TOWN OF TONAWANDA – New York State Assemblyman Bill Conrad today, Sept. 20, 2023, announced $25,000 in state funding he secured recently for the Town of Tonawanda Paramedic Unit.

 The grant will support the continuation of a community CPR class, which is conducted regularly at no cost to participants. This funding is expected to cover at least the next full year of classes.

 The class, taught by town paramedics, is open to the public, from teens and older. Upon completion, participants, including both civilians and first responders like volunteer firefighters, earn American Heart Association certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

 The town’s Paramedic Unit has been offering the class every other month for the past 18 months. Each class is one session, about three hours long, and includes one-on-one, hands-on CPR demonstrations, led by up to five paramedics per class. There is also a question-and-answer period, during which participants can learn about other rescue techniques, such as clearing an airway or performing the Heimlich maneuver. Each class can accommodate about 30 participants.

 In the past, the costs of the certification cards were covered by the James V. and Fay P. Ryan Foundation, a nonprofit volunteer organization that raises supplemental funds for the town’s Paramedic Unit. Conrad’s grant will cover instructors’ pay for their time, and it will allow the Ryan Foundation to put the money it had earmarked for the CPR class toward the unit’s other needs, like special training or equipment.

According to the American Heart Association, the survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is around 10%. However, studies have shown that when promptly performed, bystander CPR can increase the patient’s chance of survival to 40% or more.

Assemblyman Bill Conrad said, “I’ve seen first-hand the power of CPR – and of course, a global audience witnessed it during Damar Hamlin’s on-field resuscitation in January. We can all harness that power, carrying with us a skill that saves lives, thanks to our town Paramedic Unit and its dedicated staff of first responders who so generously share their time and knowledge. I also want to thank the Ryan Foundation for its decades-long support of our paramedics and their invaluable mission to render top-quality pre-hospital medical aid in all manner of emergencies.

“I’m pleased to know this state grant will keep our community CPR class going, while freeing up Ryan Foundation resources for the unit’s other priorities.”

Town of Tonawanda Paramedic Supervisor Matthew DeRose said, “We would like to thank Assemblyman Conrad for securing this generous contribution to our CPR program. This money will help us continue to deliver high-quality education to the members of our Ken-Ton community.

“As we have seen, CPR does save lives. It is a valuable tool for the paramedics to have citizens trained in CPR, to increase survivability of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.”

Ryan Foundation Chair John Beaumont said, “On behalf of everyone here in the Ken-Ton area, we would like to thank Assemblyman Conrad for funding the CPR courses. We all know that this lifesaving measure will help ensure the safety of our citizens, and we are grateful for his support.”

About the Town of Tonawanda Paramedic Unit

The Town Paramedic Unit began service in 1975, and in its first year its nine full-time paramedics responded to 1,705 requests for first aid.

The organization now includes 16 full-time and eight part-time paramedics, operating under the direction of Dr. Michael O’Brien and responding annually to more than 8,500 calls – or about one call per hour – spanning a wide variety of emergencies, from household falls to multiple traumas. The unit is based at Town of Tonawanda Police headquarters on Sheridan Drive.

The unit’s outreach efforts have ramped up in recent years, with its paramedics offering CPR training to all town employees and many community and church groups, in addition to the public classes.

About the James V. and Fay P. Ryan Foundation

The Ryan Foundation was established in 1986 in honor of James Ryan, the former town supervisor who led the effort to create a town Paramedic Unit. Though the unit is primarily funded by taxpayer dollars, the Ryan Foundation’s fundraising efforts have afforded the town’s paramedics opportunities to expand programming and purchase cutting-edge equipment and technology.