By Karen Mahoney~Correspondent
The Salem Town Board is considering a donation of one of its extra vehicles to bring area emergency calls to the cutting edge of response for serious accidents and other appropriate medical calls.
Speaking before the board Feb. 10, Kenosha County EMS Medical Director, Dr. Ben Feinzimmer explained the various ways he would utilize the vehicle in responding to medical calls.
“I would dedicate specific times to making the field calls here a couple of times a month. I would leave the car at St. Catherine’s Hospital where I work in the ER and drive out to the area when appropriate and work with the patients,” he said. “I work primarily in the ER but will also be able to work in the field to make medical decisions as needed.”
Feinzimmer is an emergency medical specialist and serves as the medical director for Salem, Bristol, Somers, Pleasant Prairie and Silver Lake fire departments. He would also be available for mutual aid calls past the county lines, including northern Illinois. Prior to becoming a physician, he served as a firefighter and paramedic.
The surplus vehicle donated for Feinzimmer’s use was the brainchild of Salem Fire/Rescue Chief Mike Slover.
After presenting the idea at the November 2013 Town Board meeting, board members were interested in learning more before agreeing to the donation of the vehicle.
The 2005 Ford Explorer was purchased new for Fire Inspection and Response for the Salem Fire Department before being used as a response vehicle for the Wilmot Fire Department battalion chief.
“When this vehicle came up for sale, we realized it would be beneficial for all of Western Kenosha County and tightens the circle up and the level of service for the area. When he is not working, he can participate in the training,” said Slover.
“We are pretty excited that he is going to be able to respond. Years before we hadn’t had a medical director on site and now we have the whole system expanded, which brings us to the cutting edge of emergency response, and we can use the medical director to interact with the medical team on the scene.”
Supervisor Mike Culat asked if any of the other departments were contributing to Feinzimmer’s service to Western Kenosha County, and Slover stated that Pleasant Prairie donated a radio, and other departments donated protective equipment.
Additionally, he said that a designated vehicle equipped with lights would provide the doctor with more visibility and protection at the scene of an accident.
“I think it is a great idea,” said Culat. “I see value in doing this.”
There was no voting on the possible donation, but the board appeared to be in support of making a decision. If the vehicle were donated for Feinzimmer’s use, all Town of Salem Fire Department lettering would be removed and replaced with United Health Care lettering.