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By Penny Fletcher
penny@observernews.net
SUN CITY CENTER - Most of us have heard the saying that in the military, it’s always “hurry up and wait.” Whether it’s the front line or the chow line, soldiers in every branch of service know that many times they must quickly spring into action only to sit- or stand- completely still for hours and wait to make their move.
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| Sun City Center Emergency Squad Chief Christine Patrick and squad leaders Thom Brown and Robert “Bucky” Devling discuss the day’s emergency calls over lunch in the squad’s main lobby where they wait to answer emergencies, never knowing what will be required of them next.
Penny Fletcher Photo |
It’s just the opposite for Sun City Center Emergency Squad volunteers. They sit and wait first; sometimes for hours on end, and then must rise in an instant to meet an emergency, knowing that every second that passes could inch a patient closer to his or her death.
The usual time between answering an emergency telephone call and getting a team out the door is 45 seconds, said Chief Christine Patrick.
That’s because, like soldiers, squad members stay on alert at all times.
During the winter when the snowbirds are in town, the squad has about 400 members, although they don’t all work at the squad house. Some raise funds, others work in the garden, while others cook and bring meals to the dispatchers, drivers and emergency medical technicians on call.
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| When calls come in over the telephone, names and addresses are displayed on a large screen much like a giant-size caller-ID.
Penny Fletcher Photo |
In the summer, the number of volunteers shrinks to less than 200, and teams must borrow helpers from other teams just to get by.
“We can always use more members,” said Christine. “We can find a job for anyone who is willing. There are all kinds of positions where we can use volunteers.”
The scenario unfolds
During an interview with several team members, a loud alarm rings, calling everyone in the room to attention. People get up and rush to a large caller-ID screen hanging from one wall. Two women are taking notes; names, addresses and other pertinent information being relayed by the dispatcher who is in another room on the phone with a caller.
There are eight teams, but all need help from members of other teams to stay in the action. Today, two people in the room have been “borrowed.”
“One guy went to a funeral and another is sick. We have to have three (trained people) just to put an ambulance on the road,” explains Thom Brown, who serves as the squad’s assistant chief. “We have to have an EMT, a driver who is also trained as a first responder, and another first responder who stays with the patient at all times.”
Robert “Bucky” Devling of Team 5 – who today is helping out Team 3 – shows me a dark blue plastic vial that looks like a pill bottle. With it is a small emergency information card. “I hope they have one of these filled out,” he says. This, he explains, is called the Vial of Life. The squad hands out the bottles and cards so residents can list their allergies, medications and chronic conditions. Then they put the information cards in the bottles and are asked to keep them in their refrigerator door. That way all the information needed in an emergency is immediately available.
“Knowing these things right away saves lives,” Bucky said.
John Gatoline, owner of Sun City Drugs that had been in business for almost 30 years, used to supply the vials to the squad. But now that major drugstore chains have come into the area, his store has closed and the squad is seeking another source to provide small plastic bottles with easy-open caps they can hand out with their emergency cards.
“We really hope someone will step up and take this on,” Christine said. “We’re here for everyone in the community, Sun City Center, Kings Point. The businesses.”
All together, the squad serves about 25,000 people and since it operates on donations and volunteers, its services save the people who use it about $600 in county ambulance transport fees to South Bay Hospital.
“We have a plaque on the wall saying we save the county more than $2 million a year by taking about 6,000 calls,” Christine said. “And we go anywhere they ask us to, not just Sun City Center. While we just take calls from local individuals, if the county calls us for help, we could be sent to Tampa or even Miami. It all depends what they need us to do.”
What you can do
Besides filling out a Vial of Life, squad members hope residents will take part in its Key Locator program. That way, if someone is alone in a home, they will know which neighbor has keys to the house so they can get inside. People who want to be part of that program can call the non emergency number and be listed in the Key Locator Book.
“If they’re not part of the program, we have to wait for a sheriff’s deputy to get inside,” Thom said.
Residents can also help themselves and others by volunteering, or donating time and money, Christine said. With diesel costing more than gas, it takes much more to keep ambulances on the road than it does cars. Rising costs are the main reason the squad is putting on a benefit Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kings Point Clubhouse. Caroline Cline will present The Patsy Cline Show and the Caroline Cline Vegas Show with tickets costing $12 each. They are available in advance at the Kings Point Box Office and the Emergency Squad on Ray Watson Drive (in Sun City Center Plaza, parallel to State Road 674).
Anyone who wants to find out more about helping the squad or obtaining services may call (813) 633-1411 or stop by the squad house.
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