Zurich Citizens News, 1978-09-07, Page 11en
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CHECKING THE EQUIPMENT — One of the most important tasks in an ambulance service is
the maintenance of the ambulance's equipment. Checking over some of the many items
carried are Ron McLinchey and Jim Hoffman. Staff photo
Citizens News, September 7, 1978
Paste 11
MANY ITEMS CARRIED — You'll never know it by taking a quick glance into the back of an
• ambulance that around 60 items are carried on -board. Everything from stretchers and a com-
plete first aid kit to battery cables are carried in the back of a Hoffman's ambulance.
Have been in operation for over 40 years
Ambulance service serves many people
It's nine thirty in the
morning on the day before
the Labour Day weekend and
all's quiet at the dispatch
centre at the Hoffman
Ambulance service in Dash-
wood.
As the morning paper gets
passed around and as the
daughter of Jim and Donna
Hoffman crawls around on
all fours, Jim remarks that
• the chances of going out on
some calls in the morning
appear e,tremely remote.
Ron McLinchy one of the
service's full time at-
tendants adds that in the
first two weeks of August
they had had the same
PRACTICE PATIENT — Somewhere underneath the strap-
ping and bandaging is news editor Tom Creech.
Photo by Donna Hoffman
number of calls which they
would normally make in a
month, with the past two
weeks being very quiet.
Hoffman's Ambulance
Service is the type of family
run business that is the back-
bone of rural Ontario.
Founded by father Harry
forty years ago, sons Bob
and Jim play an active role
in the running of the service.
Elder son Bob farms and is
an ambulance attendant on a
part-time basis while Jim is
involved with ambulances
twenty-four hours a day.
The younger Hoffman who
resides next door to the
family business has been
working in his present
capacity since he was six-
teen.
In that period of time there
have been several changes in
the business with the most
significant of those being in
1968 with ambulance ser-
vices coming under the
jurisdiction of the ministry
of health. All ambulances in
the province are owned by
the ministry with each
ambulance service in
Ontario receiving a varying
flat rate for the provision of
services in their area. At
present, Hoffman's have two
ambulances.
Story and
photos
by
Tom Creech.
According to Mrs. Harry
Hoffman the ambulance
service had 1,042 patient
calls this past year with an
average of 75 calls during the
summer months and bet-
ween 50 and 60 calls per
month the remainder of the
year.
With regards to the
changing nature of the calls
over the years which they
have been in operation, Mrs.
Hoffman said the number of
'drug cases has decreased
dramatically in the past
three years while alcohol
related calls have remained
constant.
While the ambulance
business is usually
associated with the
preserving of existing lives,
Hoffman's this year have
helped bring two new lives
into the world.
Ambulance attendants are
required in Ontario to take
the Emergency Medical
Care Attendant course at a
community college before
they are considered to be
fully qualified.
According to Jim, at-
tendants who were in the
business prior to the in-
troduction of such a course
were required to take
courses to bring them up to
the level of the above
mentioned standard.
There are some areas with
regards to ambulance care
that the general public is not
clear on, says Jim.
Ambulances may not carry
dead bodies unless there is a
special order from the at-
tending coroner and an
ambulance attendant cannot
pronounce a person dead at
the scene of an accident.
When it comes to their
relationships with other
ambulance services in the
area, the key word is co-
operation and not coin-
petition says Jim.
Hoffman's who cover an
area within a 20 mile radius
of Dashwood, on several oc-
casions request backup help
from the ambulance ser-
vices in Zurich, Lucan,rhed-
ford and Parkhill when their
two ambulances are out
making calls. Hoffman's
reciprocate with the other
services when their am-
bulances are out of their
territory.
At Hoffman's there are
three full time ambulance
attendants; Jim Hoffman,
McLinchey and Jim Leh-
man. Working part-time are
Bob Hoffman, Rufus
Turnbull, Mike Rau and Ken
Genttner.
McLinchey a native of the
Parkhill area, came to
Hoffman's in 1975 after
spending four years with the
Ambulance service in
Parkhill.
Lehman who has been with
Hoffman's since 1976 comes
from the community of
Kenilworth, a village located'
between Mount Forest and
Arthur. He's been in the
business for three and half
years and derives a sense of
satisfaction from his work.
One thing that is certain
about all ambulances in
Ontario is the completeness
of the equipment which they
carry. This reporter can
attest to the wide range of
equipment available and
thoroughness of the care
which he received in a
practise run.
To be blunt this reporter
was a wreck. My "injuries"
in no order of pain were: a
broken right leg, cervical
malfunctions, lacerations to
the forehead, breathing
difficulties, a burn on the left
arm, a severe eye injury, a
fractured arm and to top it
off, I was delirious.
It seemed in no time at all
that this physical wreck was
transformed into something
which the doctors could start
working on.
If Hoffman's of Dashwood
is any indication of the
quality of ambulance care in
Ontario, we have nothing to
be worried about if either
ourselves or a loved one
requires their services some
day.
......... _......__
OFF AND RUNNING — Jim Hoffman and Ron McLinchey head for their ambulance.
Staff photo
HOFFMAN'S ON THE SCENE --- Hoffman's Ambulance service was called to the scene of a
one car occident south of Exeter, Saturday in which four people were injured. Treating one of
the accident victims who sustained minor injuries are (left -right) Bob and Harry Hoffman..