Polk County will be celebrating its emergency medical services next week with an EMS for Children’s Day and a free hands only CPR class.
County commissioners met May 5 and approved two resolutions in support of May 18 through May 24 being EMS week and EMS for Children’s Day being Wednesday, May 21.
The EMS for Children’s Day will be held in the BiLo parking lot in Columbus from 4-7 p.m. on May 21 and will include information, games and a helicopter. EMS personnel will choose up to 12 children during the event to tour the EMS facility on Friday, May 23 and ride in the county’s new ambulance.
On Thursday, May 22 the EMS is providing a free hands only CPR class for the community at the Isothermal Community College (ICC) from 2-3 p.m. and from 7-8 p.m. Both events are open to the community.
Commissioners are also planning a flagpole dedication at the EMS building during the week that the community will also be invited to attend.
During the EMS for Children’s Day a drop box for medications will be available for residents to dispose of unneeded medications.
Polk County EMS Director Michael Crater spoke to commissioners last week about the events.
Crater said the new ambulance arrived a couple of weeks ago and is in operation. Polk’s new ambulance is slightly smaller than its regular fleet with the county purchasing a demo for reduced costs. The ambulance is valued at $150,000, Crater said but Polk purchased it for less than $100,000.
“It’s one of the most modern vehicles I’ve had the pleasure of being in,” Crater told commissioners.
EMS week is in celebration of the emergency medical services system that consists of emergency physicians, emergency nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, first responders, communications, educators and administrators.
Crater said the EMS for Children’s Day is coinciding with national EMS week. He told commissioners people in Polk County do not realize what they have in a rural service like Polk County’s, especially for children’s care. He said Polk has a small hospital and when those children are transferred out or make a 911 call, the front line is the paramedics and EMTs of this county. He spoke of the many hours of training required, saying the emergency situations personnel do the least are the things they train for the most.