Sunstar Paramedics, the 911 ambulance provider for Pinellas County, received a 2019 AMBY Award from the American Ambulance Association (AAA) for its Health and Safety Fair. The project focused on increasing awareness of common health-related dangers while helping decrease preventable injuries and deaths specifically in the Largo, Florida area.
To prepare for the Health and Safety Fair, Sunstar researched and analyzed emergency and non-emergency call patterns to determine major health and safety concerns in the community. They then led a coordinated effort to recruit other agencies in the region to assist in providing education on safety and prevention for drownings, infant safe sleep, falls, opioid awareness and CPR knowledge.
“We are committed to education and building partnerships with local health and safety agencies to improve the level of knowledge regarding major health concerns in our community,” said John Peterson, chief operating officer of Sunstar Paramedics. “We are very pleased to be recognized for our work to positively impact our community and the EMS system in Pinellas County and we give special thanks to our partners for assisting in this effort.”
Sunstar recruited 23 community health and safety partners to assist with the event. Along with Sunstar, these agencies provided education, safety demonstrations and give-a-ways such as free bike helmets, children’s life jackets, wall mounted night lights to assist seniors and free cholesterol and diabetes screenings. Attendees could also receive free blood pressure screenings, free hands-only CPR training, attend Tia Chi demonstrations and be educated on opioid overdose and how to administer Narcan.
The Health and Safety Fair was held in conjunction with the kick-off of national EMS week. It is estimated to have attracted up to 500 individuals.
The AAA AMBY awards recognize excellence in the ambulance profession as well as ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit. Sunstar Paramedics executives will receive the award at the American Ambulance Association’s Annual Conference in Nashville on November 5.