[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 125 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE VOLUNTEER MEDICAL SERVICES CORPS OF LOWER MERION AND 
                         NARBERTH, PENNSYLVANIA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM GERLACH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 5, 2004

  Mr. GERLACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Volunteer Medical 
Services Corps, VMSC, of Lower Merion and Narberth, Pennsylvania, which 
is celebrating 60 years of service to their community.
  In 1944, during the height of World War II, the residents of Narberth 
Borough felt it was their duty to provide routine transportation for 
those involved in the war to and from the ports of Philadelphia. The 
group quickly became incorporated as the Volunteer Medical Corps of 
Narberth with the main goal was to provide first aid care to those in 
need and to facilitate non-emergency transports.
  In 1951, the corps leased property from the Borough of Narberth and 
built a new building that could accommodate their needs and growing 
business. Since 1951, times have changed and medical services have 
continued to grow in size and scope, and VMSC of Lower Merion and 
Narberth has proven itself versatile as it has grown with the times. In 
the 1960's and 1970's when EMS became a specialty, the State health 
department and the Lower Merion Police Department recommended that VMSC 
expand its role and provide all emergency care for Lower Merion 
Township. VMSC quickly became the provider of emergency medical 
services not only to Lower Merion Township, but Narberth Borough as 
well.
  In the 1990's, the VMSC again grew considerably thanks to its paid 
staff and volunteers. The company moved to a new headquarters in 
Ardmore, Pennsylvania and, during that time, it integrated another 
ambulance company into its own. In 1999, Pleasant Valley Ambulance was 
integrated in to VMSC, providing ALS services to the Conshohocken Area. 
This move also helped to reduce response time and the volunteers were 
able to provide a more timely service. The integration of Pleasant 
Valley Ambulance also gave VMSC the ability to bring advanced life-
support units to those in need.
  In 2002, VMSC founded a bike patrol unit. The bike patrol teams 
consist of two EMTs or medics who can help reduce responder time in 
large or crowded medical emergencies. The state-of-the-art equipment 
includes a full range of cardiac medicine, bandaging and splinting 
supplies, oxygen, and a defibrillator. The bike patrol is extremely 
important because the EMTs on bikes have the capability of arriving at 
the scene of an accident well before an ambulance and they can provide 
life saving care.
  Today, VMSC prides itself on providing high-quality, cost-effective 
emergency and non-emergency medical transportation services to the ill 
and injured citizens of Lower Merion and Narberth, Pennsylvania. Mr. 
Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in honoring the 
Volunteer Medical Services Corps of Lower Merion and Narberth for their 
commitment to providing quality care, mutual respect, and open 
communication with their community. It is an honor to recognize an 
organization that selflessly provides for its community each day and in 
turn creates a better quality of life for the citizens of Narberth and 
Lower Merion Township.

                          ____________________