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East Lycoming Ambulance Association awarded Rural Health Program of the Year

By From Staff Reports 2 min read
RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent The East Lycoming Ambulance Association received the Rural Health Program of the Year award presented by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health at the ELAA headquarters in Hughesville on Nov. 17, 2022. The organization made up of the Hughesville, Muncy Area, Muncy Township and Picture Rocks volunteer fire departments along with Susquehanna Regional EMS was recognized for using an innovative approach to addressing a need in the rural community they serve. Presenting the award was Lisa A. Davis, M.H.A., Director and Outreach Associate Professor at Penn State. Shown from left are: Gary L. Harmon, Jr., Genie Wines, Joshua Dorman, Scott Oldweiler, Justin Hoffman, Lisa A. Davis, Donna Anderson, Daniel Ferretti, Chad Tobias, Kristy Creasy, Abby Houseknecht, Brenda Dorman and Mark Blanchard.

The East Lycoming Ambulance Association of Hughesville is the Rural Health Program of the Year for 2022.

According to social media posts, the award was presented by Lisa Davis, director of the state Office for Rural Health and outreach associate professor of health policy and administration at Penn State.

"The Rural Health Program of the Year Award recognizes an exemplary health program that addresses an identified need in a rural community by utilizing unique, creative, and innovative approaches to do so," A post on Lycoming County Public Safety's page said.

The nomination was submitted by Josh Dorman, an ambulance captain at the Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department, and recognized a 20-year cooperative effort between four volunteer fire departments -- Hughesville, Muncy Area, Picture Rocks and Muncy Township.

The four fire companies fund the association, which in turn pays for emergency medical technicians' wages and provides equipment and a facility for emergency services in eastern Lycoming County.

"The fire companies staff a Basic Life Support ambulance seven days a week, which is responsible for covering 911 emergency medical calls and vehicle accidents for 10 municipalities in rural Pennsylvania," the Facebook post said. "Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, this collaboration had been critical for the area due to the significant increase in emergency calls. Without these companies providing these essential services, many of those calls would go unanswered."

The office also presented state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-Rochester, with Rural Health Legislator of the Year and Denny Hutchison, membership chair and past president of the Somerset County Farm Bureau, with Rural Health Leader of the Year. Vogel was recognized for his attention to mental health needs of the agricultural community while Hutchison was honored for his work on developing a crisis line and underwriting training that focuses on learning about stressors in the agricultural community, according to the office's website.

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