February 4, 2009

For immediate release

NEWS RELEASE

Contact

Lynn Novelli, Development Director
301-656-5423, ext. 210
development@bccrs.org

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Receives Major Donation

from the Sanford and Doris Slavin Foundation 

Donation will allow Rescue Squad to continue advanced medical care.

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, one of the nation's most advanced and best-trained rescue squads, is proud to announce a donation of $31,620 from the Sanford and Doris Slavin Foundation. The Foundation has agreed to provide the funds for the purchase of state-of-the-art cardiac monitoring equipment.

“We are thrilled to have this generous donation from Mr. and Mrs. Slavin to help us continue delivering exceptional care to area residents,” stated Chief Edward G. Sherburne. “We are grateful for the Slavins’ compassion and dedication to the community. Their gift will enable us to upgrade our medical equipment so that our Paramedics will be able to treat each patient according to the latest standards, with the potential for better patient recovery.”

"We are making this donation in thanks for the many years of outstanding service that the B-CC Rescue Squad has provided to our county’s residents,” said Mr. and Mrs. Slavin. “It is our hope that others will also be able to contribute to the extent they are able at such a critical time."

Established in 1971, the Sanford and Doris Slavin Foundation has a mission to assist the growing population of families in need in Montgomery County. Major gifts in the recent past include those to the Mental Health Association, the Montgomery County Community Foundation's Sharing Montgomery Fund, Round House Theatre, and the Suburban Hospital Foundation.

Donation will help the Squad address patients' medical emergencies.   

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad’s 150 professionally trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), Paramedics, and Firefighters respond 24 hours a day to the community’s emergencies. Of this group, 30 Paramedics and EMT-Is (Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate) use a variety of lifesaving equipment aboard the Rescue Squad’s Advanced Life Support (Medic) Units. Paramedics and EMT-Is are trained in critical-care skills such as cardiac monitoring and the administration of lifesaving drugs. When a patient is experiencing chest pains or other symptoms of cardiac problems, a Paramedic or EMT-I will  use a cardiac monitor to view a readout of the heart’s electrical activity called an electrocardiogram, or EKG. In cases of cardiac arrest–the complete failure of the heart to pump blood–the Paramedic or EMT-I can defibrillate the heart, if indicated by medical protocols. Defibrillation is the application of an electrical shock to the heart, with the goal of restoring a normal heartbeat and bloodflow.

Approximately 81 million American adults suffer from cardiovascular disease.

Nearly 870,000 adults die in the U.S. each year as a result of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease accounts for more deaths than any other single cause or group of causes of death in the U.S. Approximately 920,000 Americans experience a heart attack (death of a portion of the heart muscle due to inadequate blood flow) annually. (Data from American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: 2008 Update at a Glance,” http://www.heart.org/downloadable/heart/1200078608862HS_Stats%202008.final.pdf ; and American Heart Association, “CPR Facts and Statistics,” updated 5/8/2008, http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3034352 .)

Experts agree that rapid intervention (activating the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system, early medical assessment and treatment, and proper follow-up care) are essential for preventing death or further injury when a heart attack or other cardiac event occurs.

The Rescue Squad's Services

The Rescue Squad has seven Ambulance/Medic units and one Paramedic “chase” car and responds to calls in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Friendship Heights, and Glen Echo, as well as parts of Cabin John, Potomac, North Bethesda, Kensington, and Rockville. Medic units also respond to the District of Columbia on request from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department. The Squad’s two heavy rescue squads respond to vehicle collisions, house and building fires, Metro train incidents, swift-water rescues, high-angle rescues, and other emergencies requiring specialized rescue techniques.

About the Rescue Squad

Now in its 69th year, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad is a philanthropically operated, community-supported non-profit organization that provides, at no charge to the recipient, professional emergency medical, ambulance, rescue, and fire services to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Maryland area, as well as upper Northwest Washington, D.C. Thanks to the generous donations of the community and the efforts of 150 professionally trained volunteers and daytime staff, the Rescue Squad has evolved into one of the nation's most advanced rescue squads, providing compassionate, life-saving services to the community.

The Rescue Squad does not receive regular budgeted funds from any government. Instead, the Squad raises almost all of its $1.9 million operating budget from individual donors, foundations, businesses, and occasional state and federal grants. The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad is registered under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and contributions to the Squad are tax-deductible as allowable by law.

For information on ways to donate to the Rescue Squad, call Ms. Lynn Novelli, Development Director, at 301-656-5423, ext. 210, or email development@bccrs.org .

Emergency Medical Services is an area in which the Rescue Squad has consistently excelled. The Rescue Squad, which was the first department in the State to operate a Medic unit, was also one of the first in the County to utilize 12-lead EKGs and the first in the County to equip all of its ambulances with automated external defibrillators.

For information on volunteering with the Rescue Squad, call the membership hotline at 301-657-5557, or visit www.bccrs.org. No experience is necessary, and volunteers receive free professional training as well as annual physicals.

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