Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps

Today, on National First Responders Day, let us honor our volunteers and all of the men and women who answer the call and respond to emergencies everywhere, 24/7. Thank you to everyone working to keep our communities safe, secure, and healthy.

Join our team of speakers for a day of education, discussion, and reflection on Responder Mental Health Register for our Virtual Symposium at: https://glenoaksvac.org/cme

Behind the Mask: Meet Travis For the safety of our volunteers and patients, our providers are donning PPE on every call we respond to. Unfortunately, this also means our community no longer gets to see the faces of our dedicated volunteers. In honor of EMS Week, we're going to be featuring some of our volunteers and introducing you to the faces Behind the Mask.... Travis is a Paramedic and Board Member of the Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps. After joining our organization as a youth member many years ago, Travis has responded to countless emergencies and has become an important contributor to many of our efforts including the response and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Travis is also a Paramedic with FDNY EMS and works in some of the hardest-hit areas of our city. In addition to that, Travis also works as a CPR/EMT Instructor, plays in FDNY EMS' Pipes & Drums Band, as well as spends any remaining free time with his wife, Meghan, a Nurse working in a specialized response team serving all of Queens. "When I first started volunteering with GOVAC I was 16 years old and a sophomore in high school. I had no idea that 13 years later I'd have an incredible career as a paramedic for the FDNY and still he here with GOVAC. After the events of Hurricane Sandy, and the recovery efforts following, I truly realized the difference EMS can make for the public. Not only in service on the ambulances a a provider, but all of the other ways we are able to help serve and comfort the community." Travis is also known to always have a great sense of humor in addition to his excellent patient care skills.

Behind the Mask: Meet Jason In honor of EMS Week, we're going to be featuring some of our volunteers and introducing you to the faces Behind the Mask. Jason is a Crew Chief EMT at Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps. When not volunteering on our ambulances, Jason is DJing and recently graduated from the NYPD Academy as an NYPD Dispatcher. ... "Starting EMS at 19 years old definitely matures you and is rewarding knowing you that you are in charge of others in such critical situations. From answering the call & responding to patient's homes during COVID-19, it has become clear to myself why I chose this career field." Do something today that your future self will thank you for. Anonymous

Behind the Mask: Meet Amanjeet In honor of EMS Week, we're going to be featuring some of our volunteers and introducing you to the faces Behind the Mask. Amanjeet is a college student pursuing a degree with a major in Biology and a minor in neuroscience! She has also volunteered as a Child Life Specialist and is an active member of GOVAC's Community Affairs Team. Despite many special events and community programs being canceled due to COVID-19, Amanjeet has stayed very active... in responding to the increased need. "Joining GOVAC was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I wanted to have a direct patient care interaction and give back within my community. GOVAC’s community affairs events are one of my favorite things to be apart of! Whether it be helping people with bee stings on a sunny day, bandaging cuts and scrapes at a 5K run, or educating children and the community about cpr, I love it all and you can always count me in!"

Behind the Mask: Meet Kim In honor of EMS Week, we're going to be featuring some of our volunteers and introducing you to the faces Behind the Mask. Kim joined the Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps several years ago as an EMT and has been volunteering nonstop responding both in our community and throughout NYC. Since graduating college, Kim has also been working at Cohen Children's Medical Center on their Finance and Operations team. ... GOVAC has given me the opportunity to have a patient-facing role within healthcare. It is so rewarding to be able to directly help people and be a part of an organization that is valued within the community. Thank you to Kim and all of our volunteers!

Behind the Mask: Meet Sapir In honor of EMS Week, we're going to be featuring some of our volunteers and introducing you to the faces Behind the Mask. Sapir has traveled internationally for many years, meeting new people and volunteering in hospitals and health settings all around the world. Sapir moved to New York five years ago to study medicine and is one of GOVAC’s newest EMT’s having recently completed her NYS Emergency Medical Technician Certification course. Before th...en, Sapir has been a valuable member serving as a Dispatcher, answering countless calls throughout this pandemic. I joined GOVAC hoping to find a way to give back to my community. Being a volunteer EMT is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I am surrounded by amazing and inspiring people who are all here to provide help.

Behind the Mask: Meet Mitchell In honor of EMS Week, we're going to be featuring some of our volunteers and introducing you to the faces Behind the Mask. Mitchell joined GOVAC as a Youth squad member at age 14 just for fun - and it quickly evolved into a passion. After high school, Mitchell began working with children with special needs, and then went on to become an ER Technician. ... "GOVAC opened my eyes to different avenues of healthcare. Going out into the community, helping those of need, and being able to help make a stressful situation for someone a little easier, is so fulfilling." Mitchell plans to continue his schooling and plans to go to nursing school.

Behind the Mask: Meet Brad For the safety of our volunteers and patients, our providers are donning PPE and face coverings on every call we respond to. Unfortunately, this also means our community no longer gets to see the faces of our dedicated volunteers. In honor of EMS Week, we're going to be featuring some of our volunteers and introducing you to the faces Behind the Mask.... Brad is a longtime volunteer and EMT with the Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps. When he is not volunteering, Brad is the voice behind the radio working as a Communication Specialist and Dispatcher for Northwell Health. When Brad is away from the world of EMS, he spends his time sharing pizza and ice cream and playing with his son Lucas. Brad and his wife Nicole are expecting their second child real soon . "I love volunteering because I feel like it is my way to help be there for people in their time of need. I've needed ambulances for family and friends many times while time growing up and there was always someone answering the call. I feel like its just my turn to pay it back"

Behind the Mask: Meet Dave For the safety of our volunteers and patients, our providers are donning PPE on every call we respond to. Unfortunately, this also means our community no longer gets to see the faces of our dedicated volunteers. In honor of EMS Week, we're going to be featuring some of our volunteers and introducing you to the faces Behind the Mask.... Dave is an EMT and one of the Board Members of Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps. During the daytime, he produces films and marketing campaigns for nonprofit organizations across the city and around the world. (and you might have seen him on TV ) "I love being a volunteer EMT because it's a rare opportunity to give back so directly and see the immediate effect. In someone's worse moments, we're the ones walking in and putting on that oxygen or providing life-saving treatments. And we can sometimes see a patient improve almost instantly."

Thank you to the Strizak family for providing meals for our EMS heroes volunteering all this weekend!

There are no words to thank all of the Volunteer First Responders who have performed extraordinarily and continue to serve and respond all throughout our communities. Thank you to the members of Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps and BAY COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORPS. INC. Bellerose Rescue... Jamaica Estates Holliswood South Bayside Volunteer Ambulance Corps Little Neck - Douglaston Community Ambulance Corps and to the countless other First Responders and Health Care Workers See more

Among the incredible efforts being made during this time by our organization, we still strive to provide the highest level of safety for our providers, our patients, and every member of our community that we encounter. Our fleet of ambulances and headquarters are professionally sanitized by expert haz-mat technicians and disinfected after every patient.