Clinton Township Newsletter

1 8 f e b r u a r y 2 0 2 2 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M Give your elderly loved ones trusted, dependable in-home care. Help them live safely at home where they feel comfortable, independent and happy. Our services • Meal Planning and Preparation • Transportation, Shopping & Errands • Light Housekeeping & Laundry • Medication Reminders • Monitoring bath safety and assistance with dressing and grooming • Other reasonable tasks as requested • We also provide live-in assistance Our compassionate and highly skilled CHHHAs will provide personal care services for people who ■ Need help with daily living tasks ■ Are alone or may be a fall risk ■ Have families living far away ■ Are disabled or in a wheelchair ■ Are recovering after a hospital stay or rehab discharge. In-Home Care for Seniors Anita's Angels, Inc. Countryside Plaza North 361 Route 31 • Flemington, NJ 08822 www.anitasangels.com • anitasangelssc@aol.com Call us for a FREE consultation 908.788.9390 9861230-01 s b e s a p p O i n t s l O n g - t i m e v O l u n t e e r C H i e F F r a n K s e t n i C K y a s t H e O r g a n i z a t i O n ' s F i r s t F u l l - t i m e p a i d C H i e F SBES has grown significantly through two mergers in the past two years. Setnicky's new role will combine duties from his current one with those of the deputy chief of EMS/operations, a paid position. South Branch Emergency Services is pleased to appoint long-time volunteer Chief Frank Setnicky as the organization's first full-time paid chief. "The decision to reconfigure SBES's top job was two-fold," said President Sharon Burham. The chief's responsibilities have grown significantly along with an increase in service area and people served. In 2020, the former Clinton First Aid & Rescue and High Bridge Emergency squads merged to create SBES. On January 1, Hampton Emergency Squad and SBES will complete their merger. Setnicky has lead SBES and the former Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad for decades. He already had six year's experience as a volunteer EMT when he joined Clinton in 1984, and has been chief for the majority of those years. He also has significant experience as a full-time paid EMT and EMS chief. He retired in fall 2021 as chief of Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, a job he held for 15 years. He had served Princeton as a career EMT for the previous two decades. As of January when the merger with Hampton takes effect, Setnicky will oversee the emergency services that SBES offers to the Town of Clinton, Clinton Township, Lebanon Borough, High Bridge Borough, Hampton, Glen Gardner and portions of Bethlehem, Franklin, Union, and Tewksbury townships. He will lead 90 volunteers, 32 career EMTs, and 15 instructors who teach the courses offered at the SBES Training Center. Setnicky's expanded role includes direct supervision of paid staff members along with payroll and other administrative tasks. He will now be the squad's liaison with community leaders. Setnicky and Burham both acknowledged the contributions Deputy Chief of EMS/Operations Bucky Buchanan has made to first Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad and now SBES and thanked him for his dedication. Chief Frank Setnicky V o l u n t e e r E M T P e n n y T a m p i e r j o i n e d Hampton Emergency Squad, which recently merged with South Branch Emergency Services, right after she graduated high school. In the 42 years since, she's held the positions of Secretary, Vice President, President, Captain, Lieutenant and, for 25 years, Chief. Penny once responded to a call that someone had fallen on the ice and dislocated her shoulder, only to find her own mother on the ground. At least once, the call came to her: A man driving through Hampton realized his father had stopped talking to him from the passenger seat and pulled into the fire station. "Someone called 911, but someone else came screaming over to us, two buildings away in our parking lot," Penny remembered. "We were there in ten seconds. He was in cardiac arrest. We shocked him twice and he soon started talking. And then he came to our next meeting and thanked us." "Learning that someone you helped is doing well is the best feeling ever," she said. Penny does whatever needs to be done, which is why she has also been director of equipment, medical director, and "every committee there ever was," she said. Of all the EMS leadership roles she's held, chief is what she loves most. "I like working with everybody," she said. "I like making sure things get done and that they run smoothly." When Penny saw an opportunity to improve the service her squad provides -one that would also lighten the load for a declining number of Hampton volunteers, she initiated the effort to make it happen. That effort led to the January 1, 2022 merger of Hampton Emergency Squad with South Branch Emergency Services, creating a single organization that operates as SBES – the best way to be sure the community she loves continues to get the emergency medical care it deserves, and to preserve the legacy of those she followed into volunteer EMS service, including her father, two brothers, and an uncle. The merger was also the way to ensure that giving back to the community through volunteer EMS could remain a way of life for herself and those who joined after her, including her husband, Jeff; son Michael, son Daniel, and daughter-in-law Darian. Everyone she's not related to at Hampton – and now SBES, too – starts to feel like a relative after awhile. "It's like a big extra family. We get together and do a lot of things outside the squad and all of our children grow up together," she said. "Relationships grow with people in other first-responder units, t o o , s h e a d d e d , b e c a u s e e v e r y o n e w o r k s t o g e t h e r . " Before that call to help the older man in cardiac arrest was d o n e , H u n t e r d o n M e d i c a l C e n t e r medics, a volunteer firefighter who heard the call come over his scanner, and her son, Michael, who wasn't o n d u t y t h a t d a y , all arrived on scene a n d c o l l a b o r a t e d . P e n n y n o w h a s a new leadership role: Battalion Chief of SBES Station 4 – the Hampton station. "When you get a call, it could be anyone who needs help," she said. "It still feels important to help my neighbors." SBES is looking for volunteers like you! No experience is necessary, and training and gear are provided for members. Visit sbes365.org to sign up or learn more. m e e t s b e s v O l u n t e e r e m t & b a t t a l i O n C H i e F p e n n y t a m p i e r Getting Everyone the Help They Need for 42 Years and Counting Volunteer EMT Penny Tampier

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