Colrain Volunteer Ambulance Association Inc.

Powered by 25 of the most incredible volunteers in the world, Colrain Ambulance has been providing care to the ill and injured since 1976. In an era of dwindling participation in volunteer service, Colrain has stood out as a formidable exception to the rule as it continues to expand services including a recent upgrade to the Paramedic level of care and the addition of the Town of Heath as a primary care town last year. Since March of 2008 Colrain has responded with at least 2 EMT's 99.9% of the time, totaling almost 1600 calls.

It's secret lies in the associations' ability to use a forward thinking thought process to collaborate, plan and execute with others for a common goal, that being the expansion of educational opportunities, improvement of the health and well-being of the citizens, visitors and providers of the areas we serve and the development of long term sustainable methods of providing world class care for our patients.

Our dedicated volunteers, who range from age 18 to 82, contribute in excess of 10,000 hours of time each year to support our emergency services. They come from other vocations such as construction, law enforcement, manufacturing, nursing, education, and administration to name a few. A few are career EMS personnel.

Many additional hours are spent by each volunteer attending required education and training. Many more choose to expand and supplement these opportunities by attending advanced level training that often involves travel, many times paying for this privilege of expanded knowledge and skill out of their own pockets.

The associations' contribution also extends to community education in areas such as CPR, first aid and home safety.

As part of this educational mission, we partner with a fellow non-profit organization, Community 911 Training headquartered in Greenfield, Mass.

Led by our own Director of Education and Training Matt Wolkenbreit, Community 911 provides world class educational opportunities to all levels of healthcare and the community in general. Matt was recently named the EMS Educator of the Year by EMS World and the National Association of EMT's. His contribution to EMS education continues to have a profound impact on patient care.

As we have grown the cost of assuring optimal care continues to rise as more care is migrated to the ambulance. New equipment requirements alone have added significant expense, and we continue to replace and upgrade our present "tools of the trade".

We are also facing a period of unprecedented change as healthcare reform brings a unique opportunity and responsibility to provide community based care involving multiple disciplines of caregivers.

In 2018 our current ambulance will have its 10th birthday, which in ambulance years is considered a full and complete life. Though we have progressively planned for replacement of the ambulance the cost has significantly increased due to new equipment requirements.

Our community partners continue to strongly support our mission with the Town of Colrain allowing us to house our ambulance, equipment and administrative facilities at Colrain Fire. This showing of collaboration and teamwork shines through the facility, and encourages a strong message of unity and compassion for those in need.

We are asking your help in assuring a bright future for emergency services in Franklin County by supporting our mission of providing the highest quality medical service, professional and community education and collaborative teamwork opportunities.

Every dollar given is a vote for continuing to provide a strong, well-educated and trained EMS team of your neighbors volunteering their time providing world class care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We are there when you need us, and we hope you feel the same!