Judge Cannon Declares Next Week EMS Week: May 15-21

L-R: Bruce Vincent, Keith Sanders, Judge Wil Cannon, Hank Vincent, and Walter Lindsey stand with signed proclamation.

Judge Executive Wil Cannon signed a proclamation at the May 9, 2016 Fiscal Court meeting declaring May 15 thru 21st "EMS Week" in Edmonson County, recognizing the national event at a local level.

The theme for this year's event is entitled "EMS STRONG, Called to Care." A printed statement on the proclamation from Cannon said "I encourage the community to show their appreciation to Emergency Medical Service providers."

In 1973, President Gerald Ford authorized EMS Week to celebrate EMS, its practitioners and the important work they do in responding to medical emergencies. Back then, EMS was a fledgling profession and EMS practitioners were only beginning to be recognized as a critical component of emergency medicine and the public health safety net.

A lot has changed over the last four decades. EMS is now firmly established as a key component of the medical care continuum, and the important role of EMS practitioners in saving lives from sudden cardiac arrest and trauma; in getting people to the hospitals best equipped to treat heart attacks and strokes; and in showing caring and compassion to their patients in their most difficult moments.

Whether it’s the team at Grady EMS in Atlanta who had the expertise to transport the nation's first Ebola patient, the volunteer firefighters and flight medics called to search for and rescue survivors in the Everett, Wash. mudslide or the thousands of EMS responses that happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and don't make the news, EMS is there for their communities at their greatest time of need.
 
Please join the Edmonson Voice and all of Edmonson County to take a few moments to recognize those individuals who have dedicated their lives to providing life-saving care whenever and wherever it is needed.