PEEKSKILL, N.Y. The Peekskill Volunteer Ambulance Corps is looking for new volunteers to help cover its calls.
Its service award program, which was approved by New York State in 1988 to help municipalities recruit and retain emergency volunteers, provides cash incentives to volunteers.
The Corps was established in 1964 and still sits at its original home at 1427 Main Street. The 27-member group is busier than ever covering calls, according to president Perci Grudzina.
"Our average is 2,700 calls per year," Grudzina said.
Members are expected to work 250 hours per year but some volunteers worked over 2,000 hours last year in order to cover all the calls, totaling 2,246.
"It's amazing what we've done with the 27 people that we have, and we cover the city of Peekskill which is very large," Grudzina said.
The department is mostly subsidized by third-party medical insurance billing paid by those who they transport. The corps has a contract with Empress ambulance services to provide an EMT driver 12 hours a day, seven days a week. That cost is subsidized by the city.
While the department has been able to cover calls with the members it has, there is a need to recruit new members as current members retire.
Those looking to join the corps must take a CPR course though the department just to ride on an ambulance. To become an EMT, volunteers have to take a class that runs two nights a week and a few Saturdays for four months.
The Corps also has a youth program for teens looking to volunteer, which allows them to transition directly into the corps after completing the proper training.
For more information or to volunteer, call (914) 737-5310 or www.pcvac.org.
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