Serving on the front line of health care

 

NEWMARKET – May 14 – 20, 2006 is the 33rd annual Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week.  This year's theme, "Serving on Health Care's Front Line" is a celebration of the dedicated life-saving service that paramedics across Canada provide in their communities everyday.  During this week, York Region EMS paramedics will be hosting various community outreach events.  Residents are invited to participate in the following:

 

GTA-Wide EMS Week Kick Off Event – On Sunday, May 14th, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., in collaboration with the City of Toronto, Region of Peel, District of Simcoe/Muskoka, Halton and Durham Region EMS, York Region EMS paramedics are participating in the kick off event at Dundas Square, southwest corner of Yonge Street and Dundas Street in Toronto.  Meet paramedics from each Greater Toronto Area (GTA) community including paramedics from specialized units such as marine, bike, tactical and multi-causality.  Each participating community will display their individual response vehicles and ambulances.
 
Shopping Mall Displays - York Region EMS will be staffing displays at variou York Region shopping malls.  Paramedics will answer resident's questions and display a variety of life saving equipment used including, automated external defibrillators (AED) and intravenous and intubations mechanisms.

 

Thursday, May 11th - 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., Promenade Mall, 1 Promenade Circle, Thornhill
Friday, May 12th – 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., Vaughan Mills Mall, 1 Bass Pro Mills Drive, Vaughan
Saturday, May 13th – 9 a.m. – 8 p.m., Upper Canada Mall, 17600 Yonge Street, Newmarket

 

Also planned during this week are other celebratory events, including:

 

Paramedic for a Day – On Monday, May 15th, York Region EMS paramedics will grant an important wish.  One child from the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada will become a paramedic for the day.  The
10-year old boy will be outfitted with his own uniform and will travel with paramedics in their response vehicle to tour EMS stations and facilities.  He will also learn life saving cardiopulmonary recitation (CPR) and first aid techniques.

 

LAMP – On Tuesday, May 16th from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., in partnership with LAMP (Lunch at My Place), York Region EMS paramedics will be donating, preparing and serving lunch at the Trinity United Church in Newmarket.  LAMP is a volunteer organization that provides hot lunch to York Region residents struggling to live independently within the community. Funds to pay for the cost of this lunch event were generously donated by the York Region EMS paramedic volleyball team.

 

Separate media advisories will be circulated providing additional detail to the media about the latter two events.

 

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For more information on the Regional Municipality of York and our services, please visit www.york.ca

 

Media Contact: Jennifer Mitchell-Emmerson, York Region Health Services
 Phone:  (905) 830-4444 ext. 4016 or after-hours pager (905) 830-3302
 Email: jennifer.mitchellemmerson@york.ca