Yes for EMS

More than 20,000 times a year, residents of Spokane call out for help, and the men and women of the Spokane Fire Department are there to answer our calls. They come to our homes and to our businesses, responding to medical crises and providing a vital first link in the chain of survival.

As a physician caring for people with strokes, I know that the care my patients receive in the critical first few minutes from our Emergency Medical Service team is vital to whether they survive and to how disabled they might be. When my stroke patients do well, I know a large part of the thanks goes to the EMS team.

Now is our chance to return the thanks in a concrete fashion. The EMS levy has been in place since 1980, providing financial support to the SFD. Back then, it was 25 cents per $1,000 property value. Now it is only a mere 50 cents per $1,000, or $50 for a home assessed at $100,000. The current levy expires in December 2010, and on April 27 we vote to renew it for the next six years.

Eat healthy. Exercise regularly. And vote “Yes” for EMS!

Madeleine C. Geraghty

Medical program director

Providence Sacred Heart