Katonah Bedford Hills Ambulance Corps Holding Open House, Membership Drive

KATONAH, NY - The Katonah Bedford Hills Ambulance Corps is looking for volunteers.

During the corps’ Open House May 15, they will be holding a membership drive, which kicks off National EMS Week.

Volunteer Michelle Brier said the reason the corps was looking to grow its ranks was because the community was getting larger.

“Our population keeps growing and the demands for emergency medical services continues to grow,” she said during a telephone interview.

Brier said that over the last five to 10 years the area has seen EMS groups that were once volunteers turn fully or partially paid.

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“We want to avoid that and not add an extra burden to the taypayers,” she said.

Everyone who volunteers gets something different out of it, Brier said, but on a basic level they all get to learn a lot.

No matter what you volunteer for, “you will at least get a baseline knowledge of emergency medicine,” she said.

Volunteers can choose when they can be available, as long as they are willing to give at least six hours a week to the corps, as well as monthly meetings and training sessions.

And, Brier said, volunteers can decide how much they can do, from riding along and assisting, to becoming a full-fledged emergency medical technician.

“We supply all the training necessary,” she said.

Brier said volunteering gives people a sense of fulfillment, of doing something for someone that can never be paid back.

The Open House will give those interested a chance to talk with other volunteers and see where they can fit.

Brier said it will also be a lot of fun, for kids and adults, with a range of activities, including a teddy bear clinic, bouncy houses, tours of ambulances, CPR demonstrations and an extrication event.

She said the New York State Police will be bringing a vehicle rollover simulator.

The Katonah Bedford Hills Ambulance Corps Open House will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its headquarters, 160 Bedford Rd. in Katonah.

Photo credit: Katonah Bedford Hills Ambulance Corps website.