By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The city marked the 50th anniversary of National Emergency Medical Services Week on May 21 with Mayor Dorinda Borer issuing proclamations to first responders and city employees receiving lifesaving training.
After opening remarks by West Haven Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana, Borer welcomed emergency medical services, fire officials and city employees to City Hall for the special observance and hands-on training.
Borer delivered remarks before presenting National EMS Week proclamations saluting the members of the city’s three fire departments — West Haven Fire Department, West Shore Fire Department and City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown — as well as the members of the West Haven Police Department and American Medical Response of New Haven.
National EMS Week ran from May 19-25.
“West Haven is a HeartSmart city, and in keeping with that HeartSmart city initiative, we want to make sure that everybody is up to date in our training,” said Borer, who thanked Fontana for leading the training and for hitting the ground running since taking over as the city’s EMD in February.
The mayor continued: “We’re also going to talk about Narcan: 1,500 deaths in Connecticut in 2022 because of opioid overdoses. I know you all know a family that lost a loved one and the devastation that comes with this opioid crisis. And that’s just 2022 statistics; we don’t even have 2023 statistics yet.
“So this is a great time to do all of this training because it is EMS Week, and we want to recognize our EMS workers.”
Reading West Shore’s proclamation, Borer said, “National EMS Week is an opportunity to recognize the dedication, sacrifice and professionalism of our EMS first responders who serve on the front lines, often risking their own safety to ensure the health and well-being of others.”
Fontana followed by demonstrating an automated external defibrillator and answering employees’ questions.
The city recently installed grant-funded AED kits and Narcan emergency overdose kits in many municipal buildings and public places around West Haven.
Each Lifepak AED kit contains gloves, a face mask, scissors and a razor, as well as a Narcan overdose kit with two 4-milligram nasal sprays. Narcan is a brand name for a device that delivers the opioid-overdose antidote naloxone.
After the ceremony, held in the Harriet C. North Community Room, about 100 employees broke into small groups in the second-floor hallway to receive training from more than 20 paramedics and EMTs in performing hands-only CPR, using an AED and administering Narcan.
The first-of-its-kind training for city employees consisted of two hourlong sessions.