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Local Emergency Response Physician reviews 2022, looks forward to '23

Contributor
By Contributor
December 29th, 2022

Here’s to all the white fluffy stuff making the trees, mountains and our yards all sparkly and pretty. 

It’s been a big year. We have been responding to an increased number of calls, and our team behind the scenes has been keeping pace with strategy and organization to support the growing charity.

Let’s take a look at where we’ve been this year and where we would like to go…

2022 in Review

The past year has been our busiest year to date with our Emergency Response Physician (ERP) answering 161 calls and being dispatched to 103 immediate threat-to-life events. Continuing on the momentum of receiving Special Operations Medical Retrieval Accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems in July of 2021, we’ve been moving forward in leaps and bounds. This year:

  • On April 1 BC Emergency Health Services began dispatching KERPA regionally to the five cities: Kaslo, Nelson, Salmo, Castlegar, and Winlaw. This has led to a considerable increase in our call volumes.
  • KERPA purchased a video laryngoscope which has greatly improved our ERP’s ability to safely secure the airway in cardiac arrest and critical trauma patients. This year we have used this equipment to help four critically ill and injured patients.
  • In collaboration with UBC’s Medical Residency Program, KERPA has hosted two residents through our short-term elective program. This five-day course takes residents through a series of dry simulations and trainings with the option to participate in observer shifts, and observing the application of these skills and techniques in real emergency settings.
  • In November we welcomed Dr. Amy Rudkoski to our emergency response team. KERPA hosted Amy through KERPA’s elective program earlier this year. She will be working with Dr. Nic over the next year to become fully certified to respond independently with KERPA.
  • The IODE has confirmed that they will be our patron supporter of KERPA, donating $10,000 annually for another three years! Amazing! This is huge news for the charity as we strive to reach big goals for the following year. We are incredibly grateful for all the IODE Ladies for their continued support for our mission.  

Big Dreams for 2023

The KERPA Team is working hard to grow the charity in terms of our capacities and services offered. This means recruiting new physicians, acquiring additional medical equipment and continuing to build awareness for the charity and our life saving services.

  • * KERPA is developing a strategy to build relationships and secure funding with business and corporate sponsors so that we can continue to provide our life saving emergency response services to patients in the communities we serve. 

* Moving forward, we hope to enhance our service capacities. KERPA is looking to acquire a ventilator and an I-Stat machine, a handy device that will help our ERPs analyze patients’ blood and assist in rapid diagnosis. Keep an eye out on our Facebook and Instagram for all the latest news and updates. We have some exciting times ahead!

KERPA is a charity that equips volunteer physicians to provide emergency medical response services to patients free of charge. To learn more, or donate, visit www.kerpa.org.

Categories: Health

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