The Killingworth Ambulance Association this fall resumes its EMT course, with the first class scheduled for Sept. 2 at the association’s Route 81 headquarters.

And that’s news.

It’s the first time in three years the KAA has held the course in autumn. Two years ago, it was postponed because of low enrollment … then resumed in January. A year ago, it was canceled because of the COVID pandemic. Now it’s back on schedule.

Classes will convene on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-10 p.m., along with five Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. All will include CPR, patient assessment and treatment.

The course is scheduled to end Dec. 14.

As usual, the class will be taught by Mike and Marguerite Haaga. Marguerite is vice president of the KAA’s board of directors. Mike is Chief of Service. Both are EMTs.

Despite atypical circumstances last year that included masks, social distancing and one student who attended classes via Zoom from Idaho, the course was a success. Ten individuals participated, with eight becoming certified EMTs — including six who joined the Killingworth Ambulance Association.

The course is six college credits and highly recommended for persons interested in pursuing courses in medical fields.  For more information, please contact the KAA at (860) 663-2450.

(Pictured L-R: HKHS seniors Jasmine Byrne, Ryan Luther, Sam Luther and Thomas Perry)

For the third time in the past four years, five Killingworth seniors – including four from Haddam-Killingworth High School — are recipients of Killingworth Ambulance Association scholarships.

Haddam-Killingworth’s Jasmine Byrne, Thomas Perry and Ryan and Sam Luther received their 2021 awards Tuesday evening at the school’s Seniors Awards Night, while Mercy’s Kayla Fordyce was honored May 20 at a celebration for seniors at the Middletown school.

Perry and the Luther brothers are the first male recipients in the past three years.

The KAA annually grants scholarships to high-school seniors who meet the following criteria: They must reside in Killingworth, have been accepted to a two-or-four-year colleges, plan to major in the medical, emergency services or allied fields, participate in community service and have GPAs of 3.0 or better.

All five did as one of the most accomplished groups of scholarship winners in recent history. Here are their stories:

JASMINE BYRNE – As a high-school freshman, she attended a Crime Scene Investigation Program at the University of New Haven and immediately set her sights on attending the school. And so she will – studying forensic science, with a concentration in biology. “Going to college was never a choice,” she said, “but a next step for me to take in order to lead a life where I could be happy and fulfilled.” An active member of the Spanish Honor Society, a math and science tutor for younger students and the National Anthem singer at the annual Killingworth Road Race, Jasmine accumulated an astounding 500 hours of community service while at HKHS.

RYAN LUTHER – When he was hospitalized five years ago, Ryan was struck by the kindness shown him by doctors and nurses at Yale New Haven Health. “It reminded me that I wanted to be a doctor since I was young,” he said. So he will attend St. Anselm College and pursue that dream, with biology his major. Ryan volunteered with his twin brother, Sam, at the Killingworth Land Trust, helped raise $10,000 for the JDRF Type One Diabetes Walk and, until the pandemic, played a sport every year.

SAM LUTHER – Ryan’s twin brother, Sam helped with the Diabetes Walk and Killingworth Land Trust, too. And, like Ryan, he volunteered to help with the elderly, played a sport every year until the pandemic struck and will attend St. Anselm. But unlike his brother, he will pursue a degree in nursing … a pursuit he followed when he helped to look after Ryan following his hospitalization. “He knows that I know … and I know that he knows … I want to help people,” he said.

THOMAS PERRY – Some people dread AP Biology. Not Thomas Perry. It awakened his love for science and reminded him how much he loved experiments. “Not only that,” he said, “but I loved the learning and every bit of information we were required to obtain.” Thomas will take that passion to Middlebury College where he plans to major in biology and maybe, just maybe, pursue a career as a physician. Thomas has also worked at the Killingworth Land Trust and helped to feed the homeless in New Haven.

KAYLA FORDYCE – Kayla was always interested in biology, but it wasn’t until she attended the Inspiring Women in Engineering and Medicine workshop at the University of Connecticut that she found her passion: orthopedic surgery. “(It) increased my already motivated self,” she said, “to proceed with my study of medicine and opened my eyes to the world of orthopedic surgery.” Kayla will attend Providence College where she plans to pursue a major in biology and a career in medicine. She completed 213 hours of community service at Mercy, including 95 as an assistant athletic trainer and 53 as a Mercy Ambassador.

The Killingworth Ambulance Association holds its annual board of directors meeting on Wednesday, April 28, and it will be the first of its kind. That’s because the board won’t meet at the KAA headquarters on Route 81, as it has in past years. Instead, the meeting will be conducted by a Zoom conference call – a procedure the board has followed for all monthly meetings since February, 2020, because of COVID protocol. The conference, which will include the naming of the association’s board of directors, is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. For more information please contact the KAA at (860) 663-2450.

The Killingworth Ambulance Association is still receiving applications for its 2021 scholarships, but they must be completed and postmarked no later than Friday, April 23.

The KAA each year offers scholarships to graduating seniors enrolled in private or public high schools. However, they’re available only to residents of Killingworth who plan on continuing their educations at two-or-four-year academic institutions.

In addition, those applicants must meet the follow criteria: 1) Major in the medical, emergency services (fire, police, etc.) or other allied fields; 2) engage in community service and 3) maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their high-school careers.

Applications are available at Haddam-Killingworth, Mercy and Xavier High Schools or may be obtained by clicking here.

The KAA has awarded 15 scholarships over the past four years, including eight in the last two. For more information please contact the KAA at (860) 663-2450.

(Pictured above: The KAA’s Lisa Anderson with members of Girl Scout Brownie Troop 60529)

Quick, now, a show of hands by everyone who knows how to respond when there’s an emergency and you must dial 911.

Someone? Anyone? Well, then, you have company.

Eight girls from Girl Scout Brownie Troop 60529 – all third-graders at the Killingworth Elementary School – didn’t know, either. But they do now, thanks to a 35-minute primer given Wednesday afternoon by the Killingworth Ambulance Association’s Lisa Anderson at Parmelee Farm.

Anderson was the ideal instructor. First, she’s a former Girl Scout herself. Second, she instructed prior classes on emergency responses. Third, she’s a friend of one of the Troop’s co-leaders, Morgan Nairn, who asked if she could help the girls earn first-aid badges. And, fourth, between California and Killingworth she’s been an EMT the past 20 years.

So she’s experienced. She’s knowledgeable. And she was available.

“I enjoy teaching people in town,” said Anderson, “especially the kids, so they know what we do at the Ambulance Association, how we help our neighbors and how we help our townspeople.”

But this was the first time Anderson taught Girl Scouts. Her previous sessions were with the Boy Scouts where she was joined by the KAA’s Pat Miller and Dan Siegel. Furthermore, the events were held at the KAA’s Route 81 headquarters, where she could use an ambulance for demonstrations.

But COVID restrictions necessitated moving Wednesday’s class outdoors to the Parmelee pavilion, without an ambulance and with her audience covered by protective face masks.

No problem. The message got through.

“I feel like I covered my bases,” Anderson said, “but I’m a hands-on person. If I can get in the back of the truck (ambulance) and let the kids touch something like the equipment or the radio, it’s a good learning experience.”

So was this.

The program was divided into three parts:  First, with Anderson talking about the KAA, its EMTs and how they respond to emergencies; then, with instruction on how to make 911 calls; and, finally, teaching the Brownies – plus Nairn and Troop co-leader Jen Catalano — how to use first-aid kits that included hand sanitizers, Band-Aids, gauze, hair ties, alcohol treatment and gloves.

Most of the instruction, however, centered on 911 calls. Anderson posed as a dispatcher, answering make-believe calls from five volunteers. Together, they went through a variety of imaginary emergencies, with Anderson asking her callers for their names, ages, the nature of the emergencies, the site of the emergencies and the conditions of the patients.

All followed the script and were sufficiently engaged that they asked follow-up questions:

“When you take someone to the hospital do you pass cars?”

“Is there a school where you go to become an EMT?”

“Is there an age when you have to stop because you’re too old?”

“What do you do if you don’t have a phone?”

In the end, it was mission accomplished. The girls earned their first-aid badges and, more important, learned how to respond to emergency situations.

“It was very knowledgeable for the girls,” said Nairn. “Lisa did an amazing job teaching the girls basic first aid and what to do while calling 911 during an emergency.”

The Killingworth Ambulance Association lost more than a trusted business associate with the recent passing of Dorothy Wright. It lost a friend.

But it wasn’t alone. The town of Killingworth lost an extraordinary resident, too.

When Wright died earlier this month, she left behind a litany of townspeople with memories of a remarkable woman who treasured family and friends and loved to entertain, cook, garden, travel and work.

Yes, work.

“She was a pioneering business woman,” said family friend John Byrne, Wright’s neighbor.

Almost from the moment she and her late husband, Harold, moved to Killingworth in 1963, Dorothy Wright was involved in anything to do with business. She was a self-starter who became a company treasurer. She was a chief financial officer for two companies. She negotiated contracts. She balanced books. She had her own financial services firm where she handled payrolls and company tax sheets. And she helped found the Killingworth Chamber of Commerce.

“She was one of the original treasurers,” said Tim Gannon, who co-founded the Chamber with Wright three decades ago. “She kept a tight rein on the budget so that everything was in line where it was needed. She kept everything on a steady course.”

She served a similar function with the KAA, where she was a paid contractor who oversaw the organization’s payroll. Nobody is sure how long she was there. KAA treasurer Leota Lanoue estimated it was at least 15 years but said it could have been closer to 20. Whatever it was, she said, Wright was the only one who served that role.

Ever.

“She never wanted to retire,” said her daughter, Lynn Wright.

But serving the community was only one of many facets of Dorothy Wright’s life. Family and friends were important to her, with Dorothy – or “Dottie,” as she was called – hosting neighborhood get-togethers. A mother of two who raised a daughter (Lynn) and son (Eliot), Wright was what Byrne called “a five-star chef who was never afraid to try anything new” and known for throwing lavish dinner parties and “epic” Christmas gatherings.

“She made the most delicious meals ever,” said her daughter. “We’d call them ‘Dorothy Wright meals.’ “

When she went out, it was to tend to her whimsical gardens or dine at local restaurants like Café Allegre, Rocky’s Aqua and La Foresta. Gardening was a passion, and it fascinated her. She worked at it tirelessly and achieved such dramatic results that Byrne called her “a master gardener,” never afraid to experiment with plantings.

“You’d look to the left, then look to the right,” he said, “and she had something different at every spot.”

When she ventured outside the area, Dorothy Wright went big. She and her husband enjoyed traveling the world, visiting an estimated 25 countries – with France, Turkey, Russia, Spain and Greece among their stops. They even rode the Orient Express.

“She was a strong, independent woman who lived life to the fullest,” said Lynn Wright. “She wanted to go see people, talk to people and have interesting things to do. She never was one to sit. She always wanted to be active.”

Wright was valued by the KAA, where she was hired after one of its board members recommended her. She was in charge of everything from distributing payroll checks to figuring taxes to circulating 1099 forms to outsiders who performed services for the KAA. And she was so efficient that, once hired, she was never replaced.

“She was a pleasure to work with,” said chief of service Mike Haaga, “and a wonderful woman.”

The feeling must have been mutual.  Dorothy Wright and her family requested that, in lieu of flowers, all memorial donations in her name be made to the Killingworth Ambulance Association.

“We chose it,” said Eliot Wright, “because it should be Killingworth based, and we couldn’t think of a better organization that she cared about. It was connected to her work, so it just seemed fitting.”

As it has in past years, the Killingworth Ambulance Association will offer scholarships this spring to graduating seniors enrolled in private or public high schools.

Candidates must be residents of Killingworth and plan on continuing their education at a two-or-four-year academic institution. They should also meet the follow criteria: 1) Major in the medical, emergency services (fire, police, etc.) or other allied fields; 2) engage in community service and 3) maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their high-school careers.

Applications are available at Haddam-Killingworth, Mercy and Xavier High Schools and can be found in the guidance departments. Or they can be found here by clicking on the highlighted word.

Completed applications must be postmarked no later than Friday, April 23, with certificates of scholarships awarded in June.

The KAA has awarded 15 scholarships over the past four years, including eight in the last two. Haddam-Killingworth High School graduates Olivia Herrmann and Victoria DeLuca were the 2020 recipients.

Herrmann attends Clemson University and DeLuca is a student at Southern Connecticut State University. The two continued a recent run of young women as recipients, with all eight scholarships the past two years awarded to females.

For more information please contact the KAA at (860) 663-2450.

The Killingworth Ambulance Association last year answered more than one emergency call per day, with the pattern of responses slightly different from those in 2019.

According to information compiled by the association, EMTs were dispatched on 370 calls in 2020, a slight increase over the 355 the year before. The most prevalent response was for victims of falls, with the numbers consistent over the two years.

Where there were 71 last year there were 75 in 2019.

But there were changes after that, with breathing problems the most notable. They ranked fifth in 2019, comprising 6.2 percent of all calls, but jumped to second a year later – with 36 calls comprising 9.6 percent of the total.

The explanation? Simple. The COVID-19 pandemic. It surged through the country in March and didn’t recede as the year wore on, with the KAA responding to more persons complaining of breathing problems the second half of 2020.

But that’s not all. What follows are the top five calls for 2019-20, with percentages of the totals in parentheses:

• Falls – 71 (19.2)
• Breathing problems – 36 (9.7)
• Sick person – 35 (9.5)
• Not entered – 32 (8.6)
• Traffic accident – 25 (6.8)

Now compare that to the five leading calls in 2019 …

• Fall victims – 75 (21.1)
• Traffic accident – 35 (9.9)
• Sick person – 35 (9.9)
• Not entered – 31 (8.7)
• Breathing problems – 22 (6.2)

Of note are traffic accidents. They were down to 25 in 2020 from the prior year, or 6.8 percent of the calls, and that is not hard to explain, either. With the COVID pandemic forcing state and local shutdowns, persons traveled less frequently. Hence, accidents declined.

“I’m not so interested in the different numbers,” said the KAA’s chief of service Mike Haaga, “as I am in how many responses we have, how long it takes us to get there and how long it takes to get off the scene to the hospital.”

Of the other numbers, the most intriguing were calls made for persons who were unconscious or who had fainted. It dropped by over 50 percent. Where there were 11 in 2019, there were five a year later. Of equal interest is the drop in PEER (Police Emergency Evaluation Request) from one year to the other. There were nine in 2019 and four in 2020.

“The calls in the early months of the pandemic were down from last year,” said KAA president Dan O’Sullivan, “as people were cautious about going to the hospital. However, as the year went on, calls increased a fair amount over last year, with the total modestly higher.”

The KAA figures are recorded annually, with calls recorded electronically on patient care reports by EMTs on the scene.

After gaining clearance last week to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, at least 13 EMTs with the Killingworth Ambulance Association have been inoculated — with others scheduled to undergo treatment soon.

“Each tech was contacted individually to schedule an appointment,” said Mike Haaga, the KAA’s chief of service. “I do not get a list of who received one, so I know only of the techs who shared that information with me.”

One of 29 active EMTS with the KAA, Haaga is among the 13 immunized in Connecticut’s Phase 1a program, available to first responders at risk of exposure to COVID-19.

KAA president Dan O’Sullivan is another. He was the association’s first EMT to be vaccinated, treated on Dec. 23, at Middlesex Hospital shortly after local first responders and EMTs were given clearance to be immunized.

“It was completely painless,” he said of the injection. “I didn’t even feel it when it went in.”

Techs receive vaccines through a number of avenues. Some, like O’Sullivan, received them through Middlesex Hospital, which has a connection with Killingworth Ambulance, while others obtained them through hospitals where they work. Still others receive them through a vaccination clinic in Old Saybrook, arranged by the Connecticut River Area Health District and coordinated for the KAA by Killingworth’s Health Director, Amy Scholz.

O’Sullivan said he expects those treated in Phase 1a to receive a second round of injections shortly.  The Pfizer vaccine requires three weeks between inoculations, while the Moderna vaccine requires four.  The type of vaccine varies depending on where techs receive their inoculations.

While the news is encouraging, the KAA will continue to proceed cautiously. All crews responding to calls, for instance, wear protective face masks and gloves as part of their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Furthermore, EMTs who treat patients with COVID symptoms — or who are within a residence that had a confirmed COVID case – are required to wear gowns, face shields, gloves and N95 masks instead of surgical face masks.

In addition, Valley Shore dispatch screens all incoming 911 calls to determine if there are symptoms related to COVID-19. If that screen is deemed positive, the KAA forbids EMTs in training from boarding the ambulance and requires on-scene first responders to conduct their own screen before approaching patients.

Radios are used to communicate with persons inside a home to those on the outside.

“This is going to be what continues to happen in terms of procedure,” said O’Sullivan. “Even when we’re all vaccinated, we’re not going to change the protocol. We’re all going to have to take precautionary measures to make sure we’re not spreaders of the virus.

“They (the CDC) think vaccinated people won’t spread the virus, but they don’t yet have proof. So we’re going to have to keep doing what we’re doing until the CDC says the vaccination does protect against a spread or the vaccination program is finished.”

The Killingworth Ambulance Association will hold another in its series of “Stop the Bleed” classes on Saturday, Nov. 14, at its Route 81 headquarters. The course, which is free to the public, begins at 11 a.m. and lasts approximately one hour.

Persons ages 12 and older are invited to attend, with all required to wear protective face masks.

Important: Interested persons are also asked to complete an RSVP form that can be found here (http://www.killingworthambulance.org/news-events/rsvp/) or under the “Classes” pull-down menu at the top of the KAA home page.

“Stop the Bleed” is a nationwide awareness campaign that was launched in 2015 by the White House and Department of Homeland Security. It is designed to empower bystanders with training to deal with traumatic events and emergency bleeding situations before emergency help arrives.

The KAA first offered “Stop the Bleed” classes in July, 2017, making Killingworth the first Connecticut town to have its citizens certified. Since that time it has conducted 21 classes and had “Stop the Bleed” stations placed at the Killingworth Town Hall and Public Library.

For more information, contact the Killingworth Ambulance Association at (860) 663-2450.