Freehold First Aid Squad

[admin]

Just in case any readers missed the news fader, I will again post that the [glow=red,2,300]Freehold First Aid Squad needs your help.[/glow]
Please remember, they are a [glow=red,2,300]volunteer force[/glow]. I understand that the fund drive is down this year.


[glow=red,2,300]Please, Donate, even if it is a little bit.[/glow]

[Marc LeVine]

Brian:

Good post. Thank you.

I spoke with the First Aid leadership at National Night Out and they told me they are even more in need of volunteers than money. Don't get me wrong - still send those donations in.

Because of people's busier work and school schedules, the First Aid has difficulty getting crews together during the day. They have tried many tactics to attract more volunteers, but people simply do not have the time.

If anyone can help out, please contact the squad.

Marc L.

[Marc LeVine]

Freehold First Aid is having such diffficulty getting crews to respond to calls during the day that they are entering into an agreement with MONOC, until the end of they year. It is my understanding that MONOC will charge for their services and it may be expensive for those without adequate insurance coverage. Just an FYI.

Marc

[Freehold Resident]

FIRST-AID HELP

FIRST AID Captains Committee for Western Monmouth County has issued an urgent appeal, seeking more volunteers. Area residents who would like to find out more about volunteering may call their local first aid squads or police department for a brief outline of duty requirements, or call [phone].

[admin]

Tonight at the Freehold Borough council meeting we had some great news. The efforts from many of our residents to help the First aid squad are paying off.

It is with great pleasure that I can report that more volunteers have come forward to help the squad. We still do not have all that we need, but we are not as reliant on MONOC as we were. There is now coverage during the week that we had lost.

Apparently, several very good people have come forward and filled in gaps for coverage.

This is great considering how difficult it can be to get people to volunteer.

If any of you know of someone who can volunteer for the squad or you can do yourself, please do. For those who can not donate time, please help the First aid squad with a check.

[admin]

First aid squad sees response to urgent call for volunteers
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer



FREEHOLD - A difficult situation is starting to look up for the Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad.

The first aid squad, which has been struggling to keep its head above water financially and facing a decline in membership, may be back on track, according to longtime member Bill Madden.

Late last year, Madden told the Borough Council that the squad had to make a deal with professional MONOC paramedics to cover the shifts from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The response by MONOC would require a payment, unlike the free service that had always been provided by the first aid squad.

First aid squad members continued to answer emergency calls between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. weekdays and all day on weekends, and that service remained free.

At that time Madden made a plea for more residents to volunteer for the first aid squad and said the situation would be re-evaluated in early 2007.

He attended a council meeting on Feb. 5 to update the governing body on a series of first-aid issues.

Madden said the first aid squad has 10 new members who are in the process of training for their emergency medical technician (EMT) certification.

He said the situation has improved to the point where the squad now has enough members to cover certain hours on certain days of the week.

The latest figures for membership, according to Madden, are that volunteers are now able to service emergency calls for certain hours, which right now will vary from day to day until all of the new members are fully trained.

Madden said he is hoping the Freehold first aid squad will soon be able to resume its traditional seven-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day coverage. That is what he is striving for and that is what volunteers have provided to the residents of Freehold Borough and Freehold Township for more than 60 years.

"The word is out and people are responding," Madden said.

According to information provided by Madden, the first aid squad answered 3,061 calls in 2006: 1,114 in Freehold Borough and 1,889 in Freehold Township. The other calls were responses outside the squad's primary service area.



newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2007/0214/Front_Page/008.html

[admin]

[glow=red,2,300]Editorial 2/14/07 News Transcript[/glow]

Volunteers step up


The Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad, which has served the communities of the Freehold Township and Freehold Borough for more than 60 years, may finally be getting some good news.

After several years of struggling with a declining membership roster, a squad official told the Borough Council in Freehold Borough at a recent meeting that in recent weeks 10 new volunteers have begun training to serve the community.

It would be excellent news for the squad if all 10 volunteers complete the rigorous training and are certified as emergency medical technicians. Doing so would allow the squad to get back to the 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week volunteer service that it has been providing since the 1940s.

We commend the volunteers for stepping forward to serve others.

Earlier this year a lack of volunteers who are able to respond on weekdays led the Freehold first aid squad to make a deal with professional MONOC paramedics to cover the shifts from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The response by MONOC requires a payment, unlike the free service that had always been provided by the first aid squad.

First aid squad members continue to answer emergency calls between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. weekdays and all day on weekends, and that service remains free.

It is extremely gratifying to hear longtime first-aider Bill Madden report that a number of people have come forward to begin training. Those who join the first aid squad make a commitment that few people are willing to make; they respond to calls for help in the middle of the night, on holidays, on weekends, and at other times when it would just be easier to let someone else do it.

The cost of losing the volunteer squad is not something Freehold Borough and Freehold Township residents would welcome.

For those who cannot volunteer to be a member, the squad would certainly appreciate your financial support during its annual fund drive. Although the squad receives some funding from the Borough Council in Freehold Borough and the Township Committee in Free-hold Township, the bulk of its budget comes from the donations it receives from the public it serves.

The squad members are there for all of us when we need them. They are our neighbors and friends who help us when we are most vulnerable.

The Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad is vulnerable now. This respected and dedicated community group could use some first aid of its own from the people it serves 365 days a year.



newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2007/0214/Editorials/052.html