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Friday, September 10 , 2010
About Us THE NOW is published by the Coquitlam Now, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Our offices are located at 201A-3430 Brighton Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 3H4 2009 WINNER
Publisher Brad Alden Editor Leneen Robb Assistant Editor Simone Blais Sports Editor Dan Olson Reporters John Kurucz, Jennifer McFee
The NOW COQUITLAM, PORT COQUITLAM, PORT MOODY, ANMORE AND BELCARRA
Opinion
Paramedic training important Re: “Paramedics struggle to keep up with growing demands,” special section, Friday, Sept. 3. While CUPE 873 contends that there is a lack of funding for ambulance service, the fact is that B.C. Ambulance Service’s (BCAS) budget has risen 88 per cent the past decade to $279 million in 201011. Additionally, the number of full- and part-time paramedics employed by BCAS has grown by 12 per cent to 3,639 over the past six years. Regarding service demand, BCAS’s To The emergency and non-emergency prehospital call volumes have remained stable since 2006-07 and inter-facility transfer calls have decreased 25 per cent throughout B.C. BCAS reduced the capacity of the transfer fleet in July to better reflect the decreased demand for service. BCAS also provides every paramedic in B.C. with the opportunity to attend continuing medical education focused at maintaining and enhancing their patient care skills, spending $7.2 million on training in 2008-09 (the last year of training that was not
interrupted by job action). The Emergency and Health Services Commission responsible for BCAS has provided $5 million to the Vancouver Foundation to establish the emergency medical assistants education fund aimed at increasing primary care paramedics (PCP) working in rural and remote communities and advanced care paramedics (ACP) throughout B.C. In 2008-09, 23 ACP and 82 PCP bursaries were awarded totalling $765,000. BCAS and health authorities are Editor working together and have been successful in reducing the amount of time ambulances spend waiting at emergency departments. Ambulance waits past 30 minutes at emergency departments have dropped 38 per cent since 2006. BCAS is committed to continually improving the service we provide to patients. We are proud of the work our paramedics and dispatchers do. Les Fisher B.C. Ambulance Service CEO
Letters
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Our View
Keep an eye out for the wee ones
P
arents have sent their energetic offspring back to the books this week, many of us with a mixture of relief and a bit of sadness. Sadness, because it’s just hard to see them growing up so fast and so eager to get out from under our feet. We hold them close, we read to them, play silly games and they make us laugh, love and worry. The kids are, after all, our most precious gifts, and we want the best for them. We hope the rest of you want that, too. It’s been said before, but those tumbling youngsters and sometimes brooding, sometimes sunny teenagers are the most important resource we have. These kids who seem to be of another species, with their ability to tap into an IPod expertly at the age of five, who can set up a PowerPoint presentation in a blink for a school assignment, are our future leaders, thinkers, workers, protectors, creators, healers. When we’re leaning on our canes, we will be leaning on their compassion to care for us, and their expertise to steward the globe long after we’re gone. They deserve our best, don’t they? So while many of our readers don’t need reminding, we implore you anyway to take extra care of our progeny as you head out on the roads. ICBC tells us this week that every year in B.C., there’s an average of 16,655 crashes, 5,350 injuries and 36 deaths involving children. That’s way too much heartache. Let’s not add to those terrible numbers — especially as our days begin to get darker earlier and our traditional wet weather arrives to herald fall. Leave for work early, slow down, remain patient with the crosswalk guards and those little skipping children. You were there once. While you’re at it, give that tentative little kid on the corner a wave, and be nice to the teens working at their jobs. We wish them all well and Godspeed on their daily adventures.
Perspective
Shad Valley stretches hard work into dreams
W
hile my schoolmates were out partying or cramming for frequent summer school exams, I went on an expedition to search for my identity. Nowadays, teenagers, especially high school seniors, are constantly struggling with stress. Where does all the stress come from? Some people point the finger at teachers, parents or even friends who constantly Alex seem to talk behind their backs. It’s time that we wake up and face the reality: stress is created by no one other than us. Stress is an ugly word that creates a false impression of us working hard, whether it is in our social life, school life or family life. Down to its core, stress comes as an innate response to our uncertainty. This uncertainty is in turn fuelled by a lack of understanding about ourselves. The shocking reality is that many of us do not know who we truly are or what we really want in life. That is not to say we do not have dreams and ambitions, but there is a big difference between whimsical desires and realistic goals. When we are uncertain about ourselves, we have a natural tendency to distract ourselves; the more tasks we burden ourselves with, the more stressfilled we become. Before I went to Shad Valley, a prestigious sum-
mer enrichment program, I was one of those affected by stress. Playing sports and completing school assignments to the point of perfection was my way of distracting myself from uncertainty. Shad Valley at Université Laval was the turning point of my life. Born in an Asian family, I was always doing what my parents wanted me to do, not necessarily what I wanted. Wang At Shad, what had seemed so concrete — the obligation to do well in school and live up to the expectations of others — quickly faded away. Aside from fostering a unique attitude towards entrepreneurship and the sciences, Shad Valley ultimately fostered the growth of a single community. Before, I have always envisaged Shad Valley as another one of those academic-oriented summer camps. With rowdy dance parties, movie-nights and midnight feasts constantly awaiting us, it was anything but a stereotypical nerd camp. I couldn’t remember who shed the first tears. It didn’t matter, because by the end, we were all crying silently to ourselves — that night we were huddling around a campfire, away from the bustling city. Beginning with Nick, we shared our life stories and our purposes for coming to Shad. It seemed as if the entire world blurred away
My View
except for us, only the bunch of us, isolated from the noise and distraction of the world, turning to each other for support and sympathy. At that moment, I finally realized how effective Shad was in bringing us together, in building a community with 48 complete strangers. Once scattered in the corners of this country, we came together, or rather, our souls came together on that night. For the first time in my life, I was truly touched by the human emotions pouring from those around me. Although the cover of the night was too dark for me to see their faces, I could sense their warmth and caring hands as we huddled in the dark — innocent little beings, so fragile and delicate. It was on that night that we truly opened ourselves up. We dropped our superficial covers, forgot about who we were trying to be and instead became who we truly were deep down. I am glad that my mother handed me an application eight months ago, for Shad Valley reignited the optimistic and individualistic spirit that was once a part of me. Like Dr. Suess wrote, “Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened.” Alex Wang is a Grade 11 student at Port Moody Secondary.