They are front and centre when the community needs them.
And St. John Ambulance crews in Barrie have been fulfilling that need for 80 years.
The Barrie-Simcoe-Muskoka branch is celebrating eight decades of teaching life-saving skills and public safety, and the community is a better place for it.
Past branch chairperson Bill Sergeant says the roots of the local organizations go back to wartime, with the Barrie Ambulance Division being founded by a team of 16 local doctors and nurses in 1941, followed by the Barrie Nursing Division that was formed a couple of years later.
“They provided first-aid training to the general public whether they were students, factory workers, service clubs, church members, or anyone who wished to improve their skills and knowledge of first aid,” Sergeant says. “They also attended community events in uniform, where they could provide 'on the spot' first-aid treatment, should it be required.
“During the Second World War, there was a need for the general public to know basic first-aid,” he adds. “It was a skill that military personnel had been taught during the First World War in order to save lives by treating injuries sustained in combat or while training.”
The training and community services that are provided today are just as important now as they were then, Sergeant says.
“The mission of St. John Ambulance is to enable Canadians to improve their health, safety, and quality of life by providing training and community services. We are the industry leaders in first aid training,” he says.
Revenue generated from first-aid courses and supplies support St. John Ambulance volunteers in communities across the country.
“When you sign up for first-aid training with St. John Ambulance, you're supporting our network of volunteers across Canada,” Sergeant says. “In the Barrie-Simcoe-Muskoka branch, we service our community through two medical first-response units, two therapy dog units, a youth unit, a car-seat safety unit, an emergency management unit, and a fellowship unit.”
Some highlights for the Barrie-Simcoe-Muskoka branch in 2020 include: 61 medical first-response volunteers attending 23 events, treating seven casualties and contributing just shy of 4,000 hours of volunteer service; 11 youth volunteers contributing more than 800 volunteer hours; seven car-seat safety team members educating 79 parents and caregivers, contributing more than 525 volunteer hours; and 80 therapy dog handlers and their dogs contributed more than 5,000 hours of volunteer service, completing 2074 in-person and virtual visits to 70 facilities, including senior residences, hospitals, and schools.
All that despite COVID-19.
As of March 2020, all volunteer activities within the Barrie-Simcoe-Muskoka branch were put on hold in order to ensure the safety and well being of those volunteers, Sergeant says.
“The branch was shut down from March 17, 2020 and reopened for training on July 4, 2020. The branch has been able to conduct classes without shutting down during the lockdowns, as we were considered an essential service for workplaces,” he says. “We were able to do this by reducing our class sizes to account for the physical distancing and ensuring all of the province's COVID safety protocols were adhered to.”
St. John Ambulance community service volunteers are hoping to resume their activities in September of this year, Sergeant says.
At A Glance
• 1941 — Barrie Ambulance Division sanctioned with 16 members
• 1940s — Barrie Nursing Division created
• 1960s — First Mobile First Aid unit donated
• 1964 — St. John House is completed on Campbell Avenue
• 1972 — First Cadet Division created
• 1994 — First Therapy Dog Division created
• 2011 — Barrie Simcoe Muskoka Car Seat Unit created
• 2019 — First Mental Health Course conducted
