Congratulations! Between September 28, 2017 and February 8, 2018, the individuals below advanced to the following EMT certification levels:

Tell us about your nonprofit background.
I started in nonprofit development work right out of college at WHRO, first as a volunteer, then in a paid role. Early on, I was in awe of how nonprofits worked from behind-the-scenes, and the satisfaction of the work itself is immense. After gaining experience in public broadcasting in both Virginia and New York, I joined the team at ACCESS College Foundation where I enjoyed 10 years leading the Development department and working to raise money so low-income children could receive a post-secondary education. I hold a certificate in nonprofit management and was honored to be chosen as Executive Director for the Va. Beach Rescue Squad Foundation.

Why are you excited about working with the Volunteer Rescue Squads?
The entire EMS system in Virginia Beach is such a tremendous asset. We are incredibly fortunate to have it, and I see what it means to Hampton Roads. I want the whole community to see it as the asset it is, and to help keep it thriving by donating, advocating for it or volunteering their time.

You could feel the pride and appreciation all over Virginia Beach’s highest peak and most popular park last spring. Rock the Squads achieved the goal of the principal sponsors – the City of Virginia Beach and its Department of EMS, Sentara Healthcare and the Virginia Beach Rescue Squad Foundation – to thank the thousand men and women who provide free emergency medical care and transport. And the volunteers felt it.

RTS2 will be Sunday, May 20, from Noon to 4:00 p.m. at Mount Trashmore.

By Joel Rubin

The best time to meet the most volunteer EMTs at any station is around 6:00 p.m., when the day shift checks out and the overnight one checks in.

At Station 9 I met Katie East and Dan Russell, who both have run rescue for nearly six years and are partners most nights. “I get to hang out with my best friend,” says Dan, a Tallwood High grad and, like his buddy, an employee at LifeNet. Katie, a Kellam High alum, has EMS in her veins. Her father was with the VB squad, her mom Ocean Park’s. “I love to give back to the community just like they did,” says Katie. The pair had little time to talk, out the door quickly to respond to call one on this Friday evening.

St. Patrick’s Day is a day the Marshall family will never forget.

Virginia Beach resident Phyllis Marshall, 74, was enjoying a typical Friday evening at home; she’d just finished watching a movie with her husband, Robert and son, Ritchie.

“I went to the kitchen and put two dishes in the dishwasher,” she recalls. “And that’s the last thing I remember.”

There is a daily association between the volunteer rescue squads of Virginia Beach and the hospitals in the city operated by Sentara Healthcare.

Ambulances run by the ten squads bring their sick or injured persons to Sentara Virginia Beach General and Sentara Princess Anne Hospitals and Sentara Leigh Hospital just across the city line in Norfolk, communicating their patients’ conditions as they whiz down city streets on the way to the ERs. So not surprisingly, when the volunteers reached out to Sentara to support the largest EMS appreciation event ever, Rock the Squads on May 7 at Mount Trashmore, the company stepped up with a significant donation.

Congratulations to the following graduates of BLS Academies #20 and #21 who were recognized in ceremonies at the training center on July 24 and September 26, 2017.

EMT Academy #20

Joseph Albert
Eric Babcock, Jr.
Juliette Beristain
Brandon Bogan

Congratulations! Between the dates of July 7 and September 28, 2017, the individuals below advanced to the following EMT Certification levels:

Senior

Hordeski, Brenda

Wilks, Sr., Gary

Life

Cwynar, Rita

On May 7, 2017, hundreds of EMS volunteers and their families gathered at Mount Trashmore for Rock the Squads!, a first-time event honoring their dedication to serving the City of Virginia Beach. Beach Bully catered lunch, and the volunteers gathered on the hill in bright yellow t-shirts for an iconic group photo while Mayor Will Sessoms provided words of appreciation. The event then opened to the public with food trucks, demonstrations by ambulance and special ops vehicles and performances by School of Rock Virginia Beach and The Deloreans 80s Band. A fun time was had by all. A special thanks goes to the major event sponsors, including Virginia Beach EMS, The Virginia Beach Rescue Squad Foundation, the Eddie S. and Sandra H. Garcia Charitable Foundation, Sentara Healthcare and many others.

Dear Brother and Sister Members,

I started in this business in 1967 with a department outside Philadelphia. Big reason was, when the fire siren outside the high school went off, junior firemen could leave school. There was no EMS, but the fire department had a Cadillac ambulance with a big shiny Q2 siren on the roof, and we rode on the tailboard of the fire trucks. Two years there got me a paying job with the Philadelphia Fire Department for six months before I joined the Navy.