As part of Emergency Services Week (EMS), on Tuesday representatives of the Ambulance Department presented brochures and posters to representatives of the tourism sector, namely Sonesta Great Bay Beach Hotel & Casino General Manager Keith Graham and Ayanna Guy of the Sint Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA).
Ambulance Department Head Cylred Richardson pointed out that the main pillar of the island’s economy is tourism. "The receptionist and telephone operators at hotels need to know how to reach the ambulance department quickly in the event of an emergency.
"We have provided brochures and posters to the sector so they can provide these to their members. The SHTA represents a large number of tourism related organizations. We want to reach out to everybody and inform them of the ambulance emergency number which is 912," Richardson told the Government Information Service (GIS) on Wednesday.
The Ambulance Service which falls under Sector Public Health is committed to providing timely pre-hospital medical care and transport for the sick or injured persons 24 hours a day seven days a week.
The service has a staff of 24 which include ambulance nurses, certified driver assistants, ambulance dispatchers, a medical adviser, support staff and management.
The paramedics and emergency medical technicians are trained in pre-hospital emergency medical management of patients with medical conditions and traumatic injuries.
If you have difficulty reaching the 912 emergency number for whatever reason, the other two numbers that you can call are 5206262 or 542-2111.