Wedderburn First Responders celebrate career milestones
December 6, 2024in Community News
Three Wedderburn Ambulance Community Officers (ACOs) have been celebrated for their dedication at Ambulance Victoria’s (AV) recent Loddon Mallee Staff Service Awards.
Dede-jo Williams and Bruce Hargreaves were recognised for each notching up 10 years with AV, while Glenn Thompson received his 15-year service award.
L-R: Wedderburn ACOs Bruce Hargreaves, Dede-jo Williams and Glenn Thompson.
ACOs are First Responders employed on a casual basis to work on-call and are trained to provide advanced first aid in rural and remote communities.
Wedderburn used to be serviced by a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), made up of volunteers, before the team transitioned to ACOs.
Dede said it was the secretary of the CERT who got her involved in AV.
“I was new to town and she approached me at the post office to tell me about the CERT,” Dede explained.
“I thought it was a different volunteer role and I was looking for what I could be involved in.
“She was a beautiful lady and she has now since passed, so it’s even more treasured that she got me into it.
“I don’t think I’ll ever leave until I retire now.”
Dede didn’t have any medical background at the time, but that wasn’t an issue.
“I had none apart from being a mum to three kids,” she said.
“You don’t need experience though as all training is supplied.”
After 10 years on the road, Dede said it was special to work in her local community and be able to help people she knows.
“That look of relief on their face when you walk through the door, you can’t put a price on it,” she said.
“It’s reassurance for them when they’re scared or in pain to know a local is there.
“I feel like I’m doing some good.”
When Dede got the call to let her know she’d been in the role for a decade, she couldn’t believe it.
“There’s not many times you get to be part of an organisation for 10 years,” she said.
“Every day is different, every job is different, you work with wonderful people – it’s not a chore.
“You’re well-supported, you’re well-educated, it’s an easy thing to be part of.”
Reflecting on his decade of service, Bruce said he was also surprised to reach the milestone.
“It’s something that I do for the community and to last 10 years, it’s superseded my expectations of what was going to happen,” he said.
“It’s a privilege to be able to help people and when you get a good outcome, the satisfaction is there.
“Because you’re an ACO and have a bit more knowledge, it helps the people around you.
“People see the uniform and know you’re an ACO and as soon as something happens, they turn to you for reassurance.
“It is satisfying.”
Glenn said he’s surprised with how far he’s come in the role.
“I didn’t think I’d be any good at it, but you learn a lot of stuff watching the Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics do their thing,” he said.
“We have great people in the team and now I’ve trained a couple of them myself.”
Over his career at AV, the most memorable cases for Glenn have been cardiac arrests with a positive outcome, including helping save the life of Korong Vale teenager Tyson.
Glenn said his favourite part of being a First Responder in Wedderburn is also one of the biggest challenges.
“The main thing for me is that you get to help your community and when I arrive on scene, they’re relieved to see me,” he said.
“But the hard part is that we know everyone we attend, and we see them at their worst or occasionally in their last moments too.”
The trio were recognised at an awards event in Bendigo on 28 October, where paramedics and First Responders from across the region received honours for between 10 and 20 years of service at AV.