VCAD to host EMS Week open house on May 16

The Vernon County Ambulance District will hold an open house to celebrate National EMS Week at their headquarters at 515 E. Walnut, Nevada, on Saturday, May 16. from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Director James McKenzie said the event would be a good time to come out and meet the people inside the ambulances.

"This is a good time to see our folks," McKenzie said. "Most of the time people see us in very tense times and it may seem we're short with them. It's good to be able to see them in better circumstances, where we can be ourselves."

McKenzie said the ambulance crews are dedicated to the community and have proved it by the many ways they have contributed their time and their talents to projects in the area.

"A lot of our guys do a lot of things you never hear about," McKenzie said. "They coach ball teams and help clean up the community on the weekends, things like that. We wouldn't do all that we do to volunteer around the community if we didn't care so much."

McKenzie said in addition to the ambulance district personnel Eagle Med and Med Flight would have a presence at the open house.

"We're going to have the helicopter crews there too," McKenzie said. "We're all working toward the same goals, getting people the help they need."

In communities such as Vernon County it's important for EMS personnel to be prepared.

"In a rural community like this you need to be on the top of your game, it's not like Kansas City or St. Louis, it may take 20 or 30 minutes to get somewhere and if you don't have something you need with you it's a long way to go get it," McKenzie said. "You have to have everything you need when you head out. You have to be well prepared."

An inflatable slide will be available for the children to slide on and balloons will be given away.

If the rainy weather continues into the weekend, the open house could be conducted indoors; but McKenzie is hoping for clear weather for the event because of the cookout that's planned.

"We're going to have some good food there," McKenzie said. "Hamburgers and hot dogs and other good things."