Author Archives: Meredith Lambroff

Armstrong Ambulance Invites Community to Valentine’s Day Blood Drive

News, Press Releases

Armstrong Ambulance is asking members of the community to participate in its upcoming Valentine’s Day blood drive.

WHEN:
Thursday, Feb. 14, from 2-7 p.m.

WHERE:
Armstrong Ambulance Service, 87 Mystic St., Arlington

Armstrong Ambulance will open its doors to members of the community who would like to make a life-saving blood donation.
According to the American Red Cross, which has partnered with Armstrong for this drive, donated blood means the difference between life and death for patients in emergency situations, as well as those undergoing surgeries and cancer treatments.

Donors must sign up in advance and may do so by clicking here. Donors should plan to spend up to an hour donating, but they can save time on the day of the drive by using the Red Cross Rapid Pass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questions.

“Armstrong saves lives every day, and this is an opportunity for both our team and the communities we serve to come together to help even more people in need,” Armstrong CEO Rich Raymond said. “I want to invite everyone to take part in this blood drive and give the gift of life this Valentine’s Day.”

Blood Drive Flyer '19

Anyone with questions about the blood drive is encouraged to reach out to Katherine Aker at 781-859-1314, or by email at kaker@armstrongambulance.com.

Armstrong Ambulance Staffers Participate in Hands-On K-9 First Aid Training

News, Press Releases

K9 Training 12-12-18 (4)

Veterinarian Beth Eisenberg works with Comet, a black lab that came along for Armstrong’s training on K-9 first aid.

ARLINGTON — Armstrong Ambulance personnel participated in a specialized training last month that would help them render aid to an injured dog in an emergency.

On Wednesday, Dec. 12, Armstrong welcomed veterinarian Beth Eisenberg from the Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn for an in-depth training session that would enable them to help an injured dog, such as a police K-9 hurt in the line of duty.

Armstrong EMTs and Paramedics worked with a black lab to learn more about its anatomy and develop an understanding of how properly listen to its heart and lungs and locate its pulse.

Staff members were also trained on basic handling of an injured K-9 — including providing safe transport using a backboard — and all of the critical skills they’d need to respond to various types of trauma, much as they do with human patients. They also had the opportunity to practice CPR on a K-9 mannequin.

“We work closely with police departments and other Law Enforcement agencies which includes their K-9 members, so we want to be prepared to provide critical lifesaving aid to anyone at a scene who may need it,” Armstrong CEO Richard Raymond said. “Our team members did an excellent job building an understanding of how they can provide immediate help to injured dogs just like they would with an injured person.”
While all Armstrong EMTs and Paramedics have undergone extensive and specialized training to provide aid to human beings, the course on K-9 first aid allowed them to have a baseline understanding of the needs of injured animals and how their first aid needs differ from those of humans.
The course is part of Armstrong’s ongoing training program, and provides participating EMTs and Paramedics with continuing education that they must fulfill in order to maintain their certifications. 28 Paramedics and EMTs participated in the training.

Armstrong Paramedic Nick Henderson practiced performing CPR on a K-9 mannequin.

Armstrong Paramedic Nick Henderson practiced performing CPR on a K-9 mannequin.

Armstrong EMT Wendy Wolleger practiced performing CPR on a K-9 mannequin.

Armstrong EMT Wendy Wolleger practiced performing CPR on a K-9 mannequin.

Greetings From New Taipei

Press Releases

New Taipei Visit

Armstrong Ambulance Service was honored to welcome a command staff delegation from the the New Taipei Fire Department from New Taipei City, Taiwan on December 11th.  New Taipei Fire Department provides EMS Emergency Ambulance service to a vast urban to rural region encompassing Taipei and respond to ice 180,000 emergency ambulance requests per year.  The New Taipei Fire Department executive command delegation is visiting the United States to learn more about US EMS systems, including electronic patient care reporting systems and share their experiences in operating a sophisticated all hazards high volume urban emergency and disaster response service in Taiwan.  The delegation toured Armstrong’s headquarters in Arlington, exchanged gifts with owner Gale Brady and were briefed on Armstrong operations by CEO Rich Raymond and asked and answered questions about EMS systems in the Boston area and USA as compared to Taiwan. Also among the Armstrong team which organized and presented to the esteemed group was Director of Clinical Integration, Ben Podsiadlo, Director of Operations, Mike Kass, Field Operations Managers, Sean Mangan and Victor Marchese as well as Paramedic, Jason Viens. It was a unique honor and pleasure to meet colleagues and share ideas and experiences with fellow EMS professionals from across the globe.  Armstrong thanks our partners at Zoll Medical for extending the exciting opportunity to meet with the New Taipei Fire Department delegation.

Holiday Heroes

News

 youth

At the end of this year, we would like to take a moment to highlight two “Holiday Heroes” for their actions which went far above the call of duty.

JASON INGRAM; CHAIR CAR DRIVER
This year, Jason arrived at Lahey Clinic to transport a patient to Saugus. Once on scene, the patient’s nurse, Sarah, said that the patient needed to wait about an hour for her prescriptions to be ready. Even though this entailed Jason getting out late, he happily stayed with the patient and waited. The patient was from Puerto Rico and has been here since last year when her home was destroyed by the hurricane. She had no money to cover the cost of the copay for her prescription so Jason and Sarah paid the copay for her from their own funds. Jason humbly and quietly made this gesture on his own. We were only made aware of it through an appreciative comment made by Lahey Senior Management during a meeting.

BRIANNA PARKER; CHAIR CAR DRIVER/DISPATCHER
Brianna picked up a patient at Health South New England Rehabilitation Hospital to take to Logan airport. We were told that all arrangements were made for when the patient arrived at Logan. Upon arrival at Logan, Brianna found that was not the case and had to solely figure out how to get this patient to a wheelchair that was not provided. She calmly found assistance and safely transferred the patient to the airport’s wheelchair. Additionally, this patient did not have funds to pay for his bag to be checked and Brianna paid for it on his behalf. During the process, the patient was upset and anxious as it was a difficult transition for him, yet Brianna calmed him and assured him that she would make sure that he would be all set for his flight and be taken care of. Brianna subsequently recruited the help of an airport employee who then took the patient safely to his gate.

These two acts of kindness and compassion are what Bill Armstrong believed in and worked every day to make happen. Thank you Jason and Brianna for your incredible spirit and dedication. You’ve made these patients feel safe and well cared for as well as made all of us at Armstrong very proud!

Armstrong Ambulance Collecting Donations to Support Homeless Community

Press Releases

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ARLINGTON — Armstrong Ambulance is pleased to announce that it will be collecting donations for those in need this holiday season, through its annual Winter Warmth Drive. From now until Dec. 20, Armstrong will be collecting new and gently used items to help the homeless stay warm this winter. The items that are needed most include coats and jackets, boots, gloves, hats, scarves, socks, sweatpants and jeans. Collection bins are located inside each of Armstrong’s locations, and residents interested in donating items may leave them at the facility, where they will be collected by an Armstrong employee.

Donations can be delivered to any of the following locations:

• 87 Mystic St., Arlington (donations may be delivered to main entrance on the third floor)
• 487 Washington St., Brighton
• 217 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington (entrance in the rear)
• 70 Union St., Medford
• 32 Summer St., Stoneham
• 10 Micro Drive, Woburn (entrance in the rear)
• 55 Knox Trail, Acton
• 16 Hamilton St., Saugus

“The winter months can be extremely challenging for homeless families, so we want do do what we can to support them and help them stay warm,” Armstrong CEO Richard Raymond said. “I hope that the residents in the communities we serve will once again join us in helping those in need.”

All items collected will be donated to Bay Cove Human Services.

The Verdict Is In

News

JEMS S. Wood & B. Podsiadlo

Congratulations to Armstrong Ambulance’s Director of Clinical Integration, Ben Podsiadlo and Armstrong Clinical Educator, Steve Wood for being published in JEMS – Journal of Emergency Medical Services. Ben and Steve wrote a rebuttal letter in response to the Pragmatic Airway Reconstruction Trial (PART), published “ETI vs. SGA: The Verdict Is In” which is a review of the findings of their study comparing a supraglottic airway, specifically the King airway, with endotracheal intubation.

Here’s to a future of enhancing education and providing more opportunities to practice and develop skills maintenance.

To read the full article on JEMS please see link:

https://www.jems.com/articles/2018/11/it-s-about-paramedic-intubation-skill-maintenance-not-eti-vs-sga.html

In Midst Of Disaster, We Come Together

News

Emergency crews responding to The Merrimack Valley gas explosions

Emergency crews responding to The Merrimack Valley gas explosions

On September 15th, over 70 houses exploded in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover due to a gas line issue, displacing thousands of residents and their families.

In order to support the massive EMS mutual aid MCI response, Armstrong, along with many other agencies, sent multiple units and first responders to help transport injured residents.

In the days following the explosions and fires Armstrong provide extra coverage in Lawrence to our partners at Trinity, allowing our greater EMS community to send more resources to all those affected.
Armstrong also assisted in non-emergent work, helping transport evacuated and displaced residents to local shelters.

Thank you to the countless first responders (Police, Fire and EMS) for your diligent work and tremendous efforts to clear the fires and provide relief to all those affected in the Merrimack Valley.

Pictured are Armstrong Ambulance crew members, Jennifer Lynch and Brandon Whitney providing coverage to our partners at Trinity.

 

Armstrong Receives High Marks

News

8-16-18

This month Armstrong completed our annual inspection with The Department of Public Health/Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS).

Once again, Armstrong received high marks in all areas and OEMS reported they were extremely impressed with our service, equipment, vehicles, protocols and personnel.

A sincere thank you to all our staff and crew members for their constant readiness and attention to detail. We are extremely proud of our team’s efforts as they are not only very impacting but also clearly noted and greatly appreciated by OEMS.

As evidenced by our 6 plus year accreditation status by CAAS, (the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services), we have set our standards high and have reached them each and every year. As we enter our 72nd year of service, all of us at Armstrong continue to strive for excellence and remain committed to providing the highest standard of care to our communities, partners and patients.

Armstrong Mechanics 8-13-18 011