By Sara Paul
The Warwick EMS Ambulance Corps just got a little bit cleaner. On Mon., June 15, the volunteer group accepted a generous donation from the Warwick Lions Club: a brand-new disinfecting unit.
With face masks responsibly affixed, EMS and Lions Club members gathered for a short ceremony at the EMS Bay, located at 146 South St. Ext. A training on the new electrostatic sprayer led by David Niles, of Rite Choice, Inc., followed.
“It’s a great thing that another organization is kind enough to go out and spend money on this equipment,” said EMS Captain Frank Cassanite.
Lions Club member Wayne Patterson, also present at the ceremony, explained that the Club was awarded a grant through the Lions Club International Foundation to be distributed to the districts for COVID Relief. Funds were divided within the state to those districts most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We looked for a way to provide assistance to those who are always helping others with emergencies. We were able to purchase electrostatic disinfectant sprayers to be donated to eight local Ambulance Corps. Warwick was one of the eight,” said Patterson.
Lions Club President Vicky Hague added, “The Lions Club wanted to show our appreciation to the EMS Responders in a meaningful and useful way. Providing the equipment and training on this new sprayer will lessen the turn around time of cleaning the ambulances. Lion George McManus was very instrumental in obtaining the grant for this purchase. Many thanks go to him!”
Cassanite explained that the Corps vehicles are disinfected on a regular basis, with extra precautions and cleaning implemented if a patient has or is suspected of having COVID-19.
The new cleaning apparatus comes at an appropriate time in EMS history as Cassanite reports that at the height of the health pandemic, the volunteer Corps was responding to about eight calls per day.
“It was a lot of stress on us to meet the demands out there. Cardiac related calls were way up, and we utilized PPE on all calls,” Cassanite said.
At the Bay, members practice extreme caution at all times. While the call volume for COVID-19 cases are down considerably, crews are still approaching each patient with caution. All members are required to wear masks when responding to calls and all regular meetings and trainings are held via Zoom.
Cassanite is proud of the EMS volunteers who, “…have remained very strong during this time. They handle situations well, use caution when needed, and everybody goes home safe.”
On Mon., June 15, the Warwick EMS accepted a generous donation from the Warwick Lions Club: a brand-new electrostatic sprayer.
On Mon., June 15, Warwick EMS received a new electrostatic sprayer from the Warwick Lions Club. An in-depth training was led by Rite Choice, Inc. representative David Niles.
