squad held its first Open House on Sept. 25 at its corps building located at the intersection of Drew Mountain Road and Route 565. The squad has been in operation for 24 years and covers one fourth of Vernon's 67 square miles responding to an average of 400 calls per year. "We are looking for people, particularly for the day shift and want to let them know that they can respond form home as long as they live between five and seven minuets away," said Taralyn Myers, president of the squad. "They don't have to be sitting here at the squad waiting for a call." The squad has 39 members, including 12 cadets but would like to see its numbers grow to between 60-65. "We have a really good youth program and encourage kids between the ages of 14-18 to get involved," said Joe Fischback, vice president of the squad and head of the cadet program. Fifteen-year-old cadet Mari Jean Bissell had lived her whole life with the idea of serving her community. "My parents have been involved for as long as I can remember and I have always been around the squad so it just seems natural for me to volunteer," she said. "I have to wait until I am 16 before I can get certified in CPR, but I can still go out on calls and be helpful to the crew." An average of one in every three calls turns out to be critical, but for those who don't feel up to dealing with blood or life-and-death situations, there is still work that they can do. "While we definitely do need people who are prepared to deal with any situation, we never force anyone to do something they are not comfortable with, and they can always be of help in other ways. Some choose to be drivers," said Myers. The Glenwood-Pochuck Ambulance Squad has an average response time of 16 minutes and transports patients to St. Clare's Hospital in Sussex, Newton Memorial Hospital and St. Anthony's Hospital in Warwick. For more information, call 973-875-8960.