WILMINGTON — The Emergency Medical Services Fund recently announced the award of their first grants, both of which are going to Deerfield Valley Rescue.
The first is $45,937.33 for the purchase of state-of-the-art monitor/defibrillator and an automated CPR device. The second is $50,000 for construction of a training room at their new location.
DVR requested assistance with purchasing big ticket items in order to replace some old equipment while furnishing their new ambulance with the high-end equipment so their technicians have what's necessary to provide the highest level of pre-hospital care possible.
In addition, with their move to a recently purchased building in Wilmington, DVR requested funds for necessary renovations.
The grant funds are earmarked for construction and equipping of a community training room. In addition to holding training and classes for their members, these funds will allow DVR to expand their community offerings, including CPR classes.
“This is very exciting for our organization,” said Marc Bernard Schauber, president and founder of the EMS Fund, in a news release. “It's been a long road getting to the point where we are in a position to make a positive impact on a community and assist this treasured local organization. I couldn't be more proud that the first grants our organization awards are going to my hometown ambulance service.”
The EMS Fund was founded in 2013 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to enhance the effectiveness of organizations that provide volunteer ambulance services to the general public in the communities in which they operate. The EMS Fund works to achieve its goals by providing financial support or equipment so that these organizations can provide the highest quality emergency medical services possible.
Deerfield Valley Rescue was founded in 1974 by a group of southern Vermont residents who were concerned about the delivery of emergency medical care to the residents and guests of the Deerfield Valley.
Now serving the towns of Wilmington, Dover, Searsburg, Somerset, Whitingham, Halifax, and portions of Marlboro and Stratton, DVR is a nonprofit operated by two full-time employees and approximately 25 volunteers who staff ambulances 24 hours a day.
DVR runs out of three stations; the Wilmington station containing two ambulances and the business office and the West Dover and Jacksonville stations, each housing one ambulance.