NANA GLEN’S Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the official new name of the former Nana Glen Community First Responders, now has a dedicated response vehicle provided and maintained by NSW Ambulance.

An official handover will take place at Nana Glen Hall on 15 December and the community is invited to come along and see the new ‘ambulance-style’ vehicle.

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Desiree O’Brien ASM, Manager, Clinical Volunteers, NSW Ambulance Volunteers, told News Of The Area, “Nana Glen will be the first CERT unit in NSW Ambulance and is a significant enhancement to the service the community will receive.”

Noel Furness, President of the Community First Responders at Nana Glen, and the team have been tireless in their fundraising efforts and in obtaining a grant from the NSW Premier this time last year.

Noel told News Of The Area, “Nana Glen Community First Responders was formerly known as Nana Glen Heartstart, founded in October 2002 by locals who identified the need for medical support in the Glenreagh/Nana Glen area due to the time it takes for emergency services to respond to us in our rural areas.

“These teams evolved and went further covering Coramba, Ulong and Lowanna; back then they were self-funded and we needed to be constantly fundraising to support the needs for equipment and a building.

“Now the teams are trained and supported by NSW Ambulance (NSWA) service who supply all equipment for our volunteers to perform these tasks.”

The arrival of the new CERT vehicle will mean all equipment will be ready, together in the car that can respond speedily to the callout and arrival to the scene.

A CERT member will have the vehicle at all times (rotating equitably through the team) so that when they are activated they can go straight to the scene – no longer driving to pick up their clinical equipment and responding in their private vehicle.

The vehicle is fitted with the latest in communications and access to modern computer systems including the NSWA systems.

“The community event on 15 December is an important part of educating community members and other key emergency service personnel about what a CERT unit looks like and what their vehicle looks like.

“We will have a strong presence of both local and senior management personnel from NSW Ambulance at the event to assist with the celebration and education of participants,” said Desiree.

By Andrea FERRARI