By Tia Rancourt

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District will be celebrating National Emergency Medical Services Week throughout May. Celebrated nationally during the week of May 15-21, this special week acknowledges the outstanding services performed by our first responders nationwide.

This 38th annual event brings together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor those that serve on the front line, providing day to day life-saving services for those in need.

This years theme “Everyday Heroes” recognizes the commitment that emergency medical personnel make to the communities they serve.

“Part of our Fire District’s mission of protecting life and property, includes providing round-the-clock care for our community. This is something we take very seriously,” said Fire Chief Mike Brown. “Our partnerships with local and regional medical facilities and law enforcement are an integral piece to the end result of quality patient care.”

Throughout May, the fire district will be hosting a number of education opportunities in collaboration with our several of our community partners, including Incline Village Community Hospital, Incline Village Parks & Recreation Senior Programs, American Heart Association, Red Cross and Sierra Nevada College. On May 18, there will be a Community Health & Wellness event at the Incline Village Community Hospital starting at 4:30pm. There will be a panel of guest speakers talking about health, wellness, injury prevention and more. Appetizers and salads will be served. Please come socialize and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to learn from our local professionals.

The fire district will be hosting ambulance tours at the schools, and educating children about the Emergency Medical System, how to recognize a medical emergency and the importance of dialing 911 in case of a medical emergency.

In conjunction with EMS Week, the fire district will be promoting Hands-Only CPR campaign to increase awareness of and confidence in giving hands-only CPR. Hands-only CPR is a two-step technique that involves calling 911 and pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest until help arrives.

A survey conducted by the American Heart Association reveals that hands-only CPR can be just as effective as traditional CPR (increase from 53 percent to 63 percent), anyone can do hands-only CPR (up from 52 percent to 58 percent), and people were very likely or extremely likely to perform hands-only CPR in an emergency (from 39 percent to 44 percent).

Tia Rancourt is the community safety and education specialist with NLTFD.