‘Thank you’

May is First Responders Awareness Month.

Vivian (last name not provided) is a fifth grader and a Junior Girl Scout with Troop 24518. She is working on her bronze award with a community project that shines a spotlight on township police, fire and EMS.

Vivian will address the important role of first responders as she collects donations for June events that will celebrate and thank them. To kick off her project, she created a 10-minute educational video in which she interviews responders and school officials.

They included Shawnee High School principal Matthew Campbell; township superintendent Keira Scussa; Chief Robert Dovi Jr. of the township fire and EMS; police Sgt. Christopher “CJ” Walsh; Haleigh Iuliucci, a Medford EMT; and Rachel Gotshall, school nurse at Shawnee.

The following are some of the responses:

Vivian: Why is first responders awareness month important for our schools and community to recognize?

Campbell: I think it’s important for schools and communities to recognize first responders because of all the good they do for our community and all the good they are able to do. They are the type of people that put a lot of time and effort into making sure that everyone in the community is safe and we don’t really get to appreciate them until we need them.

Vivian: Why is it so important for schools to build strong partnerships with first responders before an emergency ever happens?

Campbell: It’s important to build strong relationships … that will allow them (responders) to be more comfortable and (have) better knowledge of where they are going and what they need to be doing.

Vivian: How do first responders and school staff work together and practice behind the scenes to keep students safe and prepare for an emergency?

Scussa: You may not realize that a lot of work happens behind the scenes. School administrators and their staff – we meet with local police, fire departments and emergency medical teams to review safety plans and emergency procedures. You know those fire drills that you have at school and the other drills? We do that so that we can train our students and staff to know what happens if an emergency situation ever occurs.

Vivian: If you could say one thing directly to first responders, what would it be?

On that question, Campbell and Scussa answered with a resoundingly “Thank you.”

During Vivian’s video, Dovi explained that the Medford fire Department started in 1814 as a union fire company.

“It has evolved into an accommodation department servicing 40 square miles of municipality,” he added.

Police Sgt. Walsh said the township police department is made up of 40 officers, from the top with Police Chief William Dunleavy, to part-time police officers. Iuliucci explained that when a person calls 911 for a medical emergency, time is of the essence.

“The first few minutes are so important,” she explained, “because the medical care that you receive in those first few minutes are the most critical.”

Gotshall shared that nurses and first responders work as a team.

“They work together by providing coordinated care for students and staff members,” she noted. “Often in a school, we are usually the first ones to arrive to a situation, assess the situation and able to contact EMS.”

Dovi added that having first responders in a community makes it stronger.

“Because somebody on somebody’s worst day is going to be there as soon as they call 911.”

For more information visit https://form.jotform.com.

As she collects donations for the June events, Vivian said all donors will be recognized in a digital thank-you card that will be shared with the local heroes. One hundred percent of donations will go directly to Medford’s first responders. Any extra funds will be equally donated to the police, fire and EMS departments.