WHAT IS POST
Post 53 provides emergency medical services to the Darien community at the highest level of excellence, using Darien High School students and adult volunteers. Our members are committed to achieving and maintaining the highest level of training and skill in providing pre-hospital care and transport.
TODAY
Darien EMS has three fully equipped, staffed ambulances which run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The organization operates under the strict medical direction and oversight of Stamford Hospital. Doctors from Stamford Hospital help train Post 53 members and all calls are reviewed by the EMS Quality Assurance Director at Stamford Hospital. This review includes not only the patient care given, but also response and on-scene times.
The Town of Darien uses a tiered response system that starts with the Darien Police and one of the three Darien fire departments when necessary. They are quickly followed by the dispatch of an adult supervisor EMT, the ambulance and, when necessary, Stamford EMS paramedics based in Darien.
Stamford EMS has been providing paramedic intercept services for Darien residents since 1995. The paramedics who cover Darien are selected based on their medical excellence as well as their ability to work with the adults and young adults of Post 53. As of October 2016, these paramedics are based in Darien.
“Darien’s highly trained personnel, their outstanding stair step response system including Supervisor EMTs, the Darien Police as first responders, and close proximity to Stamford EMS and Norwalk EMS paramedics when needed, and the Stamford and Norwalk Hospitals, provide excellent medical treatment. As a resident of Darien and a doctor, I sleep well at night knowing the Darien EMS system is solid, totally integrated with surrounding town resources, and ready to respond.”
TRAINING
All Post members undertake a rigorous training program to ensure that their knowledge and skills are optimal. Bi-monthly Wednesday night training sessions, conducted by medical professionals on a variety of subjects, are a critical component to keep abreast of new protocols and techniques. At these training meetings, you might hear the Head of Trauma at Stamford Hospital lecturing about new trauma alert procedures or a paramedic from Stamford EMS teaching how best to recognize and treat a seizure. In addition, Post 53 holds monthly call critiques that include a comprehensive review of key assessment findings, treatments, logic behind treatment decisions and lessons learned from the call. Call reviews are a valuable part of quality improvement and also provide the perfect opportunity for experienced EMTs to teach less experienced members.
The Darien Police and Fire Departments receive their Emergency Medical Responder, Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Basic Life Support CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) certification from Post 53 instructors, making them an integral part of the Darien EMS team.
OUR HISTORY
In 1970, John E. “Bud” Doble founded Post 53, modeled after an Explorer Post on Nantucket.
Along with concerned parents, he founded Post 53 to teach young people about the devasting effects of drug and alcohol abuse through direct emergency medical treatment. One year after starting out as a Boy Scout project and operating out of Bud Doble’s basement, Post 53 was handling 100 calls annually with a budget of $150. Post 53 quickly progressed from the basement, to the old Noroton Heights train station depot and finally to the current headquarters — a dedicated building at Zero Ledge Road in Darien.
The initial ambulance was a converted telephone truck. Then the Darien Sports Shop donated the first “real” ambulance in 1976. That same year, Post 53 officially became the “first responders” for the town of Darien and provided Emergency Medical Service from 6 PM to midnight. By this time, the yearly operating budget had increased to $12,000 and Post 53 was responding to over 250 calls annually. In 1985, Post 53 was expanded to a 24-hour service by the Town of Darien.
The fleet eventually expanded to three full-service ambulances and two “flycars”, all donated by generous citizens and businesses of Darien. In 1989, a new headquarters was constructed for Post 53 to replace the crowded train station and Post 53 volunteers were now responding to over 1000 medical emergencies a year.
Today, responding to over 1600 calls a year, Post 53 is recognized locally and nationally as one of the finest emergency ambulance services in the United States for its consistently high quality pre-hospital emergency care. Over 1000 Darien High School students have served their community as members of Post 53 since its inception.
