The Ville de Saint Lazare is offering reflective vests and armbands to citizens in an effort to encourage people to make sure they can be seen when out at night.
The items are offered at a 50% discount price – pretty much the lowest price for these items you’ll find.
Pick up yours at the Town Hall, the library, or the community centre.
More info in on the Ville de Saint Lazare website or available by calling 450 424 8000 ext. 257.
See info (in English) at: Santé et services sociaux Québec
The Saint Lazare Medical Response Unit is an independent non-profit organization providing First Responder service to the Town of Saint Lazare.
We are currently accepting applications for a part-time (weekday) First Responder.
JOB DESCRIPTION
I. SUMMARY POSITION DESCRIPTION:
Under the supervision of the Director, engages in the provision of basic life support pre-hospital care activities for the Saint Lazare Medical Response Unit; coordinates the operations of the volunteer organization; does related work as required.
II. CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF PERFORMANCE:
Participates in the provision of basic life support pre-hospital care;
performs certain basic life support procedures according to medical protocol; performs basic life support functions; provides training, coaching, and guidance to volunteer members; completes administrative tasks as assigned; coordinates daily operations; liaises with other emergency and governmental services; participates in quality assurance processes; completes quality control processing on all documentation.
III. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:
Effectively participates in determining the nature and extent of illness or injury of patient; administers emergency medical treatment to sick or injured patients; accurately executes reports concerning patients and patient care; responds to emergency calls alone, with a partner, or with a trainee; ensures the smooth operation of the Saint Lazare Medical Response Unit, its programs and services.
IV. KNOWLEDGE-SKILL-ABILITY REQUIRED TO PERFORM
SATISFACTORILY:
A. Knowledge:
1. Knowledge of emergency medical services principles and techniques.
2. Knowledge of laws, regulations, and protocols pertaining to emergency medical services, and first responders in particular, in the Montérégie.
B. Skill:
1. Skill to perform the duties required of a Quebec certified First Responder.
2. Skill in instructing adult learners
3. Skill in the operations of a variety of emergency vehicles.
4. Skill to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing in both English and French
5. Skill to assure minimum standards in operations, documentation, and
C. Ability:
1. Demonstrated leadership abilities
2. Ability to work well with volunteers.
3. Ability to establish and maintain cooperative relationships.
4. Good physical and mental condition, capable of performing all assigned duties.
5. Ability to organize and coordinate
V. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from a high school, or possession of a GED, supplemented with technical courses in emergency medical services; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.
VI. ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:
Must be currently certified as at the level of First Responder or higher
Must possess a valid Quebec 4A vehicle operator’s permit.
VII. Conditions:
Salary to be established based on qualifications
3 days per week
8 hour day with 2 hours daily stand-by time
Please respond in confidence with your CV and a statement of job interest to:
Charlene Vacon
Box 1034
Saint-Lazare, QC
J7T 2Z7
450 455 5814
cvacon@saintlazare911.com
Closing date: application materials must be received by March 23, 2009 13h00
The Saint Lazare Medical Response Unit held our annual car stop in May, and once again St Lazare residents and visitors showed their support for the service in a way that is truly humbling. We thank you all for your continuing support of this volunteer first responder service.
One driver in particular, clearly concerned with the amount of personal time and effort that we each put into the service, remarked, “You people are wasting your time.”
It’s a wonderful comment, because it’s a comment that comes from a belief that we live in a sleepy community where nothing much happens. And broadly speaking, that’s true. Generally, for a town this size, we’re really quite safe, and we have much to be thankful for.
But it’s worth noting that this doesn’t mean that medical emergencies don’t happen — quite the opposite is true. In point of fact, there’s an average of more than one medical emergency per day that requires the intervention of the first responder team. Most people don’t hear about most of these calls, because they’re private events in the lives of private citizens. They don’t get published in the local papers. And, though the community is small, it’s not so small that one family’s news is every family’s news.
Nonetheless, medical emergencies, fires, and other mishaps happen, and with surprising frequency. It’s surprising how many calls we receive to respond to people in cardiac distress. It’s difficult to imagine, but we receive quite a number of calls from people who have chronic or terminal medical conditions, and who need pre-hospital intervention. The town is by no means immune to drug abuse and and tragic deaths.
In our everyday lives, we’re often reminded to be careful, and not to take unnecessary chances. We often think to ourselves, “Yeah, but how often does anything bad really happen?” The first responders, ambulances, and the fire service respond very frequently to preventable accidents, situations where it’s clear that someone was taking fewer precautions than they knew they probably should, like so many of us do. But those shortcuts often have devastating, if not tragic, outcomes. These situations don’t get reported in the newspapers — they’re private events in the lives of private citizens, but the emergency services personnel are called to help.
The first responders are exactly that — we’re usually the first on the scene, and beyond the initial call, we often have no contact with the family. However, we have from time to time heard back from the families involved, and these contacts are precious to us. To learn that someone with no heartbeat has come home to his family again is a wonderful bit of news. To hear from a patient that we helped to keep a very dangerous medical situation from escalating out of control is tremendously rewarding. To hear from a bereaved family that our compassion in a difficult time helped in some small way is gratifying.
Being a first responder is a big commitment of volunteer time and effort, to be sure. But knowing the town as we do, and knowing the medical needs of the town as we do, we’d have to say — thank you for your concern, but we’re not wasting our time.
Last week’s news reports about a man in La Prairie whose mother was found in the deep freeze of their “filthy” bungalow put me in mind of a case my team worked this winter in Saint Lazare.
No, there was no one locally found in a freezer. The situation in La Prairie got me reminiscing because of the reportedly “unhealthy” and “neglected” condition of the bungalow and its inhabitants.
Our call happened on a typical day in our winter of snow. When they arrived, the medical team couldn’t find a path cleared to the house. It looked as if there hadn’t been a path for days. The medics hiked through snow that was above my hips, making it to the door of what appeared from the exterior as an otherwise unremarkable house.
Although it was a bright day, little light penetrated to the inside of this house. The first medic in found the light switch, but when he flicked it nothing happened. There was no electricity. The room was icy cold. Walls were bare, surfaces covered in dust, floors in dirt.
There was no denying that the individual who lived here did not tend to some major aspects of running a household, at least the way I run mine.
In my reflections about that cold day’s work, I’ve discovered that the kind of neglect we found in that household is considered by health authorities as a kind of self-inflicted abuse.
“Self-neglect” is a problem recognized by the Public Health Agency of Canada. In an overview paper published in 1999, the Public Health Agency of Canada indicated that disregard for one’s own health or safety is responsible for two thirds of American neglect cases investigated by authorities.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, self-neglect can include such specific signs as:
* Dehydration
* Malnutrition
* Hypothermia/hyperthermia (exceptionally low/high temperature)
* Excessive dirt or odour, hazardous, unsafe or unclean living conditions
* Inadequate or inappropriate clothing
* Absence of needed eyeglasses, hearing aids, dentures or prostheses
* Unexpected or unexplained deterioration of health
* Bedsores
* Signs of excessive drugging, refusal to take medication or other drug misuse
In the La Prairie bungalow, the local CLSC and municipal inspectors were all aware of, and concerrned about, the mother and son’s living conditions. The CLSC is reported to have maintained regular contact with the family, and alerted police that something might be amiss. Of course, the mother still ended up in the freezer, the how and why of which are unclear at this point.
Where I grew up, there was a man who kept hundreds of pigeons in his house. While his health deteriorated because of the bird droppings stifling the air throughout his home, he refused to move either himself or the birds. It was only when the Town condemned his dwelling that the Bird Man of Yarmouth moved. It was a dreary, sad spring day when the RCMP dragged the Bird Man from his own home.
Short of having a self-neglectful person declared incompetent, which is both a medical and legal process, the legal remedies are sparse. In the Bird Man’s case, as in the La Prairie bungalow, condemning the deteriorated house forced the inhabitants out. In cases where a person is endangering others or violating the criminal code, you need to consult legal authorities.
Disregard for one’s health or home is challenging for many of us. If you know of a person in this situation, you likely want to do all you can to help.
Family and friends of a self-neglecting person face the most difficult of choices in these situations. At the cold, dark house where we answered the call for help, we found a family who for years had faced feelings of helplessness and frustration as to how to help someone who was self-neglectful.
Despite the difficulty that self-neglect presents there is an unquestionable right in this country for a person who is mentally competent to choose how they will live. The certainty of this right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies no less in situations of self-neglect.
Even though you are trying to help, your offers of assistance and care can rightfully be refused. Unless an individual is found to be incompetent, help can be offered, but it cannot be forced upon another person.
We have a moral obligation to try to help those who are neglecting their own health and care. At the same time, as long as a person is acting lawfully and remains competent – even if they are living in conditions you think are objectionable – you must respect their rights.
Self-neglect is a difficult, emotionally-riveting situation. In the end, whatever the consequences, our right to make our own choices prevails.
This article is presented by the Saint Lazare Medical Response Unit as information only and is not intended as medical or legal advice. For more information on your situation, consult a doctor and/or a lawyer. In an emergency, call 911. www.saintlazare911.com.
Would you say that the messages against drinking and driving have been effective? It’s true that it still happens. On the other hand, it’s also the case that having even one alcoholic drink and then proposing to drive is regarded, at the very least, with distaste. Getting drunk and driving is socially unacceptable.
With the hopes of turning pot smoking and driving into an equally despicable premise, the Canadian Public Health Association’s (CPHA) “Pot and Driving” campaign is meant to convince teenagers of the negative affects of marijuana consumption on their driving.
The CPHA campaign features images of pilots sharing a joint. It asks, “If you were a passenger in a commercial jet, would you be comfortable if your pilots smoked up so they could really get into flying the plane?”
If the campaign does what it hopes to do, it will point out that if flying high is risky, so is smoking pot and driving.
The CPHA “Pot and Driving” campaign is targeted at teenagers for two good reasons. First, Canadians between the ages of 14 to 25 have one of the highest rates of pot use in the world. Second, research has shown that Canadian teenagers do not believe there are any risks involved with smoking marijuana and then driving.
According to the Canadian Public Health Association, smoking pot has the following effects:
If the associated risks of smoking pot are not convincing, the law is unequivocal. As with alcohol, operating any type of motor vehicle, either on or off road, while impaired by drugs or alcohol contravenes the Canadian Criminal Code.
More information on the Pot and Driving Campaign is available at www.potanddriving.cpha.ca.
This article is presented by the Saint Lazare Medical Response Unit as information only and is not intended as medical advice. For more information visit www.saintlazare911.com.
How do people get poisoned? The answers may not be what you expected.
This is the first year for a month-long awareness initiative on poisons, taking place this month across Canada. The Canadian Association of Poison Control Centres uses this time to educate people about the hazards that can lead to poisoning, and how to avoid them.
Poisoning ranks as the third most common injury leading to hospitalization across Canada, the first two being falls and automobile crashes.
While we often hear about the unintended poisoning of young children, tragically, most poisonings in Canada are self-inflicted and intentional. Medications account for these self-inflicted poisonings, and overdosing with them is the most common form of poisoning. This trend is most pronounced among women in the 20-49 years category, where drug overdosing is the most common form of suicide.
At the Saint-Lazare Medical Response Unit, we’ve also seen self-inflicted overdosing on medications that probably was not intentional. When it comes to the damage drug poisoning does to the body, however, it doesn’t matter if the overdose was intentional or not.
Taken at the proper dose, at the right time, by the person for whom the medication was intended, medications like anti-depressants, tranquilizers, or analgesics can be helpful drugs. These same medications can also cause respiratory distress, organ failure, cardiac arrest or many other serious and damaging effects when they are improperly administered.
When taking prescription drugs, it is extremely important to follow the instructions for use. When in doubt, either because you have missed a dose or for some other reason, you should contact your pharmacist or your physician to ask how you should proceed.
In homes where children are present, the Canada Safety Council recommends that we keep medications out of sight and out of reach. Children, especially those under 6, are certainly at risk to poisoning from medication. It is preferable to keep medication under lock and key. Adults who take medication should do so out of sight of the children.
For anyone who is known or suspected to have improperly ingested medications or swallowed, inhaled, or come into skin or eye contact with other potentially noxious substances, call the Centre anti-poison du Québec at 1-800-463-5060. Write this number down where you keep other important phone numbers. If the person is unconscious, call 911 right away.
This article is presented by the Saint Lazare Medical Response Unit as information only and is not intended as medical advice. For more information visit www.saintlazare911.com.
While I’m planning to stay right here, many of the people around me are heading off to warmer climates. If your plans for this winter include escaping it, you’ll want to make sure your health is protected before, during, and after you travel.
If you’re off to the Dominican Republic, take precautions against malaria. There is a Travel Health Advisory from the Public Health Agency of Canada about malaria in La Altagracia province. Popular resorts like Punta Cana and Bavaro are located in that province.
Malaria is an acute flu-like illness caused by one of four species of parasite of the genus Plasmodium.
Two tactics are necessary to stay malaria-free. First, protect yourself while travelling against mosquito bites. It is mosquitoes that spread the Plasmodium parasite responsible for malaria. Second, before you travel, have your doctor prescribe effective anti-malarial medication that you can take to decrease your risk of developing symptoms of malaria (called a prophylaxis).
Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and malaise. Rigors (severe shakes or muscle spasms) and chills often occur.
Malaria is always present in some areas of the world, meaning that when traveling to sub-Saharan Africa; large areas of the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, Oceania, Haiti, Central and South America; and to parts of Mexico, North Africa and the Dominican Republic it is always necessary to take precautions against the infection.
If you or someone near you experiences unexplained fever during or after travel, you need to seek medical attention right away. Feeling sick or unwell during or after travel is reason enough to consult your physician. Make sure to let him or her know that you have been travelling outside of Canada, and where you went.
According to the Public Health Agency, if identified early and treated appropriately, almost all malaria can be completely cured. However, even short delays in the diagnosis of malaria can make treatment more difficult and less successful.
For more information, you can consult the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Équipe d’intervention médicale provides this information as a public service. The information presented here is not to be considered medical advice. To learn more about Équipe d’intervention médicale visit us online at http://www.saintlazare911.com/ or call 450 455 5824. In an emergency, call ‘911′.
If you are fretting because you still have not gotten around to getting your flu vaccination, you have one last chance to schedule an appointment at the CLSC in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
Monday, January 14 is the final day scheduled for flu vaccinations for this influenza season. You must schedule an appointment to get your shot by calling the cLSC at 450 455 6171.
Flu season has not yet begun in our region, which makes this a good time to get vaccinated against the virus that causes the flu.
Influenza, or the flu, is a common respiratory illness affecting millions of Canadians each year. Although most of these people recover completely, as many as four to five thousand Canadians die of influenza and its complications annually, depending on the severity of the flu season. Seniors and those with chronic diseases are at the greatest risk.
The good news is that you can decrease your chances of getting the flu this winter by getting an influenza vaccination, known as the “flu shot”.
Regular hand washing is another way to help minimize your risk.
The vaccination campaign against the flu is underway. If you are in one of the following “at risk” categories, your flu shot is free:
If you have not yet received your vaccination, it’s not too late. The Public Health Agency of Canada reported no flu activity In the Monteregie region for Nov. 11-17, the most recent week for which we have data. Seasonal influenza usually begins in November and can continue until April.
Even if you are not in one of the above categories, you may still elect to get an influenza vaccination. You should contact your doctor to discuss whether you should get vaccinated or to schedule a vaccination.
There are two more scheduled flu vaccination drop-in clinics in our region, organized by the CLSC. The Île Perrot Community Centre hosts a clinic on December 12 from 1pm until 7pm. In Vaudreuil-Dorion, a flu clinic will be held at the Centre Commercial on Dutrisac December 15 from 9am until 3pm.
For more information, contact a CLSC near you: CLSC Rigaud (450) 451-6609; CLSC St-Polycarpe (450) 265-3771; CLSC La Presqu’ile in Vaudreuil-Dorion (450) 455-6171.
For more information about influenza or the flu shot, contact your doctor, your CLSC, or Santé et services sociaux at 1-800-707-3380.
Équipe d’intervention médicale provides this information as a public service. To learn more about Équipe d’intervention médicale visit us online at saintlazare911.com or call 450 455 5824.
In case of emergency, call 911.
