Bedford Life Saving Crew

Squad 1 is frequently asked to stand-by at events in our community. We were back again this year at the Memorial Day and D-Day events at the D-Day Memorial. While the heat was bad those days, we went through both services with no problems or patients

Here are a few pictures of our medic unit 1-4 on scene at the D-Day Memorial.

This picture also shows the POW/MIA Trucks.

The lyrics to this song were written by Squad 1 member Tab O’Neal and the music by The Biscuit Rollers band member Jack Roy. It was recorded at the Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad in Staunton, VA and includes scenes recorded at the Bedford Life Saving Crew in Bedford, VA. The three EMTs seen at the beginning are Kathy Hatcher, Ashley Bryan and Christina Cherro.

The Bedford Life Saving Crew—in fact, the entire community we serve—lost a valuable member on June 5th to heart disease. Ivan Lowery, 73, was a dedicated member of Squad 1. His contributions helping to save lives and bring comfort to those in medical or traumatic distress will be missed. Ivan was one of those rare persons who gave of himself and his talents freely and with great joy.

Ivan began his association with the Bedford Life Saving Crew in 1997. He was first a member of our support group and then went on to serve as Captain, Supply Lieutenant, and Communications Lieutenant. While Ivan performed superbly in these administrative roles, his greatest contribution was in the compassion and caring he showed in providing patient care. He was a blessing to every patient he assisted.

Ivan embraced life and everyone he came into contact with. While he is no longer with us physically, his spirit of giving and his positive impact on the crew and people he served will live on.

Now that the summer is here for real, make sure you are watching out for you and your loved ones. Please make sure you wear plenty of sunscreen when you will be out in the sun for long periods of time. Skin Cancer is easy to protect yourself from with a little bit of sunscreen. Make sure you keep hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids even when you think you have had enough, drink a little more. Keep yourself cool and in the shade when at all possible. Do not exert yourself past your threshold. Stay inside during the middle of the day and do your outdoor chores early in the morning or late in the evening.

Make sure you take care of your pets too, they rely on us to treat them right!!!  Stay cool and we will see you shortly.

Captain Shannon Zimmerman

Each year Bedford County Fire and Rescue honors the men and women who serve in EMS and fire with outstanding levels of dedication and performance. The awards ceremony was held in April and the Bedford Life Saving Crew is proud to have several of its members as awards recipients.

Volunteer EMS providers face the daily challenge of balancing their careers, family life and EMT duties. Each member of Squad 1 makes a commitment as an Associate Member for 24 hours of service a month or as a Full Member with 48 hours. When a member is an officer, which is Full Membership, their duty time can easily be doubled, tripled and more with those extra responsibilities. Shannon Walker joined the crew in June of 2003 and has worked his way up from EMT-Basic to EMT-Intermediate care level. His peers recognized in him strong leadership skills and he was voted in as an officer and is currently 1^st Lieutenant of the crew. Even when not on scheduled duty, Shannon helps out by running extra calls with exceptional patient care skills. He was nominated by fellow crew members and won Rescue Squad Member of the Year for Bedford Life Saving Crew.

As a volunteer, Lynch Manley has been serving the Bedford community since 1964. His dedication, expertise and willingness to make EMS one of his top priorities in life has benefited countless persons in medical and traumatic distress. He has held numerous positions during his volunteer career and is an outstanding leader as an Emergency Vehicle Operator and compassionate voice in patient care. He received the Highest Response Record of the Year Award for the Bedford Life Saving Crew.

The veterans of Bedford Life Saving Crew have set the standard for excellence in patient care through their performance. Their heritage sets the stage for a new generation of providers. One future provider, Marc Bailey, joined Squad 1 in October of 2007 as a Junior member. In that capacity he runs as an observer with the crew and can assist in non-patient care roles. He takes great initiative to learn from the real-life scenarios he sees. Marc is an EMT student at the Bedford Science & Technology Center and a member of the Health Occupations Students of America team that won Virginia State competition and will be going to nationals later this year. Marc received the Student of the Year Award for the Bedford Life Saving Crew.

The Bedford Life Saving Crew is thankful to Lynch, Shannon and Marc and we congratulate them on receiving the recognition they have earned.

One of the most important roles of the Bedford Life Saving Crew officers is to recognize the outstanding performances of the volunteers of Squad 1. During our April Crew Meeting, Captain Shannon Zimmerman presented awards to two crew members who have gone far and above the call of duty.

Jimmy Powers received a special award plaque in recognition of 51 years of service! For over five-decades Jimmy has served the Bedford Community through he performance as a member of the Bedford Life Saving Crew. He is proof that volunteerism not only enriches the people served but can become one of life’s most enriching aspect for the volunteer. Thank you Jimmy Powers!

Captain Zimmerman also presented Jimmy Noell with the award and status of “Crew Member of the First Quarter of 2008.” Jimmy Noell has performed tirelessly as not only an ambulance operator but has spent many hours of his otherwise free time in vehicle and building maintenance. He’s the kind of man who, when he sees a burned out light hanging from a 16 foot ceiling doesn’t say, “somebody should fix that…” but grabs a ladder and fixes it! A small task by itself that, repeated over and over, makes a huge difference. He is a great example of attentiveness to detail and getting it done. Thank you Jimmy Noell!

(Pictures by Ivan Lowery 188)

Bedford Squad 1, along with other rescue squads in the county, assisted in the fighting of the Montvale, VA fire by standing by to provide emergency medical services to the firefighters on scene. Crew members also performed “rehab” duties that include getting coffee, water, and food to the fire crews.

It was a very cold and blustery first few days of the blaze. The winds gusted to over 40 miles per hour and lows dipped into the teens with highs just reaching into the 30s to around 40.

The following pictures were taken by Squad 1’s 152 and 156.

Read the rest

The Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services publishes a bulletin each quarter that is an excellent source of information and stories for EMS personnel and anyone interested in becoming an EMS provider. VAOEMS has released their Winter Bulletin and it is full of excellent articles: OEMS Celebrates 40th Anniversary, What Does Putting a Helicopter on “Stand-by” Mean?, and Do You Want Fries with That CPR?

You can download the Bulletin in PDF format at here.

The Bedford Life Saving Crew serves Bedford City and portions of Bedford County, VA. Within this area is a significant population of non-English speaking residents. We have added a language translation tool to our website. Readers of other languages can select their native language from the national flag icons at the top of the far right column. Doing so will activate the translation tool and present all of the text here in that language. Read the rest