Volunteer service earns local Rotary club’s top award
For 73 years, the all-volunteer Burlington Area Rescue Squad has been dedicated to the health and welfare of the community’s residents.
This year, for the first time in its history, the squad will begin paying emergency medical technicians to cover some shifts when volunteer staffing is low.
That milestone of uninterrupted volunteer service did not go unnoticed by members of the Burlington Rotary Club, the local organization that founded the Rescue Squad in 1946.
On Monday, the local service club bestowed its Humanitarian Award on the Rescue Squad to honor its long legacy of volunteer community service, club member Ed Nadolski said.
Nadolski, who organizes the annual award for the club, said the presentation was a departure from the norm.
“The club has been giving the award since 1969 and this is the first time it has gone to a group of people rather than an individual,” Nadolski said. “As I discussed the possibility with the club’s leadership it became clear that this was the right thing to do.
“Since the squad was formed with nothing more than makeshift equipment, it has been the volunteer members – who turnout for emergencies at all hours with considerable cost on their personal and professional lives – that have made the service special,” he added.
In 2018 the squad responded to a record 1,576 calls and treated a total of 1,649 patients, according to Rescue Squad Chief Brian Zwiebel. He noted that most volunteer rescue services turn to professional staffing once the call volume exceeds 750 annually.
Zwiebel estimated the members of the squad collectively donated more than 6,200 hours to the community last year in answering calls, training and maintaining equipment.
Nadolski said the intent of the award is to recognize the work of the squad on individual and group levels throughout its history.
In a video presentation prepared for the award, several members of the squad recounted how the service has changed from the days when rudimentary First Aid and rapid transport were the goals until today when well-trained medical technicians work to stabilize patients using modern medical equipment and techniques.
While the equipment, training and level of service has changed markedly through the years one thing hasn’t changed, according to Zwiebel – the dedication of the volunteer members.
To read the entire story see the Jan. 24 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
The following video was produced by WIN Media in conjunction with the Burlington Rotary Club.
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