Henrietta, N.Y. - On the day that Henrietta Volunteer Ambulance was founded, the hearse was still the common form of emergency transport. It was 1962, and emergency services were primitive compared to what they are today.
To say that things have changed would be an understatement. And yet while emergency services have improved in just about every way, there is one area that has gone backward: volunteerism.
In 1980, Henrietta Volunteer Ambulance saw a peak of 145 volunteers. Kodak was booming, and many volunteers were Kodak workers who enjoyed their dual routines of work and volunteering with HVA. But as the economy has struggled, so has the recruiting effort for volunteers. Today, HVA has 30 volunteers and 45 paid staff members. The volunteers average about 12 hours a month, roughly half what they used to offer.
"People think they just can't make the time, but they can," says Tracey Wenzel, a working mother of two who has volunteered since 1994. "It's one of the most rewarding things I can imagine. There are people that need you, and to help them feels wonderful. It's how we can give back to our community."
"There's no doubt that having fewer volunteers impacts the cost of service," explains Chief Reg Allen. "Training for volunteers is free, and on our staff, volunteers are just as capable as paid employees. The level of service is the highest it can be no matter who responds to a call."
A surge in volunteering would be the ideal birthday gift for a company that is helping set the standard for emergency response work. Deputy Cheif Jim Bucci says the 50th anniversary offers a chance to measure how far ambulance companies have come.
"Now you have paramedics who can do pretty much what they do in the emergency room in the first 15 or 20 minutes of patient care," Bucci says. "The people who work for HVA, I'm constantly amazed at the work they do."
Prospective volunteers can contact Henrietta Volunteer Ambulance by phone or by the company's website, www.henriettaambulance.org.
