MEDICAL TRANSPORT
Four of the Indian River County Volunteer Ambulance Squad’s vehicles are
set up to carry wheelchairs. With mileage easily going well over 100,000,
the goal is for one to be replaced each year.
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Treasure Coast Medical Report
of those set up as wheelchair units.
Each driver and rider has a story to tell. For Burns, his
most memorable moment was during a temporary placement
with Fellsmere 911 in the mid-1980s, when he assisted in the
delivery of a baby. Burns is not only a volunteer; his macular
degeneration makes him one of the riders, too.
Carl Goembel is president of the board of directors and a
driver one day a week. On Saturdays, he joins the cleaning
crew, getting the vehicles ready for another week of work,
but none of that reflects his professional experience. Goembel
spent much of his life in the United States Air Force, as a
career officer and pilot. He retired as a colonel after decades
of service in Europe and the Middle East.
His involvement with IRCVAS connects him to his community.
“I think one of the neatest positives is meeting our
fellow county residents, all of whom have a great story ... The
common thread is how much they like (living here).” One of
his highlights while driving is having two or three passengers
in the vehicle, meeting for the first time, and comparing
notes. He says it’s a truly moving experience, discovering just
how much we all have in common, regardless of background.
Not all of the more than 50 volunteers are men. Sharon
Smith drives one day each week and is on call to help out.
She lives in Vero Beach but enjoys being a member of the
Original Welcome Wagon of Sebastian. One of Smith’s favorite
passengers is a blind dialysis patient who makes sure the
van isn’t parked too close to the hedge around her driveway.
“She told me about the day a driver got too close and while
they were walking to her door, she walked into a branch that
caught her wig and pulled it off!”
To hear passengers describe the service, it’s clearly a labor
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