AHN Prehospital Care Services hosts bring your kid to work day for first response units
PENN TOWNSHIP — Even though Dylan Copas, of Cranberry Township, admitted he is scared of flying, the 5-year-old could not contain his excitement when he saw an Allegheny Health Network Eurocopter EC145 get ready for take off at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport.
“The best part (of today) was when I saw an airplane takeoff. I saw the propellers on the front start to spin,” Dylan said, with a smile that nearly extended to both ears.
Dylan’s father, Chris Copas, is an Adams Township police officer and an operator for the Butler County Emergency Services Unit. On Thursday, April 25, Copas and other first responders from around the Butler County area were able to show their children what they do for a living.
Hosted by the Allegheny Health Network Prehospital Care Services, more than 35 children ranging in age from 3 to 12 were invited to a personalized showcase of several first-responder organizations from the Butler Area.
AHN’s prehospital business development specialist Megan Lenz coordinated the day’s event. She said she wanted the children of Prehospital Care Services and Butler County first responders to have a chance to see what their parents do for a living.
“Our kids never get to go to bring-your-kid-to-work day,” Lenz said. “So, when I brought it to leadership, I said ‘Hey lets partner with Butler SWAT so that their kids can see what they do too,’ and give these kids the option to get to be part of this because they never get to be.”
LifeFlight, AHN EMS and paramedic services, Butler County Emergency Services and Penn Township Police and Fire Department were involved in Thursday’s event. Each unit provided a different station which allowed children to not only learn about what their parents do, but to be active participants.
The children took part in a dispatch scavenger hunt, where one child had to give directions to another child via a walkie-talkie; a CPR class; a Stop the Bleed class; a simulated SWAT rescue mission; and a demonstration from the fire department and the LifeFlight crew.
“That’s how you save people’s lives in the field; especially in Butler County the response times are higher for EMS,” Lenz said. “Being able to Stop the Bleed or do CPR is going to save a life, and my hope is that they bring these things away that are life skills.”
Bill Turkovich, an AHN paramedic, was able to bring his 11-year-old daughter, Addie, and 9-year-old son, Jeffery, with him to work. Turkovich said he appreciated that he was finally able to show his children what he does for a living.
“It’s nice because we get to see each other’s families,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to have that camaraderie, the kids get to hang out with each other and the adults get to hang out with each other.”
Turkovich said his children have grown up knowing he’s in emergency service, but Thursday’s event allowed them to get an up-close glimpse of what being a paramedic entails.
“I talk all the time about what I do and the people I work with,” Turkovich said. “But now they have a chance to see what I’m always talking about.”
