Lewisboro Volunteer Ambulance Corps - Cross River, New York

**LVAC Medical Director Dave Zuckerberg conducts a call audit where riding members discuss and review a sample of the calls from the previous month as part of ongoing training.**

**Riding members of LVAC are required to attend a general meeting and our two monthly training drills monthly.**

**Here, members practice using a CombiCarrier, a split scoop backboard device at a recent drill.**


We practice taking people who are injured in automobile accidents out of various types of vehicles. In a recent drill, we are using a Mini Cooper and a large Ford van. Both the driver and the front seat passenger have sustained simulated injuries. We use different pieces of equipment depending upon the nature of their injuries, and whether or not the scene of the accident is safe.

The members of LVAC conduct two training drills each month in order to sharpen and maintain the skills we use in providing you with the best pre-hospital emergency medical care possible. Most of our drills are held at our headquarters in Cross River where we have a large library of emergency medical care books, journals, instructive videos, and training supplies. We use our IBM donated computer and printer to research the latest instructional material. This past year our drills included responding to emergency calls related to and treating:
- the geriatric patient - the pediatric patient - the burn victim - the stroke victim - chest pain and cardiac emergencies - difficulty breathing, asthma, and administering oxygen and albuterol - allergic reactions and administering epinephrine - diabetes - heat and cold related emergencies - victims of falls, sports injuries, motor vehicle accidents and
other traumatic injuries - hemorrhage and shock - psychiatric disorders - abdominal pain - seizures - childbirth, obstetrics and gynecology - victims of weapons of mass destruction
We held a drill in the Pound Ridge Reservation where we practiced rescuing an injured hiker from a trail far off the roadway. Only weeks later, we were called to just such an emergency rescue! Each year, our six Certified American Heart CPR Instructors re-certify all our members in CPR for the Professional Rescuer and using an AED for the victim of cardiac arrest. All our crew chiefs, those in charge of patient care, are New York State Certified Emergency Medical Technicians. LVAC sponsors any of its members who wish to become EMTs. Courses are frequently offered at local ambulance corps and fire departments, and are also available at Westchester Community College. Driver training is provided for any qualified member who wishes to learn to drive the ambulance. Our senior driver trainers have attended numerous training courses and provide individual instruction to ensure the safety of our patients and crew. We take our training seriously, so that you can count on us to provide you with the very finest care possible in your time of need.


We practice several scenarios where the crew members have to safely treat and move patients with various types of injuries and illnesses from the different places in their homes where we find them.

In these simulations, we are moving an elderly patient who fell against the cabinets in the kitchen and has a broken hip, a patient with severe abdominal pain found wrapped in blankets lying on his living room couch, two patients who are found in their home complaining of symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and needing quick evacuation, and an elderly patient on home oxygen who is having difficulty breathing while seated in her recliner.

We break up into small groups and rotate through the stations until everyone has had an opportunity to practice their skills. Each station is run by a senior EMT crew chief who guides the group through the exercise.

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AND MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.