Business
Posties Nielsen's Home for the Holidays 910-18-16

Support Darien EMS-Post 53 at Nielsen’s Florist ‘Home for the Holidays’ Fundraiser

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This year marks the 5th annual “Home for the Holidays” event to benefit Darien EMS-Post 53. Nielsen’s Florist will host the event from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10, in their conservatory at 1405 Post Rd, Darien. This unique event is a chance for Darien EMS- Post 53 to mix and mingle with the community that they are trained to serve, while attendees can enjoy an atmosphere of holiday cheer and glorious abundance. It is a pre-season cocktail party, showcasing gorgeous holiday table arrangements and introducing Nielsen’s 2016 Christmas collection.

Public Safety
CFD moving out 3-11-16

Stamford Paramedics Approved for Darien EMS-Post 53, with Housing on Post Road

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved a proposal to hire Stamford Emergency Medical Services (SEMS) as a provider of paramedics to Darien EMS-Post 53. First Selectman Jayme Stevenson said town officials are looking into housing the paramedics at the town-owned house the Darien Community Fund used to use, next to Old Town Hall Homes at 701 Post Road. At the board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Stevenson proposed dispensing with the town going through a request for proposals in preparation for bids to provide the service. Having in-town paramedics, long a controversial proposal pushed by town resident Walter Casey and criticized by Darien Emergency Medical Services-Post 53 officials, was recommended earlier this year in a report by Illinois consultants McGrath Consulting Group, who were hired by the town. Dr. Douglas Gallo, medical director for both Stamford Emergency Medical Services and Darien EMS-Post 53, has said, according to the consultants, that in-town paramedics would provide “no clinical benefit over the existing paramedic arrangement, it would not be cost-effective, and infrequency of paramedic skill usage would result in skill deterioration.”

Community Organizations
Post 53 Memorial Day Food Fair 2016 5-23-16

Right After Monday’s Memorial Day Parade — Darien EMS-Post 53 Food Fair

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Darien EMS-Post 53 will hold its annual Memorial Day Food Fair at Tilley Park Pond on May 30 following the Memorial Day parade, raising money to support training, provide supplies, provide hands-only CPR classes and maintain ambulances. 

The fair, which begins immediately after the parade, continues until 2 p.m. and features fun for the entire community. Admission tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the gate as well as outside select retail and non-retail locations around town prior to Memorial Day. As always, the fair will include a tasty and tempting food selection. _____________

— an announcement from Darien EMS-Post 53 (except for the captions)

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Post members will be hard at work grilling hamburgers and bratwurst, and serving pulled pork, seafood salads, delicious desserts and more.  Suppliers include Palmer’s Market, Michael Joseph’s, Fisherman’s Net, The Goose, and Smoky Joe’s. Founded in 1970, Post 53 provides emergency medical services to the Darien community at the highest level of excellence, using Darien High School students and adult volunteers.

Public Safety
Nancy Herling, Ron Hammer, Darien EMS-Post 53 5-13-16

Nancy Herling Succeeds Ron Hammer as Director of Darien EMS-Post 53

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At its recent board meeting, Nancy Herling was named director of Darien EMS-Post 53, replacing Ron Hammer who is retiring from the role after six years. As director, Herling is responsible for the operations of the ambulance service, including personnel, training, fundraising, operations and community outreach. Herling is the eighth person to serve as director in Post’s 46-year history and the first who also served as a member of Post as a student and is the parent of a former Postie. “We are so pleased that Nancy has agreed to take on this role as director of Post 53. She brings many years of valuable experience with Post to the job — understanding all aspects the organizations and its role in the community,” said Mike Murray, the Post’s board chairman.

Holidays
Darien EMS - Post 53 sign 4-3-16

Post 53 Food Tickets ‘Pre-Sale’ Now Underway for Memorial Day Parade

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Darien EMS-Post 53 announced that it is pre-selling admission tickets for its annual Memorial Day Food Fair at select locations around town. Sales are taking place outside some 16 retail and non-retail locations some weekdays, evenings and all weekends from May 6 until May 27. “Ticket pre-sales are a great way for young families to get to the fun faster after the parade.  When you have young children in strollers and your kids are excited to get to the action, it’s hard to wait on line, so why not get right to the fun with your tickets already in hand?” said Gayle Close, co-chair of ticket sales for the Post 53 Food Fair. “A select group of local retailers have kindly allowed us to set up ticket sales outside their stores, so you’ll see Post 53 volunteers all over town in the next few weeks,” she said.  “We want to thank our retail partners for their tremendous support.”
“This is also a great way to support Darien EMS-Post 53, recognizing that the Food Fair — while it’s a lot of great family fun, especially for young families — is also a fundraiser to support the work that the community relies on every day,” Close continued.

Public Safety
Post 53 Darien EMS

Darien EMS Consultants: Post 53 Should Stop Delaying Some Arrivals on I-95

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Consultants hired by the town to evaluate Darien EMS-Post 53 say the ambulance service shouldn’t be waiting for fire trucks before getting to the scenes of Interstate 95 medical emergencies. The Illinois-based McGrath Consulting Group is on the agenda for Monday night’s 7 p.m. Board of Selectmen meeting, where the consultants will officially present the report (full text here) to selectmen. Darien TV79 plans to show the meeting on Cablevision Channel 79 and on the Internet. Right now, Darien EMS-Post 53 has a policy that ambulances will wait on highway on-ramps for fire trucks to get to emergency scenes first, according to the report (all quotes in this article are from page 49 of the report). The Director of Post 53 [Ron Hammer] was adamant that no member would be required to respond onto Interstate 95 until the fire department arrived first to provide additional protection from traffic; as stated in their operational protocols.

Public Safety
Darien EMS - Post 53 sign 4-3-16

Consultant: Darien Should Streamline Dispatching for Medical Emergencies

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Darien EMS-Post 53 ambulances could get to medical emergencies in Darien quicker if the town made changes in the way it handles 911 calls, according to consultants hired by the town. The “McGrath Report” posted on the town website Friday from the McGrath Consulting Group, based in Illinois, looked into how Darien provides emergency medical services and made various recommendations for improvements. Much of the report delved into whether paramedics should be based within the town (the consultants recommended it). The second-most emphatic recommendation in the report was that Darien should change the way it handles 911 calls for medical emergencies in order to cut down the time it takes to dispatch Darien EMS-Post 53 to them. The consultants want dispatcher based in the Darien Police Headquarters building to immediately mute the phone and transfer emergency 911 callers to the Bridgeport-based “C-Med” dispatching service that the town uses.

Public Safety
Darien EMS-Post 53 Post 53 34-2-16

Consultant: Darien Should Have Paramedics Stationed in Town

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Darien EMS-Post 53 should have a paramedic on duty at all times in town, contracted from an organization and based at Post 53 headquarters on Ledge Road, say the EMS consultants hired by the town. The lack of a paramedic based in town increases average response time for paramedics (from the time dispatchers inform the ambulance service of an emergency to arrival time at the scene), the report from McGrath Consultants said. It takes, on average, 5 minutes, 53 seconds for a Darien EMS-Post 53 ambulance to arrive at the scene after being dispatched. For the current paramedics coming in from Stamford, it takes 9 minutes, 21 seconds, according to the report. That’s a difference of 3 minutes, 28 seconds (9:21 — 5:53 = 3:28).