05/18/2026
As we begin EMS Week 2026, we recognize this year’s national theme: “Improving Outcomes, Together.”
This theme reflects what emergency services is truly about. Great outcomes are not the result of one person or one agency, they are the result of teamwork, preparation, communication, and multiple professionals working together toward one common goal.
Earlier this month, members of Southampton Village Volunteer Ambulance were honored at the Suffolk Regional EMS Council CPR Save Awards alongside Southampton Village Police Officers involved in a cardiac arrest save that occurred earlier this year.
The incident highlighted every link in the chain of survival working exactly as intended.
In February, a patient suffered a cardiac arrest at Southampton Village Police Headquarters. Southampton Village Police Officers quickly recognized the emergency, immediately initiated high-quality CPR, and delivered an AED shock prior to EMS arrival. In the radio room, dispatchers could hear the incident and recognized CPR was in progress and quickly relayed critical information to responding SVVA units.
Upon arrival, SVVA crews continued advanced life support care, delivering multiple defibrillations and aggressive resuscitative measures while coordinating a difficult patient extrication from a confined second-floor bathroom, all while maintaining uninterrupted CPR and patient care.
This recognition was not simply about one call. It was about what can happen when dispatchers, police officers, EMTs, paramedics, and emergency responders work seamlessly together with one goal: giving a patient the best possible chance at survival.
We are proud of everyone involved and proud to serve alongside our public safety partners every day.
Happy EMS Week to all EMS providers who continue working together to improve patient outcomes.