Pledge: President Bill O'Shaughnessy
Prayer: Gerri Lewis
Song: Bill McLaughlin
Brents Card Game Winner: Peter Zucco
Sergeants Report: Kathy Callinan
Raffle Winners: Sandy, Bill M, Marty
Happy Bucks: Big Y opening in town, guests, Peter's daughter settled in, school opening soon, nice day, fall weather, sad bucks for the Yankees and Sox who aren't doing terribly well in baseball.
Announcements:
Gerri: Chamber Expo is Oct. 23 and Rotary will be there, community outreach committee meeting afterwards
Meals On Wheels: Bill O is subbing for Ken Roche
Bill O: Foundation Seminar is Thursday Sept. 11 in New Haven. New members are encouraged to attend
Program: Glen introduced our speaker Robert Harris
Robert has been an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) since 1989. He and his wife Lauren own Harris Outdoor at 875 Boston Post Rd. where you can all kinds of provisions for dealing with emergencies and basic survival. They have been supporters of our fundraisers thru the years.
Robert talked about the 911 system. Old Lyme has a paid ambulance crew during the day while Old Saybrook and Westbrook is manned by volunteers. The emergency personnel are paid on a per call basis depending on what level of service they provide. In Old Lyme and Westbrook, 911 calls are handled by a central dispatch center called the Valley Shore Communications Center. Old Saybrook 911 calls go to the police department. Dispatchers are trained to ask questions according to protocols for fire or medical for example. Advanced Life Support (ALS) services are available for the more serious calls and Paramedics are dispatched. They carry 64 medications with them. Ambulances are instructed to go to the nearest medical facility and for our area that would be MMH Shoreline Medical in Westbrook. For more serious events such as trauma or cardiac emergencies, ambulances take their patients to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Level 1 trauma may mean Lifestar dispatch. Though 911 is supposed to be strictly for threats to life and property, some calls come in that shouldn't and this can put a strain on the system. Ambulance charges are dictated by the state and vary according to service provided and can be billed to Medicare. During Hurricane Sandy, there were many hours of service that were never billed. The Old Saybrook Police are currently EMR certified with the goal being to upgrade all police to EMT certification.
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