Community Corner

Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps: 'Best Kept Secret in Town'

The Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps is always looking for new members.

Rich Cariello still remembers the day when an older gentleman gave him a hug and thanked him for potentially saving his life. 

Back in the mid 1980s he was part of a crew that responded to a call about a liver transplant patient. The man who was in a lot of pain, Cariello remembered, was transported to the Westchester Medical Center. But there doctors said the man would get better care at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. Cariello pleaded to have YVAC transfer the man there, instead of having to wait for another ambulance. So they did. Cariello was later told that if the patient were to wait any longer, he might not have made it out alive. 

"That left a very lasting impression," Cariello said of the day the man thanked him. 

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Other volunteer members also agreed that the reward is tremendous when you help someone and say they can't imagine life without YVAC. For some, volunteering fills the need to do something for their community. Others say they are better prepared in case of emergency even in their own personal life.

But a lot of people have not heard of YVAC, which Cariello calls 'Yorktown's best kept secret,' and are surprised to see them responding to an emergency call.

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Judy Ann Ciacci, a volunteer for the past 10 years, said it was after 9/11 that she decided to join and help fellow neighbors in need. She saw a sign posted about "volunteers needed" and walked into the headquarters located on Rt. 202 directly across from the F.D.P. Park entrance. Her heart was pounding as she didn't know what to expect on that first ambulance ride when answering a call. 

"It's such a deeply rewarding experience," she said. "Because it's a connection with another human being."

At that moment when you're helping someone, she said, your actions are crucial. She works with a wide range of people and age groups and you learn to respect them all. Whether answering a life threatening call or a simple emotional case, she treats each one with the same amount of attention. Because to each person who is in need of help, it is "their emergency."

"There is the hope that there is someone there to help them," she said. 

Ciaci, who has six children ranging in age from 13 to their 20s, is also finishing up nursing school and still finds time to put in the volunteer hours. Although she used to work as a paralegal in Manhattan, after she joined YVAC, she realized she wanted to go into the medical field. A lot of other volunteers, she said, also find themselves going into that field because they've enjoyed it so much. She called YVAC members her second family and couldn't picture her life without the ambulance corps. 

"You're really a valuable piece of service to the community," she said. "I have a lot of pride in what we do and we're trained as professionals, although we're volunteers."

When Cariello moved from Brooklyn to Yorktown he wanted to get involved in the community and help people. He first decided to join the fire department but there was a requirement that you had to be a resident of the town for at least a year, and he did not want to wait. He wanted to get started right away, so a friend told him about the Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps. 

That was 1974. He was 33 years old, had no experience and no training. 

"It's a very satisfying thing to help people," Cariello said. "The self-satisfaction you get cannot be measured in dollars. It's almost like that MasterCard commercial when they say it's 'priceless.' It's a nice feeling, it's a good feeling, it's a very rewarding feeling.

YVAC Second Lieutenant Ivan Cantu moved to Yorktown Heights in 2001 and joined in 2004, a few months after his first daughter was born.

"With the new responsibilities of fatherhood, I decided to refresh my CPR certification, which I had not done so since college," he said.

YVAC offered CPR classes so he signed up and while he was there, he took a tour of their headquarters and met a couple of people that were about to start their EMT training. He said he was intrigued. 

"My most memorable experience was a very personal one, a few months after I finished my EMT training, my daughter choked on a grape, and lost consciousness," Cantu said. "Very scary! But, I was thankful that I knew what to do."

They were able to dislodge the grape and give her pulmonary resuscitation and she was fine. 

"I think one thing that would surprise people about YVAC is the range of backgrounds of the volunteers," he said. "They are young and old, from veterinarians to graphic designers, with a common purpose - to help their community."

Michael McArdle, 23, who graduated from Yorktown High School in 2006, said it was an easy decision to make about joining. He was still in college, living at home and had free time so he chose to spend it volunteering. He saw a brochure in a barbershop and signs around Yorktown advertising a need for volunteers and joined in August 2009. 

"I enjoy the satisfaction I get from responding to emergencies in the town I live in," he said. "Sometimes I get to help people I know and their families. It is also fun to do standby events where we attend as EMTs in case anyone needs help. This could be a YHS football game, the street fair, the grange fair, and many other events."

YVAC members are required to serve a minimum of 24 hours a month, which means they should be in the building or in uniform during that time. Some members put in more hours. 

Cariello said they're always looking for new members. People interested should have the desire to volunteer even if they have no prior experience because training will be provided. They need someone with good character, who is honest and has the desire to help the community. 

The Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Corps is a not for profit, Basic Life Support provider, which has been providing Emergency Medical Service to Yorktown since 1963. YVAC has the distinct honor of being the very first Ambulance Corps in Westchester County to provide 24-hour-7-day a week EMT-I (Intermediate) service.

YVAC is an independent organization, Cariello said, they own their building and have three ambulances. It is not funded by the town, he said, and doesn't get money from taxes. They rely on donations. The Yorktown ambulance corps was the last organization, he said, to go to third-party billing, which means that the patient's insurance pays the bill or a portion of it. 

YVAC has 37 members, who ride in a crew of two or three people. But the captain said that's not a lot of people and they're always looking to recruit more members. The oldest member is 84-year-old Roland Faucher who still rides in the ambulance to calls. Members respond to approximately 1,200 calls per year. 

YVAC offers a number of services to Yorktown residents. The loan closet includes canes, walkers, crutches and wheelchairs that can be borrowed by those in need. They also hold a blood bank twice or three times a year when people can donate blood. They also respond to 911 service calls in the same area as the Yorktown Heights Fire Department covering 30 square miles. 

High school students could also get involved and volunteer. The Yorktown Volunteer Ambulance Youth Group serves as an auxiliary to the Corps. Those 14-18 year old students are trained in CPR, First Aid, with some as New York State Certified First Responders.

To become a member of the Yorktown Ambulance Volunteer Corps call Rich Cariello at 914-469-5197. You can also fill out an application in person at their headquarters on Loretta Street or fill out their online application by clicking here


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