EMS event puts kids on course to safety

By Denise Dick

Springfield Township’s EMS leader hopes the community day becomes an annual event again.

NEW MIDDLETOWN — Shae Hanley, 9, knows the importance of wearing a helmet when she rides her bike.

“You have to wear a helmet whenever you ride your bike so if you fall, you don’t cut your head open,” the New Springfield girl said.

That message was emphasized at the EMS Community Day hosted Saturday by the Springfield Township EMS and EMS Auxiliary at Springfield High School.

Events included a bicycle safety course, car-seat and booster-seat safety checks, medical information kits and a raffle.

Shae attended the event with her mom, Michelle Hanley, and her little sister, Mikayla, 5.

Mikayla, who just had the training wheels removed from her bike, knows the importance of helmets, too. She recently took a spill from her two-wheeler and scraped her hand.

The girls both wear their safety helmets when they bike, their mother said.

Karen Philibin, township EMS coordinator, estimated that about 100 people participated in the event.

“It’s been steady all day,” she said.

The day capped off National EMS Week, which ended Saturday. Springfield EMS used to host a community day every year but hasn’t conducted one for the last several. Philibin hopes the event continues next year.

“This was all presented by the EMS Association and the auxiliary,” she said. “Everything is free.”

Paramedics Andrea Landis and Mike Wright proposed the idea of resurrecting the community day, Philibin said.

“I think EMS needs to get involved in our community more” to let them know EMS is there for them, Landis said, adding that it’s also important to teach kids about safety.

Fifteen people visited the car booster-seat display to determine if their seats were installed property. Lucinda Sentner, coordinator of Safe Kids Mahoning Valley, checked each seat to ensure its proper installation and instruct parents or grandparents on safety.

Keith Chapman, who works for the EMS, led the bicycle-safety course, instructing participants about the importance of helmet use and other safety precautions.

Each participant received a free helmet fitted by Chapman, and four bicycles were among the prizes available through the raffle. The EMS auxiliary donated the helmets.

Lorie Barber of New Middletown brought her daughter, Nicole, 7, and Nicole’s friend, Emily Fagert, 5, to the course.

“She always wears her helmet, and with her growing so much, we have to get a new one every year,” Barber said.

With helmets ranging from about $5 to $55 each, “It can get expensive,” Barber said, “so it’s nice to be able to come here and get a helmet for free.”