National Emergency Medical Services Week, May 18 - 24, 2008 is intended to bring together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day lifesaving services of the medical “front lines.”EMS Week focuses on the commitment and dedication of the 750,000 EMS providers nationwide who provide an essential community service every day. As a healthcare provider for a substantially rural community, we depend upon these people - many of whom are volunteers - to respond swiftly, assess patient conditions accurately, and transport them for treatment safely and quickly. They do it very well and we appreciate their dedication and work.

We invite all members of our community to join A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital in thanking these well-trained, selfless men and women for their willingness to help others. We will have a special thank-you banner displayed outside our emergency department/ambulance entrance in honor of our local emergency medical personnel. That includes paramedics, emergency medical technicians, first responders, fire fighters, and the police.

One or more of these people is probably a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or perhaps even a member of your own family. So please take the time to tell them how much you appreciate what they do.

Sincerely,

Dennis A. Casey, Executive Director
A.L. Lee Memorial Hospital

Oswego Harborfest has announced that the popular 50-50 Raffle to benefit Harborfest will return in 2009.

Farnham Family Services, an Oswego-based substance abuse treatment and prevention center, is now selling tickets for its 2009 Changing Lives Raffle.

As this column goes to press the 152nd Oswego County Fair should be in full swing at Sandy Creek. During the previous week the Heritage building was stocked full with many new and unique exhibits. We even brought down a piano for some live music!