Windsor Road to be renamed.
It will be a busy and momentous day in Teaneck on Sunday, May 23. Beginning at noon, the Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps (TVAC) will honor its volunteers with a special awards ceremony for their service during the pandemic. Then at 2 p.m., the town will rename a stretch of Windsor Road to “TVAC Way.”
Taking place at the Teaneck Municipal Green, COVID awards will be presented to TVAC volunteers for their brave, active service during the height of the pandemic. The ceremony will coincide with the end of National EMS Week, which is May 16-22.
All of TVAC’s members are volunteers, dedicating their time 24 hours a day, 365 days a year as they respond to over 4,000 emergency calls a year. Saving lives and reducing suffering are just some of the services they regularly provide to the Teaneck community. And what began with a few men in 1939 getting together to help serve the residents of Teaneck has now grown to over 100 members who include neighbors, students, firefighters, police officers, and so many more.
The Service Awards will be presented to the TVAC volunteers who actively rode and assisted with the numerous calls that came in over the last year. Administrative Awards will be handed out to those who were instrumental in efforts that enabled TVAC to fulfill its mission during the pandemic. The CPR Saves Awards will be given to volunteers who obtained the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in the field or had their patient transported to the hospital and able to be moved from the resuscitation unit to the ICU. Thirteen recipients will receive the Stork Award for assisting with a field delivery of a child, while Purple Heart Awards will be presented to those who became ill during their service, recovered and continued to ride with TVAC.
Leah Kahan and Jacob Finkelstein will be awarded with the Medal of Valor Award for distinguishing themselves by heroism while serving with TVAC. The EMTs were off-duty when they heard a call for a house fire dispatched. Just blocks from the location, the two sprang into action, arriving before any other emergency personnel. With flames ravaging the house, they ran and rescued three occupants. Finkelstein is also the recipient of the TVAC Member of the Year 2020 for his cumulative actions throughout the year.
After the awards ceremony, all are invited back to TVAC headquarters, located at 855 Windsor Road, at 2 p.m., where a stretch of Windsor Road will be renamed TVAC Way.
For those who wish, they can log onto https://www.teaneckambulance.org to make a donation in honor of an award recipient. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Email [email protected] for more information.
