Fall River, MA – In celebration of National Emergency Medical Service (EMS) week, Steward Health Care System hosted the inaugural “EMS Stewards of the Community” award ceremony on May 23 at the Tirrell Room in Quincy.

Boston-based Steward, which operates ten hospitals across Massachusetts, recognized 14 EMS providers, including Fall River Fire Department EMS Division’s Deputy Director Beth Faunce and Fall River Fire Department EMS Division’s Captain Jennifer Rodriques for going “above and beyond” to combat the city’s opioid addiction crisis.

Faunce has been a volunteer participant in a number of community efforts to help those who struggle with substance use. She is a team member for Project Reconnect, a community collaboration that provides outreach to recent survivors of an overdose and their families, to help connect them to recovery and treatment resources. Faunce is also a member of the city’s Substance Use Disorder Task Force and was recognized for sharing her insight and knowledge as an EMS provider and for leading by example in her volunteer efforts to fight the opioid epidemic.

Rodriques, who also is employed as a paramedic technician in the Emergency Department at Saint Anne’s Hospital, was recognized for her work with emergency patients suffering with addiction. Rodriques has been a steadfast volunteer lending her knowledge and experience to numerous community efforts to help those who struggle with substance use. Rodriques also volunteers her time as a team member for Project Reconnect and serves on the city’s Substance Use Disorder Task Force.

Both Faunce and Rodriques are founding members of Fall River’s Opioid Task Force and have provided Narcan education and distribution at numerous neighborhood association meetings to assist in decreasing overdose deaths.

Photo (left-right): Timothy Oliveira, director, Fall River EMS; Fall River Fire Chief John Lynch; Saint Anne's Hospital President Michael Bushell; award winners Beth Faunce and Jennifer Rodriques; Ronald Audette, EMS manager at Saint Anne's Hospital; and Brenden Hayden, director of EMS, Steward Health Care.

“EMS providers are unsung heroes on the front lines in the battle against illness and injury,” said Michael Bushell, who presented the award to Faunce and Rodriques. “We are immensely proud to unveil the ‘EMS Stewards of the Community’ to honor their hard work and commitment to quality care and to their community.”

The “EMS Stewards of the Community” awards show appreciation for emergency medical responders, emergency medical technicians and advanced emergency medical technicians, and paramedics who not only carry out the noble work of caring for others, but do so with a high degree of expertise, professionalism, and compassion. An internal committee of physicians and EMS directors selected recipients from among providers in current practice in Steward hospital areas.

Roseann Sdoia, injured during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, delivered the “Stewards of the Community” keynote address, telling her story of strength and perseverance. As Sdoia waited for a friend to finish the race, the second bomb went off right next to her; she ultimately lost her right leg due to injuries sustained that day.

“If it weren’t for first responders like those being honored tonight, I might not be standing with you here today,” said Sdoia. “It is human instinct to flee an emergency for safety and yet these courageous men and women willingly rush into dangerous situations every day. They are and forever will be my heroes.”

About Saint Anne’s Hospital

Founded by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation in 1906, Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Massachusetts, is a full-service, acute care Catholic hospital with 185 beds and satellite locations in Attleboro, Swansea, Dartmouth, New Bedford, and Stoughton, Massachusetts. A member of Steward Health Care, Saint Anne’s provides nationally recognized patient- and family-centered inpatient care (including all private rooms) and outpatient clinical services to patients from surrounding Massachusetts and Rhode Island communities. In addition to comprehensive diagnostic, medical, surgical, and emergency services, Saint Anne’s key services include Saint Anne’s Hospital Regional Cancer Center in Fall River and Dartmouth; the Joint Commission-certified Center for Orthopedic Excellence; ambulatory surgery centers in Attleboro and Dartmouth; the Center for Pain Management in Swansea and Dartmouth; and geriatric psychiatry services at locations in Fall River and Stoughton.

About Steward Health Care

Steward Health Care is a fully integrated national health care services organization committed to providing the highest quality of care in the communities where our patients live. Steward owns and operates 18 community hospitals across four states, serves over 800 communities, and has more than 23,000 employees. The Steward network includes more than 25 urgent care centers, 42 preferred skilled nursing facilities, substantial behavioral health offerings, and more than 3,700 beds under management.

The innovative, community-based Steward Health Care Network includes more than 4,500 physicians who care for approximately 2 million patients annually. Steward Medical Group, the company’s employed physician group, provides more than 1 million patient encounters per year and manages Steward Home Care and Hospice with 300,000 and 35,000 patient encounters, respectively. Steward’s unique health care service delivery model leverages technology and care coordination to keep patients healthier and in the community. Steward is recognized as one of the nation’s leading accountable care organizations. Steward hospitals have received the country’s top awards for quality and safety.

The Steward Hospital Group comprises Sebastian River Medical Center (Sebastian, FL), Wuesthoff Medical Center (Melbourne, FL), Wuesthoff Medical Center (Rockledge, FL), Carney Hospital (Dorchester, MA), Good Samaritan Medical Center (Brockton, MA), Holy Family Hospital (Haverhill, MA and Methuen, MA), Morton Hospital (Taunton, MA), Nashoba Valley Medical Center (Ayer, MA), New England Sinai Hospital (Stoughton, MA), Norwood Hospital (Norwood, MA), Saint Anne’s Hospital (Fall River, MA), St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (Brighton, MA), Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital (Warren, OH), Northside Medical Center (Youngstown, OH), Trumbull Memorial Hospital (Warren, OH), Easton Hospital (Easton, PA) and Sharon Regional Health System (Sharon, PA).  

Additional information is available at www.steward.org.

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