Grant funds to improve care

It’s officially EMS Week, when communities across the nation give special recognition to the emergency services that keep them and their communities safe.

The theme for the 50th anniversary observance of EMS Week is “Honoring our past. Forging our future.”

This year, the Community Ambulance Service of New Rockford (CASNR) was awarded a grant that will help them continue to serve their community right here in rural North Dakota.

“We recently found out that we were awarded a grant from New Rockford Community Foundation, a component of the North Dakota Community Foundation,” said Angie Hopfauf, CASNR’s manager.

“The grant was written for digital video packets for Basic Life Support and Heartsavers CPR used by our CPR instructors.”

She added that the grant will also include the lungs and practice masks for their mannequins used in training, as well as face shield keychains for all who take the CPR classes.

“The second part of our grant included purchasing gait belts and tourniquets for all our Emergency Medical Responders and Emergency Medical Technicians to add to their medical bags that they carry with them to respond to needs in the community quickly,” said Hopfauf.

The grant from the New Rockford Community Foundation is sure to go a long way toward giving CASNR the tools they need to be successful.

However, it takes more than tools to do the important work CASNR does each and every year.

Most important is having enough staff to get the job done, and Hopfauf said they’re always on the lookout for anyone willing to step up and make a difference.

“As always we would like to express our gratitude for our great volunteers,” said Hopfauf. “The time and effort put into our community is very commendable!” If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please reach out to Angie Hopfauf at 701-947-2355.

In celebration of EMS Week, which officially runs from May 19-25, CASNR will be participating in a variety of events for local youth, residents and volunteers to participate in.

In fact, on Friday, May 17, CASNR kicked off the week a little early to give ambulance tours and some education on safety for students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

On Monday, May 20, CASNR will hold their squad meeting at which they recognize all their volunteers with gifts. Their education for the night will be updating CPR certifications.

“We will be at Miller's Fresh Foods in New Rockford on Thursday, May 23, from 11 a.m. to 12 to do blood pressure and blood sugar checks,” added Hopfauf. “We will also be serving root beer floats.”

Lastly, be sure to check out CASNR’s Facebook page throughout this week for their "Did you know?" series.