She may have retired as the Lima Volunteer Ambulance Corps’ assistant chief, but that does not mean that Donna Lindsay has any plans to retire as a volunteer.
Lindsay began with the ambulance corps in 1992 and served as the ambulance’s assistant chief for the past 17 years. She and Norm Caccamise, who served as chief of the ambulance for 35 years, both were recognized at a ceremony last month at the ambulance base after announcing their retirements from the leadership positions.
“It is time for new leadership; new people to step forward,” Lindsay said. “But, I enjoy serving the community by helping people.”
Lindsay, a native of York, moved to Lima in 1988. With two sons becoming involved in Boy Scouts and her husband as a Scoutmaster, she took a First Aid course to become a Cub Scout leader. Her involvement in the ambulance corps evolved from taking that course.
“I was kind of conned into it by Norm,” said Lindsay with a laugh. “The course was taught by Norm and other ambulance corps members. Norm said that the ambulance had a need for volunteers. My kids were in school and I was available during the day.”
Lindsay had experience treating animals as a veterinary assistant, but this was a whole new world. She put her skills to work treating people with illnesses or injuries and her work earned her the title of assistant chief eight years later. As assistant chief, she took care of some of the daytime duties and shared other duties with Caccamise. In her 25 years as a member, she has seen the work of ambulance volunteers change and grow.
“Now, there are a whole lot more skills and service we provide,” she said. “We provide more specialized care now whereas when I first started, it was more of a pick up a patient and get them to a hospital. There has also been technological change with computerized patient reports now, not just paper.”
While her volunteerism is filling a need in the community, it also has other benefits.
“It is a way of meeting other people in the community who I might not have met otherwise,” she said. “I had been a PTA volunteer and met people through that, but this was another group of people in the community and there was a need and I could fill it.”
Lindsay is usually on call for 12 hours on Wednesdays, 14 hours on Fridays and, once a month, pulls a 24 hour shift. While the ambulance corps currently has 25 volunteers, 13 of them Emergency Medical Technicians or EMTs, she said the ambulance service could always use more volunteers.
“It is such a wonderful feeling to help someone else and there is a need for the ambulance service in the community,” she stated. “I know if someone in my family needed help, I would be glad that there were ambulance volunteers aiding them.”
