Friday, October 22, 2010
** BC medics filling in shifts for shocked Tofino colleagues grieving loss of co-workers
** Funeral services set for California paramedic killed in medical aid plane crash
CANADA NEWS
** In an effort to provide relief for Tofino, BC paramedics grieving the loss of 2 colleagues killed in a Tuesday accident, practitioners from nearby regions are filling in their shifts. The Westerly News (Stefania Seccia/October 21) said providers are coming in to help from Ucluelet, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, and Ladysmith. Port Alberni unit chief Bruce Patterson said several of the fill-in practitioners have already begun work. Area EMS workers were left stunned earlier this week when news broke of the deaths of Jo-anne Fuller, 59, and Ivan Polivka, 65. The two disappeared after returning from an early morning transport to Port Alberni. Search teams scouring the Lake Kennedy area eventually found their EMS unit submerged under 30 feet of water. The ambulance had careened off a 200 foot embankment. Both Fuller and Polivka were longstanding members of the BC Ambulance Service who apparently knew the treacherous road well. Ambulance Paramedics of BC spokesman BJ Chute said while the union is looking into how the accident occurred, the primary priority now is offering comfort to the medics’ surviving families. Funeral services are pending.
UNITED STATES NEWS
** A memorial service has been set for Saturday in Stockton, California for a paramedic killed last Friday in a medical aid plane crash in Mexico. The Record (Scott Smith/October 21) said the commemoration for Andrew Thiel, 22, will take place at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Thiel, who was working with the Flying Samaritans, will also be remembered at a Monday service at Cal Poly Tech State University in San Luis Obispo. A medic , as well as a biology student graduate, he was planning on becoming a doctor. He leaves behind his parents, 2 sisters, and three brothers.
