ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 25, 1995 TAG: 9512260043
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: GOODE
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
A QUIET CALL that became a life-or-death battle ``brought together everything'' for the new Goode Volunteer Rescue Squad, which is gaining support from the community.
The Goode Volunteer Rescue Squad's first call seemed routine enough.
The squad, which started taking calls Dec. 1, was asked to transport a terminally ill patient to the hospital for treatment.
But as squad members placed the patient in the ambulance, what had promised to be a quiet call suddenly became a life-or-death battle.
Checking the patient's vital signs, the rescuers noticed her blood pressure was falling rapidly, signifying internal bleeding.
"The biggest problem with internal bleeding is the drop in blood volume," volunteer emergency medical technician Sharon Cree said. "The patient can go into shock or their heartbeat can slow or stop and that's real serious."
Ed Witt, a first-time volunteer rescuer trained in shock-trauma treatment, started an intravenous solution into the patient; that kept the woman's heartbeat stable until the squad arrived at an emergency room minutes later.
"It was a call that could have gone real bad, but it went pretty smooth," Witt said.
The new squad's founder and captain, Rob Ballagh, said, "That was a call where time was of the essence, and response time was a reason we saw a need for a Goode Volunteer Rescue Squad. I guess that call sort of brought together everything we've been working for."
When organization of the new squad began last year, Ballagh and the 22 other Goode volunteers said they could answer calls more quickly than the squads that previously had served the community but were 10 or 12 miles away.
Last month, the Bedford County Board of Supervisors approved the Goode squad's formation. Since Dec. 1, the squad has answered about seven calls, including a drug overdose and a heart attack.
The person who overdosed "was pretty anxious," said Vicki Lantrip, a registered nurse and first-time volunteer rescuer. "We had to win his trust so he would let us work on him without fighting us."
Some of the other squads as well as people in the community worried that the Goode squad - 11 of whose 23 members are first-time rescuers - would not be adequately trained or equipped to handle major emergencies.
So far, the Goode members say, they've been able to respond to most calls, day or night, within minutes.
When squad members have needed help, they've asked for it, Ballagh said. During a snowy and icy night when they received the call about the heart attack, they called Campbell County Volunteer Rescue Squad for backup in case Goode rescuers couldn't get through.
The patient died before either squad could arrive, but even in the bad weather, Ballagh said,
Goode rescuers had a good response time. With 4 inches of snow on the ground, Goode rescuers arrived in 15 minutes, about five minutes later than under normal conditions.
"The roads were bad, my car spun out on the hill, and I got into the next car available," Ballagh said. "The teamwork really stood out that night."
Confidence in the new squad is showing in support from the community. Bedford Community Health Foundation, a nonprofit charity, recently agreed to donate $15,000 to the squad to buy new communications equipment and a second used ambulance.
"I understand they're doing quite well," said Roger Henderson, the foundation's director. "The important thing is that some of the controversy from earlier this year is gone and now they're able to help the people in their community. After all, that's what rescue squads are about."
Others in the community are considering joining the new squad or making financial donations, crew members say.
"I had a conversation with a Ruritan member who was scrutinizing us pretty good," Ballagh said. "His first comment to me was `congratulations, you did it.' He hadn't really thought we were going to be able to get the squad off the ground, but we did it and he was glad.
"This is the year that we prove to anyone who's watching what we can do."
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB