With its sprawling grounds in the Pelham section of the Bronx,
Jacobi Hospital looks more like a suburban college campus. But drive past a few
buildings and down a hill and suddenly a different reality sets in. Outside a
gray one-story building a half-dozen shiny ambulances are lined up, while Emergency
Medical Technicians and Paramedics are busy checking their equipment.
One of those Paramedics, prepared to spring into action at a moment's notice,
is Local 2507 member Miguel Acevedo.
Born and raised in the Bronx, Mr.
Acevedo has been responding to emergencies around the city since 1993, when he
completed his certification requirements at La Guardia College.
"I
get to see the results of my work. That's what I like the most about this job,"
he said after a grueling eight-hour shift. Recently, Mr. Acevedo rushed to the
aid of a 68-year-old woman who had stopped breathing. "I gave her CPR and
got her breathing again," said the Paramedic, in a tone that said saving
lives is all in a day's work for him.
Protecting
New Yorkers
For these crews, difficulty breathing is the most frequent
emergency. Sometimes an asthma attack triggers heart problems, and Mr. Acevedo
is trained and ready for that in an ambulance equipped with a cardiac monitor
and a defibrillator.
On Sept. 11, he was on duty at the World Trade Center
for 13 hours. "We set up a hospital and did things like eye washes for the
rescue workers," he said. But they handled far fewer injuries than expected,
"because so many never came out."
Mr. Acevedo is also a member
of the Haz-mat (Hazardous Materials) Tactical Unit that is always ready to protect
New Yorkers in biological or chemical attacks. After the anthrax terrorism, he
called for "more training and better equipment" in a letter to Fire
Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.
The city's contracting with private
ambulance companies upsets Mr. Acevedo, who was a union delegate for two years.
"I'm very concerned about the kind of service that people in this community
will get," he said, explaining that in paramedic work, any slip in the quality
of service can mean the difference between life and death.
"We're
ready to go," he said, "And we get the job done."