Junior Ambulance: Dedication, Commitment, And Youthful Hearts

It was a moment Edona Popi will never forget. The patient was a middle aged man, emotionally disturbed, the victim of a car accident.

“He wasn’t in the best state of mind,” Ms. Popi recalled. “I just talked with him and let him ramble and kept him calm, and I could literally see his blood pressure going down … to be able to honestly and genuinely help him, that was rewarding.”

Poised to graduate from Westhampton Beach High School this month and head to the University of Virginia to study biology in the fall, Ms. Popi was one of 35 high school students who, earlier this month, completed the term in the Westhampton War Memorial Junior Ambulance. She’s one of nine program graduates who will be joining the ambulance corps as a full member this summer.

Mary Post, a local nursery school teacher who’s since moved to Maine, pioneered the junior ambulance program in Westhampton. But, under current leaders Glenn Dorskind and Chris Isola, the program has taken off, said the group’s third leader, Patty Ziparo-Dalton.

“Chris and Glenn took the ball and ran with it,” she said.

All three leaders mentioned ambulance association Chief Robert Bancroft, thankful he embraced the concept of having high school students participate in ambulance calls.

He returned the praise: “They have done such a fantastic job growing this company over the last couple of years. I personally think it would be the envy of any company on Long Island.”

The admiration among the trio of leaders is heartening. Ms. Ziparo-Dalton delights in observing the enthusiasm and passion fellow teacher Mr. Dorskind displays. “It’s awesome to watch him feed off the energy of the kids,” she said.

The high school English teacher originally approached the ambulance association because his daughter Joelle wanted to go to medical school. “You couldn’t join if you were under 18, so I said, ‘Well, I’ll join.’ I just did it spontaneously myself, and I’ve been there 15 years,” Mr. Dorskind recalled.

He signed on as a leader of the juniors not long after Mary Post formed the corps and about 10 years ago, Mr. Isola, a 30-year ambulance veteran, joined. Mr. Isola, who is also chief of the Quogue Village Police Department, had been a member of the ambulance association since he was 18. The goal of the program was to encourage young people to volunteer, and hopefully, volunteer with the ambulance corps, he explained.

Chief Isola’s daughter, Eva McCarthy, a Westhampton Beach senior who’ll graduate this month and head to St. Joseph’s College in pursuit of a teaching degree, said she joined the juniors because she was looking for a way to participate in community service. “I really like the idea of giving back, and helping people is my passion,” she said.

The program is open to juniors and seniors, with the first half of the year typically devoted to training in CPR, first aid and table top exercises, followed by opportunities to ride along and observe during the second half of the program.

But the last two years have been anything but typical.

In the midst of the pandemic, the 35 students trained together over Zoom, and, once it was safe, in small groups, then rode the ambulance together, signing on for blocks of time at the ambulance barn. Since March, members participated in nearly 100 calls through 285 shifts, some as long as six hours.

Ms. Ziparo-Dalton credited Mr. Isola, Mr. Dorskind, and Ms. McCarthy, the group’s president, with keeping the program together despite the nationwide shutdown.

“They managed to find ways to keep everyone connected,” she said. “Last Friday, we accepted nine of these kids into the ambulance association.”

Casey Gallagher is one of the juniors who has become a full-time member of the ambulance association. She described waiting in the ambulance barn for her first call. Like Ms. Popi’s, her patient did not require a lot of medical intervention; the need was more emotional.

“My role was to keep her calm,” Ms. Gallagher, who’ll pursue a pre-med track at LaSalle University this fall, recalled. “I knew before that I wanted to pursue medicine. Being here only solidified my desire.”

Graduates of the junior program have gone on to become nurses and even physicians.

“Some thought they were into it and found out it wasn’t for them, and for some who weren’t that into it, it became their passion,” Mr. Isola related. “This is a great outlet for kids who think they want to do something in the health field.”

At 16, Madilyn Dackow is among the younger members of the group. Finishing up her junior year at Westhampton Beach, she’ll continue on with the junior ambulance throughout the summer and into next year. This is the first summer the group, which usually suspends activity for the season, will continue.

The interest is “phenomenal,” Mr. Isola reported.

For Ms. Dackow, her first ride along call was a memory for a lifetime, as she joined her father, Tim, a paramedic on the ambulance.

“I was able to understand and see first hand what he actually does every day,” she said.

For Alexandra Sielaw, who is also a junior, the way the medics made sure the riders were safe and had a great time on the calls struck her.

Ms. McCarthy also made note of the welcoming atmosphere in the ambulance barn. “Everyone was very nice, and that gave me a sense of pride, even though I was scared,” she said.

Participants developed a community, Mr. Dorskind offered.

Leaders screen the calls, to make sure the youth are not exposed to intense trauma. Still, they marveled at the courage of their students, who stepped up, even in the midst of a pandemic. Speaking of the islandwide difficulties with recruitment, Mr. Dorskind noted, “The virus scared a lot of people away, but it didn’t scare our kids away.” With protocols in place, the students were safe.

Speaking at the group’s June 6 graduation gathering, Mr. Dorskind outlined the students’ array of contributions — helping with electronic data collection, transporting equipment from ambulance to medic at a scene, but most of all sitting with patients, bringing smiles to their faces.

Lauding their youthful enthusiasm, humor and energy, Mr. Dorskind expressed appreciation for the juniors’ commitment, integrity, skill and “wonderful hearts.”

“In the midst of the worst pandemic in over 100 years, 35 juniors and seniors trained together, learned together and rode together to ensure the citizens of our great community were provided with the best medical care possible,” he recounted.

“This is no mean feat,” he added. “EMS is a risky business, especially in the middle of a pandemic. Every call presents unknowns. We drive down foggy highways strewn with speeding cars and crossing deer with terrified sick people in the back and their worried spouses in our passenger seats … almost all of our calls include worried patients who are having one of the worst days of their lives. Although our training and our protocols have mitigated much of the danger, you just never know. But none of this has stopped out amazing students.”