General News
21 December, 2023
Town will lose its CERT team, Ambulance Victoria confirms
LOCAL NEWS LATEST AMBULANCE Victoria yesterday confirmed that the CERT team in Pyramid Hill would be disbanded from December 31. The service did not say whether it would try to re-establish the team in the New Year, instead saying it is adding "...
LOCAL NEWS LATEST
AMBULANCE Victoria yesterday confirmed that the CERT team in Pyramid Hill would be disbanded from December 31.
The service did not say whether it would try to re-establish the team in the New Year, instead sayingit is adding "a new automated external defibrillator to the town’s centre and will increase our community education about the simple steps bystanders can take in the moments following cardiac arrest while an ambulance is on the way".
Local CERT volunteers said they were unable to continue adequate rostering after 18 years and the town will now be serviced by teams from Boort, Kerang and Cohuna.
In a statement provided yesterday, Ambulance Victoria said:
Ambulance Victoria (AV) acknowledges and thanks the dedicated volunteers from the Pyramid Hill Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), who are finishing up after 18 years of continued service.
Established in 2005, eight out of the 10 current volunteers were founding members of the Pyramid Hill CERT.
AV Loddon Mallee Director Regional and Clinical Operations, Matt McCrohan, said the team had played an important role in the health care of Pyramid Hill.
“Many of the Pyramid Hill CERT members are among the state’s longest serving CERT volunteers,” he said.
“As a team, they have shown exemplary dedication to caring for their community for almost two decades.
“I would like to personally thank the members of the CERT and wish them all the best for the future.”
CERT Team Leader Sheridan Gunther said it was a difficult decision to step away, but a unanimous one from team members.
“It was a hard call, but people were just getting tired after 18 years and we weren’t able to facilitate the roster as well as we’d like,” she said.
“We’ve had such a great journey as a really united team, so it was important this decision to finish up was made ourselves as a collective.
“As Team Leader, you can only be as good as the team you’re leading, and there could be no complaints at all about any of the members that we’ve ever had – they’ve just been a wonderful group of people.
“When I think of the team, I think of integrity and respect.”
Ms Gunther thanked the team members’ families, AV colleagues and the Pyramid Hill community for their support.
“I’ve met so many great people who have supported Pyramid Hill CERT since day dot,” she said.
Ambulance Victoria will continue to respond to the area from surrounding branches at Cohuna, Kerang and Boort..
The Pyramid Hill CERT will officially cease operations on 31 December 2023.