November - December 2023 Volume 30 Number 4
COMPLIMENTARY us on Facebook for Ross/West View EMSA serves five Like more news and upat facebook.com/ municipalities with cutting-edge dates PittsburghSeniorNews. emergency medical care and technical rescue
24/7 Emergency Medical Care and Technical Rescue Ross/West View EMSA has a fleet of emergency and rescue vehicles at the ready, including seven Medic vehicles, two squad cars and two rescue/special operations vehicles. The authority prides itself on its ability to respond quickly and provide roundthe-clock emergency medical care to the community. Their services include delivering high-quality prehospital care, such as advanced life support, basic life support and wheelchair van services.
Back row: Bill Turkovich, Jeff Ninehouser, Mike Vetterly, Jason Butterfield; Front row: DJ Lesh, Dalton Crump, Colin Bashline, Lana Martynuk
By Gina Mazza It’s one of those public services that you’re glad is always there when you need it, even if you hope you’ll never need it. Like many other areas around Allegheny County, older adult residents of Ross Township and West View Borough have the peace of mind of knowing that they can call on their neighborhood emergency medical services authority for help with a comprehensive array of medical and rescue services.
If you live in these municipalities and don’t know about the Ross/West View Emergency Medical Services Authority, it’s worth your time to learn about them. The authority’s EMS staff is available to the approximately 56,000 residents of not only Ross Township and West View Borough, but also Millvale Borough, Reserve Township and Ohio Township. Their team consists of an executive and assistant director, along with four supervisors, five crew chiefs, 56 full time, part time, or volunteer staff and a nineperson board of directors.
“We make calls for something as simple as if someone falls in their home and needs help,” comments Greg Porter MBA, NRP, FO4, Executive Director of Ross/West View EMSA. “We check their vital signs and medical history, inquire about their preferred hospital, and transport them there, as needed. We also do home safety and wellness checks, and if someone is at risk for falling, we look for anything that’s a potential hazard, such as loose hand rails, carpets and throw mats. We take a look at smoke alarms in the home while we’re there. If there are things that are needed for safety, such as a ramp into the home, we can recommend a local contractor to do this work.” Continued on page 24
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