The Town of Tonawanda’s Paramedic Unit is a public service organization within the Town of Tonawanda Police Department that functions under the direction of Dr. Christian Krawczyk. It is a critical link in our community’s emergency medical service (EMS) system, providing high quality and advanced pre-hospital medical care. These professionals have dedicated themselves to the delivery and improvement of advanced pre-hospital emergency medical care. Based out of Police Headquarters on Sheridan Drive, the paramedics respond to a wide variety of calls for service from simple falls and assist calls to more complex medical calls and multiple traumas.
History
The Town Paramedic Unit was conceived and developed in 1974 under the guidance of the then Town Supervisor James V. Ryan, Medical Director Joseph Takats, and Labor Relations Director Norman Stocker. Following rigorous training of the newly hired 9 full time and 3 alternate paramedic trainees the unit went into service on August 11, 1975 and began providing basic and advanced first aid to the citizens of the Town of Tonawanda and the Village of Kenmore. In their first year of service the paramedics responded to 1,705 requests for first aid.
The mission of the Paramedic Unit is to maintain and provide the highest standards of pre-hospital care for the citizens and visitors of our community. We proudly serve by providing:
Special Operations Unit
- Bike team, which is made up of specially trained paramedics who operate on bicycles to provide emergency medical care in areas where access is difficult either because of terrain or crowds.
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- Honor Guard, a group who represents our unit in honoring deceased members of our department, or represents our department to pay our respects for those public safety members who have died.
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- Tactical Paramedics, extensively trained paramedics who are detailed to the department’s SWAT team to provide advanced medical care and support during tactical operations.
On August 11th, 2015 the paramedic unit celebrates being in service for 40 years. It is believed to be one of the first paramedic units in New York State. In 2016 the paramedics responded to 8058 calls for service
A career with the Tonawanda Paramedics has excellent benefits, including:
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Medication for treatment of emergency conditions, including chest pain, difficulty breathing, allergic reactions, diabetic hypoglycemia and more | Zoll X-Series Cardiac Monitor / Pacer / Biphasic Defibrillator / 12 Lead ECG / Pulse Oximeter / NIPB / Capnography (EtCO2) | Broselow Pediatric Advance Life Support Pack |
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Pulse Oximeter | Glucometer | Thermometer | Rad-57 CO-Oximeter |
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CPAP - for treatment of acute respiratory failure. CPAP ventilation is also commonly used for critical patients with respiratory failure. In these patients, CPAP ventilation can prevent the need for endotracheal intubation, or allow earlier extubation. | EZ-IOTM is a handheld, battery-powered device that provides fast, safe and controllable vascular access within seconds via the intraosseous route. The EZ-IOTM is commonly used in cardiac arrest or critically ill patients in shock. |
The James V. Ryan Paramedic Foundation was established in 1985 to honor the late Town supervisor who spearheaded the effort to establish the Town's paramedic program and support the emergency medical services in our community.
As a 100% volunteer, not-for-profit organization, the foundation has been able to provide many lifesaving tools and educational programs over the years for the Paramedics Unit as well as emergency response personnel in our Town and Village.
The Foundation supports many service programs for the citizens of our community such as the "Vial of Life" program. In the recent past they have been able to acquire a new emergency response vehicle for the Paramedic Unit. They also acquired automated external defibrillators for use in our school district and in every marked police car in our Town and in the Village of Kenmore Fire Department.
The costs of operating the Paramedic Unit are primarily funded by your tax dollars. However, over the years our paramedics have enjoyed a "competitive edge" over many similar programs thanks to generous donations received from public and private donations.
Board of Directors
Member | Office | Association |
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Fay P. Ryan | Chairperson | |
Kevin B. Day | Secretary | Paramedic Supervisor (retired) Town of Tonawanda |
John W. Beaumont | Kenmore Fire Department (Past Chief) | |
Carla E. Bevilacqua, RN, EMT-P | Paramedic Supervisor (Ret.), Town of Tonawanda | |
Karen L. Ginnane | Site Director, Praxair Inc. | |
Thomas J. Kelly Esq., Emeritus | Partner (retired) Brown and Kelly | |
J. Jeffrey Ryan | ||
Joseph R. Takats, III, D.O., FACEP | Twin City Physicians Group Medical Director (Ret.), Town of Tonawanda EMS |
Support the Foundation
The Ryan Foundation has made many of our state-of-the-art equipment purchases possible, thereby allowing us to treat our patients with the latest life-saving equipment and technology.
If you wish to support your community and its Paramedic Unit by making a donation, please send your tax-deductible contribution to:
James V. Ryan Paramedic Foundation
c/o Town of Tonawanda Paramedic Unit
1835 Sheridan Drive
Buffalo, NY 14223
1835 Sheridan Dr.
Buffalo, NY 14223
(716) 876-5300
(716) 879-6644
Staff
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Name | Title | Phone | |
Baumgartner, Michael | Paramedic Supervisor | 879-6675 | |
Bongiovanni, John | |||
Botham, Michael | |||
Cinelli, Jon | |||
De Rose, Matthew | |||
Baumgartner, Diona | |||
LaBella, Rachel | |||
Lutz, Robert | Part-Time | ||
McDonald, Scott | |||
Napieralski, Jay | |||
Rice, David | |||
Rutecki, Jason | |||
Rutenkroger, Kristian | |||
St. Peter, Christopher | Operations Manager | ||
Pecoraro, Jeremy |
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