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8-The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, JuIy 10, 2001 Paramedics on bicycles will help save lives By WILMA BLOKHUIS Special to The Champion 1 Then Eddie Tsang of ETCETEA, etc., restau- VV rant in Bronte was asked to participate in a raffle to raise funds to provide mountain bikes for para- medics, he reached into his own pock- et and donated four bicycles to launch Halton's Bike Medics teamn. The donation, worth more than $3,000, was made just in time for the recent Oakville Waterfront Festival, the Bike Medics' first assgnment. Mr. Tsang also donated racks and saddlebags to carry paramedic equipment such as portable defibrillators, oxygen and communications gear. Mr. Tsang's donation is supported by Oakville Cycle and Sports, which assembled the bicycles, and wîll service them for two years at no charge, and Raleigh Canada, also of Oakville, provided the bicycles at cost. The donation allowed Halton Region Health Department paramedics to launch the Bike Medics ahead of schedule. They will be on patrol, in pairs, at big events across Halton where access may be difficult because of large cmowds, including the Oakville Jazz Festival and next year's Burlington Sound of Music Festival. "If we save one life over the next five years, it will be worth it," said Mr. Tsang. 1I believe para- medics on bicycles is quite a unique idea, and with paramedics, every second counts." Mr. Tsang decided to donate the four bicycles when approached to make a contribution to a fundraising raffle to cover the cost of launching the Bike Medics prograro. The raffle was held in June. "TMe donation was a pleasant surprise," said iim King, director of ambulance services for the Halton Region Health Department. "'Ne went to see Eddie at ETCETERA, etc., looking for a meal, and next thing you know, he's giving us the bikes. It happened so fast we were scrambling to ind enough paramedics who are trained on bicycles to patrol the Oakville Waterfront Festival." Eight paramedics have already been trained and five were on duty at the festival. More para- medies will be trained, he added. 'The bicycles will help provide areas that are not easily accessible by an ambulance vehicle with faster responsç times, such as special event venues," said Mr. King. Ambulances will respond to calîs attended by the Bike Medics as required, and individuals Photo by BARRIE ERSKINE Celebrating the creation of the Bike Medics program are contributers from lftI, Regional Chair Joyce Savoline, Adrian Marpies of Raleigh Canada, paramedic Nadine Bosscher, Eddie Tsang of ETCETERA, etc., paramedic Roman Nowickyl, Noel Ashdown of Oakville Cycle and Sports and Jim King, director of the Halton Ambulance Service. requiring hospital treatment will be transported via ambulance, he said. Money raised by the raffle, initially intended to raise funda for the bicycles, will now be used to cover the cost of a trailer to transport the bikes, and to outtit the bikes with additional accessories. Mie trailer was purchased at cost from Trailers by iim Bray, another Oakville business. A number of businesses across Halton donated prizes for the raffle. Donations included four rounds of golf at Glen Abbey Golf Club from ClubLink, and nearlynewcup.com donated a new Hewlett Packard colour copier. Donations also came from the Bronte Legion, and Communications and Power Industries Canada in Georgetown. For more information about the Bike Medics, caîl the Halton Region Health Department, Ambulance Services Division at (905) 825- 6060, ext. 7111. (((~1~f1~ ~~f\COGECO 14 Programming Schedule - JuIy lOth - JuIy l6th, 2001. ,» ,,ehI#,, J .-. - th 1 5ednesd Fj .il ! E11Um Eb.hurda Y1 2th MondaMm.. Muid b! ~ D4__ ~ FI Wu 9àý BbIiammIew à Et , Eu ff éwý i m, m ubWid hIe %àWu www.clemil-% NZ p.iM.- Cà§.*m ,% . haiI Cw Càs NORTH IIALON STUDIO od M*W"Wt5m6m& *I .O l! * wkU" CfmoSM 2m4a1M Mains- #Street * North, L3MFbehmk-Sm7Jm kW hi s W . NORTHon, ON L7JIO9 (519) 853-4700 0elue his I»k: RIL Focibal: DBC aofHonfIIon- Saurday, 5pm & MdaY, 7:SOpm