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Overcast Two more trauma kits for Valley Stream schools
This time, the Valley Stream Kiwanis Club donated not one, but two pediatric trauma kits for local schools. Over the last five years, the community service organization has been providing these medical kits to elementary schools, one at a time.
On Dec. 14, pediatric trauma kits were given to the James A. Dever and Howell Road schools in District 13. All four elementary schools in the district now have these kits. Principal Darren Gruen accepted the donation on behalf of Dever, and Principal Frank Huplosky did the same for Howell Road. Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund, assistant superintendents Meredith Brosnan and Lisa Sells-Asch, and Board of Education President Frank Chiachiere also attended the presentation at Monica Village, a senior housing center in the village.
It is members of the Crochet Club at Monica Village who raise the money for the trauma kits. By selling their handmade items, the women collect money and turn it over to the Kiwanis Club, which then secures the trauma kits for the schools.
Each trauma kit requires a $1,000 donation to the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center at North Shore Hospital in Manhasset. Frank Farella, secretary of the Valley Stream Kiwanis Club, said it was able to provide two kits this time, because the Crochet Club had made two $1,000 donations so close together. “They’re so good, raising all that money so quickly,” he said.
Farella said that the Dever and Howell Road schools were chosen this time to finish off District 13. The Wheeler Avenue and Willow Road schools have already received kits, as well as Brooklyn Avenue School in District 24 and Holy Name of Mary School.
One of the first schools to receive a pediatric trauma kit was Blessed Sacrament School, which closed in June. Farella said the kit was donated back to the Kiwanis Club to provide to another elementary school in Valley Stream. “We haven’t decided who to give it to yet.”
The pediatric trauma kits include an immobilization board, face masks, breathing tubes, a stethoscope and blood pressure cuffs, along with other medical supplies and a teddy bear. The equipment is specially designed for children and some of pieces come in multiple sizes.
Joseph Corace, president of the North Shore Pediatric Trauma Center, said that when there is a medical emergency, having the right equipment could mean the difference between life and death. “The minutes are so important,” he said. “The first 90 seconds is what makes a difference.”
Corace said that local Kiwanis organizations in Nassau County first focused their efforts on outfitting emergency vehicles, such as ambulances and fire engines, with pediatric trauma kits before focusing their efforts on schools. This way, he said, first responders had the tools necessary to help a child in distress.
With the trauma kits in schools, trained staff members now can begin life-saving support even before emergency responders arrive. He said each school that is given a trauma kit is expected to have at least one staff member trained on how to use it. The training is offered through the North Shore Pediatric Trauma Center.
Huplosky, who praised the generosity of the Kiwanis Club and Crochet Club, said he plans to have his staff trained. There is a team at Howell Road, he said, who are already capable of using the defibrillator and CPR machine. “We will probably train the same people,” he said.
Dorothy Artemisio, president of the Crochet Club, said it gives the women incentive to keep knitting and keep selling, knowing the good they are doing for the community. “We’re all very happy to be able to do it for the two schools,” she said. “If a child gets hurt, it can get taken care of right then and there.”
Artemisio said the club is already on its way to earning another $1,000, and should be able to donate another kit to another Valley Stream school within the next six months.
Gruen said he likes that the kit is portable, so it can be used anywhere on school grounds if there is an emergency, or can be taken out if the building is evacuated. He said there already is a portable medical bag in the school, but the pediatric trauma kit is far more comprehensive.
“We hope we never use it,” Gruen said, “but it’s nice to know we have it just in case.”
