Vol. 92, No. 29 “Contrary to the recent report in a Wilkes-Barre newspaper, the Back Mountain Medical Center is not for sale,” said Ray Hillman, president of the medical center board. the Medical Center. The Mobile Intensive Care Unit is housed there and will continue to be housed there. “We do have rooms which can be leased for office space. We could use a doctor in the building, and medical technicians such as radiologists or cardiologists would be a plus to the Back Mountain. “People don’t realize the work and time it takes to get a medical facility off the ground,” said Hillman. When Hillman was asked to comment on the Fall Fair Association’s recent decision to take control of the MICU, he told the Post that at Tuesday night’s meeting it was agreed Kerry Freeman would be sole spokesman for the program. Freeman is chairman of the committee, who recently named Ann Rowlands temporary coordinator of the paramedics. Freeman announced Tuesday that the paramedic unit will be run by a board separate from the Fall the committee’s proposal is ap- proved at the Association’s meeting in about two weeks. The Paramedic Committee was appointed by the Dallas Area Fall Fair Association to establish a more efficient method of operating the MICU. The committee conducted numerous surveys and interviews and took into consideration past records of the MICU. Resulfs of the committee’s research was a major factor in their July '16 suspension of the unit's elected officers from their duties and the appointment of Ann Rowlands appointment as interim coordinator. Freeman told the more than 40 ambulance members at the meeting, Tuesday, July 27, that the committee made the following recommendations to the FallFair Association: A governing board separate from the Fall Fair Association and the MICU should be established to operate the MICU. This board to be comprised of eight Back Mountain area residents appointedb to three year terms on a staggered basis. The first board is to be appointed by the commitee and thereafter, the board to select its own replacements for expired terms. The members should represent various professions and should no be affiliated with any localam- bulance unit or the unit. Dallas Fall Fair Association should provide financial assistance to the MICU, and the new board should utilize as much as possible bylaws that have been prepared by the paramedics, should it pursue incorporation. Freeman also said that the committee recommends that the board offer paramedic training to more Back Mountain residents, offer refresher courses, and transform the vehicle into a quick response unit rather than a secondary unit. The unit, founded in 1979, has about 40 volunteers and was operated by Back Mountain Area Ambulance Associations until 1981 when they withdrew their support. Back Mountain MICU is staffed by volunteer paramedics and emergency medical technicions. Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton units are staffed by paid paramedics and EMT's. Freeman said the primary concern of the committee is health care for Back Mountain residents. Twenty Five Cents Hanson’s Amusement Park. RY SHEILA HODGES Once again we are into the season of hot lazy days when all one really wants to do is to laze around by the pool, but in the regions hospitals there could be a critical situation. There has been a substantial in- crease in the use of blood and blood components, more so than ever this year. On June 21 the situation on critical although 16 per cent more blood was collected that month. Sinck that time, during the month of July,. there has been ‘only a slight improvement and’ the commoner types have been restricted in supply to hospitals. The increased demand.is due in part to the technological advances in treating diseases and injuries. For example, diseases of the im- mumalaninal austen are being A tragic accident recently em- phasized the need for the organization of specialty talents among Back Mountain volunteer services. The incident occured on « 26 and Gordon Rumore rned of it while monitoring his emergency frequency. Robert Booth, 32, of Forty Fort, went under at Novicki’s Farm Pond. Rumore’s expertise as a rescue . diver became the crucial factor in locating Booth in the icy water. Coupled with the Plains Mobile Intensive Care Unit's ability to perform emergency room precedures in the field, an attempt to resuscitate the body was made, it could have been much different. An untrained diver probably would not have found the body as June. 1 quickly. Or worse, if Rumore had not been monitoring the radio that Saturday afternoon, the problem could have been one of finding a proper diver. Thomas O’Brien, a former navy diver, who teaches scuba diving at Harveys Lake, was called but could not be reached immediately. O’Brien arrived at the scene after Rumore had located Booth. O’Brien is frequently called to aid State Police rescue efforts in this way. The incident points out a real need which Rumore, a Kunkle volunteer fire captain, believes can be filled with the proper organization. “Many of us have specialty talents which can be put to use on a mutual aid basis,” he explained. He refers specifically to volunteer fire and rescue workers who serve the Back Mountain community. Organization of specialties such as scuba diving, will add to the cooperative effort so often vital when an accident occurs. Rumore’s background and training gives him sound basis for his theories. He brings nearly 20 years experience to his present position with the Kunkle Fire Department. He has served as captain in the fire department, City of New York Auxiliary Fire Corps and as an EMT and training officer with the Staten Island Volunteer Heart Resuscitation Unit and Ambulance Corps. He is licensed to practice nursing in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and certified by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. He is presently \ aw » employed as Medical Care Coor- dinator by Emergency Medical Services of Northeastern Penn- sylvania. His committment to the volunteer effort has been a major part of his adult life. “It becomes a lifelong involvement for most of us,’”’he explained. Scuba diving started as a hobby for him but his tie to volunteer services led to his specializing in rescue rather than sport diving. The incident at Bunker Hill was the first in which his particular talents were put to use. In the past, Rumore said divers have only been used to recover dead bodies. Therefore, urgency was not a problem. However, modern medicine has shown that bodies immersed in very cold water can be resuscitated up to an hour later. It is this premise that rescue workers go on today. The body metabolism slows drastically in freezing water, giving resuscitation efforts their best chance. Rumore said medical teams have had good results, particularly with young children who have drowned in cold water. Rumore’s idea is to organize other local divers, especially those with knowledge of rescue patterns and methods. The Back Mountain Police Association has expressed interest in the project and will discuss the topic at its September meeting. Rumore believes there are enough trained personnel in the area now to get the project off the ground. On the other hand, he is very concerned that many drownings are unnecessary. With an abundance of Red Cross water safety courses available, he believes no one needs to be in a position of helplessness in a body of water. He finds this even more important as the number of home swimming pools increases. With the additional emergency measures, he advocates par- ticipation in the educational programs geared to increasing treated as they never were before and there is continual improvement in research and methods. Although one unit of blood can be broken down into its components and be used to help as many as four people, many patients require the com- ponents from several units in the treatment of one disease. Despite the present economic decline, hospital eapacity and health care aetivities are growing in our region, due mainly to the increased average age of the population. Younger people move out to‘find work and those retiring move back to the area where they were raised. In this area there is also a higher than average in- cidence of cancer related diseases. The Back Mountain Blood Council has been dramatically successful in increasing donations in the nine months since its formation. In 1979- 80 community donations were about 200, but in 1981-82 they will be over 1,000. But like everything else the council needs food to grow and in this case the food is volunteers. The backbone of this voluntary organization is the volunteer “caller”. For each blood drive there is the requirement for up- wards of 50 people fo call the known and potential donors, speaking on a one-to-one basis, asking them to donate at the next blood collection. In order for these callers (usually in teams of 10 persons) not to be worked too heavily, more teams must be found. They are usually based on a church or voluntary service organization. (Continued on P.'7) We apologize for the error in the July 28 issue of the Dallas Post column ‘Just Around the Corner’ which quite by accident, stated that Miss Donna Marie Pisaneschi, new Miss Pennsylvania American Vets, will be master of ceremonies at the Miss Northeastern Pennsylvania Pageant. This was incorrect. The item should have read: Miss Donna Marie Pisaneschi, new Miss 3 x Pennsylvania American Vets, will { be master of ceremonies at the | Northern Pennsylvania | Pageant’ to be held at the Woodlands, Aug. 14 and 15. A host of § prizes will be awarded. Interested § girls may call 823-8029. We apologize for any in-| convenience that may have been] caused by the mistake
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers