Bob Virgalla, one of nearly four dozen of Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps Emergency Medical Technicians, has a motto that is espoused by virtually all of his local colleagues: "Treat the patient, take care of the person." That attitude has been reinforced by Mr Virgalla since he traded his career in corporate public relations for a retirement that is anything but.Celebrating EMS Locallyrecently told The Bee that the corps has added more than a dozen new members in the past couple of years, but more are needed - and they never have to go on a call or put hands on an ailing patient to make a significant contribution to the organization.File of Life Foundation website. To learn more about supporting or volunteering in a variety of capacities for the NVAC, visit the group's open house on May 21 open house, or visit the NVAC website.

Mr Virgalla, over the course of his years of service to the Newtown ambulance corps, has been honored as one of the top responders. And when you consider that about every four hours, every day, 365 days a year, a Newtown ambulance answers a 911 call for help, that could amount to a lot of interrupted dinners, delayed arrivals home, and postponed family time.

But he, like all the members, officers, and trustees of the local ambulance company do it out of a passion for giving back to the community, because they derive fulfillment out of helping and occasionally saving the lives of others, and for the experience of working at one of what Virgalla calls, "The best emergency service organizations in the entire state."

This week, Newtown's ambulance corps volunteers and their counterparts across the country are being celebrated during National EMS Week.

According to the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), President Gerald Ford authorized EMS Week in 1974 to celebrate EMS practitioners and the important work they do in our nation's communities. Today EMS agencies including Newtown's are firmly established as an essential public function and a vital component of the medical care continuum.

Local EMS agencies like the NVAC are trained and equipped to provide both basic and advanced medical care at the scene of an emergency and en route to a hospital. With the development of mobile integrated health care and community paramedicine (MIH-CP), EMS is also increasingly a valued participant in achieving the nation's overall health care goals of improved patient health and lowered costs according to NAEMT.

This year, NAEMT continues its partnership with the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) on the "EMS Strong" campaign.

To celebrate locally, the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps is hosting an open house for the community on Saturday, May 21, from 9 am to 2 pm, at its headquarters, located at 6 Washington Avenue, within Fairfield Hills. Admission is free.

Members of the independent nonprofit service were also treated to a catered dinner May 11 from resident and local Registrar of Voters LeReine Frampton.

It was also announced May 18 that NVAC responders played a role in Danbury Emergency Medical Service receiving the American Heart Association's "Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Award," for the second year running, for implementing quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks.

NVAC Chief Michael Collins

"The corps currently has a need for several volunteers to assist us with their business skills," Chief Collins said. "And there are dozens of other duties and functions that will never involve the volunteer answering an emergency call, or treating a patient.

"We offer some benefits [including a modest property tax abatement for qualified responders], but for many of us, we do it because we love it and we want to be there to help protect our neighbors and the folks who visit or drive through Newtown," he added.

NVAC has been serving the community since 1941, and has been mostly self-sustaining in that members primarily depend on residents' financial donations for operating expenses. Taxpayers each year, through the town budget, help underwrite half the average cost of an ambulance replacement, along with some of the expense of a paid, 24-hour onsite paramedic.

In his experience, Mr Virgalla has gained insight and offers a few points of information to the public to help clear up misunderstandings they may have about NVAC and the services it offers.

"I'd say one of the most widespread misconceptions is, if you call an ambulance for transport to a hospital, you'll get priority treatment and see a doctor faster than patients who may have transported themselves to the emergency room," he said. "Completely untrue based on the ER's system of triaging patients based on the severity of their ailment or injury.

"We've been asked to transport quite a few patients who end up being delivered to the waiting room to wait their turn behind others with more threatening conditions or injuries," he said.

Another critical component, especially in households where one or more members has a medical condition, is establishing and frequently updating a "File of Life." Mr Virgalla said the file should be tacked to one's refrigerator so it can be found easily by responders if on a call.

NVAC has a limited supply of File of Life kits available for the asking. To learn more and to order a File of Life, visit the Connecticut-based

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