At the annual awards banquet of the Chester County EMS Council held on Wednesday evening, the West Grove Fire Company was recognized as the Distinguished EMS Service of the Year. Also, several WGFC EMS personnel were recognized for a clinical save.

The annual awards banquet was held in Kennett Square as part of the EMS Week Celebration. More than 250 EMS first responders, service leaders, and various county and local officials were on hand to acknowledge the life-saving work of those serving as first responders across the County.

A wide range of awards were presented for individual service, clinical saves, and for outstanding efforts in 2022. The WGFC was acknowledged for Distinguished Service, for which the criteria was: A Chester County Emergency Medical Services organization that displays a significant level of cooperation among other services, outstanding performance and effort when faced with adversity; or the promotion of an active display of teamwork, and support of various emergency services organizations in Chester County.

WGFC EMS was nominated for its work in 2022. On the official nomination form, the following statements were made in support of the Distinguished Service Award: The WGFC has performed outstanding EMS services in southern Chester County during a period of unprecedented pressure resulting from the closure of the Jennersville Hospital. The JRH closure has had a significant impact on WGFC EMS operation, as the hospital had been the primary destination for BLS calls, and for ALS emergencies. Now all of those calls are going to Chester County Hospital and Christiana Hospital (with a small number going to Nemours (children), Union (Elkton). In addition to what is stated above, this nomination is offered because the WGFC EMS organization plays a leadership role as the critical lynch pin in the overall southern Chester County EMS system, coordinating an operational response to the closing of the local hospital, and connecting the dots between BLS, ALS, fire, County emergency services, and the municipalities. It should be noted that 2022 represented a significant year for WGFC EMS, finishing with 3,142 calls, and increase of 246 over the previous period. The service maintained a response record of 96 percent. Among those calls, WGFC EMS responded to 381 calls for mutual aid across 18 municipalities outside its own district -- clear testimony of the organization's contribution to the EMS system as a whole, and its ability to partner and cooperate with neighboring services. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that WGFC personnel continued to also play a major role in public education in EMS, with hundreds of hours in front of school children and the public at events to provide awareness on EMS-related safety issues, even while facing these operational challenges. WGFC EMTs have been lauded by patients and organizations for outstanding patient care even while operating during the organizations busiest period in its history.

In addition to the WGFC being recognized as a full service, several WGFC personnel were acknowledged for being a part of a team of first responder who responded to a cardiac arrest save on September 25, 2022 in Penn Township. Receiving clinical save awards were WGFC's Tim Shannon, Madison Rohrbach, and Joseph Lechette who responded along with Jim Barnes and Robert Guiney of Medic 94. Congratulations to these providers on saving a life.

During EMS Week, we acknowledge each of our EMS providers for their compassion, patient care, and commitment to serving this community. We are exceptionally proud of our EMS team, and their accomplishment as Chester County's Distinguished EMS Service for 2022.

(For more information about the event, photos, and a list of honorees, please see: https://tinyurl.com/45a39fc7 )