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SARATOGIAN

Saratoga Rowing Association athletes win several medals

in Scholastic Rowing Association National Championship.

Page 1B

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INDEX

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Greg Armer.

WEATHER

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OBITUARIES

John H. Fergusonof Saratoga Springs.

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A matter of death and life

Districtrevisits

giftedstudents

By JAMIE MUNKSjmunks@saratogian.com

Twitter.com/JM_Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS The city school districtis developing a focusedprotocol to cater to itsmost adept learners.

We have defined servic-es for special education,but we havent definedservices for students onthe upper end of the scalein academics, saidMichael Piccirillo, assis-tant superintendent forsecondary education, whowill become district super-intendent when JaniceWhite retires after thisschool year.

Piccirillo chairs an advi-sory committee made up ofteachers and parents,wh ic h ha s be en fo cu se dthis school year on creat-ing a specific plan toaddress the needs of giftedstudents, who in some pastcases have sufferedbecause of the lack of adedicated plan on how todeal with advanced stu-dents.

The committee onThursday presented a newpolicy to the Board of Edu-cation that addresses thereferral process for giftedstudents in the district,how the service is providedonce a student is identifiedand how parents canappeal decisions on theprogram.

Bethany Killeen, whowo rk s wi th th e di st ri ctthrough the Board of Coop-erative Educational Ser-vices Gifted and Talentedprogram, identified differ-ent levels of giftedness.

In a group of 500 chil-dren, on average, 136 willbe moderately gifted, 22wi ll be highly gi fted andone or two will be excep-

tionally gifted, Killeen said.Some of the parents onthe committee said it wontmake a difference for theirchildren who are older,and have passed throughmany grade levels in theschool system, but theywant a system to make iteasier for incoming fami-lies. Board member SteveGrandin had a similarissue in the district withhis children, he said.

ERICA MILLER photos/emiller@saratogian.com

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See STUDENTS, Page 10A

EMS

SeriesTODAY

EMS overview:With escalatingcosts and shrinkingrevenues, rescuecrews face manychallenges inproviding a highlevel of care to agrowing population.

Agency stats: Alook at each of theemergency rescueagencies that oper-ate in the county.

Technological

advances: EMScrews are equippedwith high-tech, life-saving equipment.

Ready torespond: Seewhats in the backof an ambulance.

Schooled insaving lives: Seewhat training emer-gency personnelmust go through.

MONDAY EMS response

times: SaratogaCountys are better

than the nationalaverage, but howgood depends onwhere you live.

First responders:Law enforcement,firefighters can befirst on the scene.

Dispatch dissect-ed: See how 911calls are handled inthe county.

The cost of care:EMS agenciesstruggle to makeends meet.

Quality of service:It is often a ques-tion of how muchmoney a town iswilling to spend.

TUESDAY

Urgent care:Learn how thetrend toward thesetypes of centersaffects you.

Whats next:Change is on thehorizon for EMS inSaratoga County

SSFD on the job:See how the firstfew months of the

Spa City FireDepartments EMSresponse hasworked.

Real test: Howvaluable is ambu-lance service? Seewhat happenswhen it is not there.

Call to action

By PAUL POSTppost@saratogian.com

Twitter.com/paulvpost

SARATOGA SPRINGS Faced with escalatingcosts and shrinking rev-enues, rescue squadsthroughout SaratogaCounty are finding it

increasingly difficult toserve their rapidly grow-ing population base.

However, thanks totechnological advancesand more highly trainedstaffing, the level of carethat area residents receivehas never been better.

Precious seconds in lifeor death situations are now

saved as todays skilledresponders perform dutiesonce reserved for emer-gency room personnel only.

Now, with advances intechnology, treatment andmedical practices, a lot ofreally good treatment canhappen before they evenset foot in the hospital,

said Nash Alexander,Wilton EMS chief operat-ing officer.

At the same time, emer-gency responders aretransmitting a patientsinformation to doctorsbefore they arrive, sophysicians can go right towork rather than spendingtime on assessment andevaluations. For example,a heart patients electro-cardiogram can be takenand sent electronically to ahospital cardiologist.

The first 20 minutes

you used to spend in theemergency room is nowdone on the road on theway to the hospital, saidRay Otten, executivedirector of CommunityEmergency Corps inBallston Spa.

Training alwaysa critical element

By MICHAEL CIGNOLImcignoli@saratogian.com

Twitter.com/MCSaratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS On any given day, anambulance crew could haveto treat victims of a caraccident, defibrillate a heartattack victim and resusci-tate someone who is uncon-scious.

Crews have to be ready

for anything, SaratogaCounty Emergency MedicalServices Coordinator Mike

McEvoy said, which is whythe training and certifica-tion processes are so exten-sive.

Paramedics and emer-gency medical techniciansenroll in courses thatinvolve lectures and field-

Editors Note: When you call 911, you likely dont givemuch thought to everything that comes into play toensure expert medical care reaches you quickly. Thisthree-day series turns emergency medical services inSaratoga County upside down and inside out to seehow these critical services operate and what challengesour EMS providers face.

EMS providers facegrowing challenges

Throughout thecourse of this series,

look online forinstructive video onvarious aspects oflocal emergency

medical services inour community.

See TRAINING, Page 4A See OVERVIEW, Page 4A