Greetings from the dedicated volunteer responders at St. John Rescue.
We continue to make progress expanding on the services that we offer to the public.
As we forge ahead with several initiatives we want to let you all know just what we do and what we hope to achieve in the near future.
One of the most ambitious undertaking has been the establishment of a Nationally Certified EMR course. The EMR (Emergency Medical Technician) course is an invaluable course that provides the student with skills to deal with medical emergencies. It also opens the door to a career as a firefighter and to prepare the student for the next level; which is EMT.
Yes, St. John Rescue plans on offering an Emergency Medical Technician course at our headquarters on Gifft Hill Road. Why are we taking on this monumental task?
It has been proven that there are several advantages to becoming an EMR or EMT. First, it provides you with the opportunity to develop more life saving skills. It also provides you with skills that are in demand. Upon successful completion of our EMR or EMT course you will be qualified to take the National Registry test that will certify you as a nationally certified EMR or EMT. Becoming a National Registry EMR or EMT makes you eligible to work in the emergency medical field anywhere in the US.
In addition to being prepared for a career you will be trained to respond to unexpected situations during and immediately following a natural disaster. This will greatly reduce the demand on FEMS and Myra Keating Smith Community Health Center personnel,(especially during a hurricane) yet ensure that the most vulnerable St. John residents are property cared for.
This project will combine the training of residents to become certified as either EMR’s, EMT’s, or in the near future AEMT’s on St. John by a nationally certified Paramedic who will also be able to respond as a St. John Rescue volunteer.
By providing residents with the opportunity to learn these lifesaving skills we will be increasing the probability that a person in need of medical attention will receive it in a timely manner. With highly trained nationally certified EMR’s, EMT’s, and AEMT’s located throughout the island help will be more readily available to those in need.
St. John Rescue is a dynamic organization that is dependent on donations and grants. We search out and apply for grants from government and private sources to support our ability to provide the best emergency rescue services possible to the residents and visitors on St. John.
Providing these services will require an extraordinary amount of fund-raising and grant writing. Our operations depend on the generosity of our friends and visitors on St. John and on available government and private grants.
In order to initiate this service, we will need to provide funding to maintain the services of our Paramedic/Clinical Educator who is certified to teach National Registry level courses on St. John as well as being a responding member of St. John Rescue.
This course will comply with National Registry and with the Virgin Islands requirements for training of EMR’s and EMT’s.
Our goal is to raise $125,000.00 to be able to purchase hi-tech manikins along with other technical equipment and to provide for a full time training coordinator and instructor. We feel that with that funding we can get the service up and running for about a year. We will continue to search out and apply for local, federal, and private grants in order to be able to sustain this service into the foreseeable future.
Please consider helping us so we can continue offering life-saving services and, hopefully, expand our ability to help improve the health and well being of all St. John residents and visitors.
Please consider supporting us either financially or by joining our organization as a supporting or responding member. The volunteers at St. John Rescue provide medical coverage for local events such as 8 Tuff Miles, Beach to Beach Power Swim, Men’s Basketball League, Police week activities, the annual hurricane expo, among other events. You can check out our Facebook page to see the services that St. John Rescue has been providing to the public.
We have been offering CPR and First Aid classes to the general public at no cost for over 20 years.
We conduct monthly membership meetings on the first Thursday of each month. The meetings begin at 6 PM and usually last an hour and are held at our Headquarters on Gifft Hill Rd at the FORK IN THE ROAD.
Please take a look at our Facebook page and at the information included below to see what we have been doing and what we hope to accomplish..
For more information please call 340-693-7377 or email us at: stjohnrescue@gmail.com
