Croce Bianca Trains 40 New First Aid Experts in Garda

Forty new first aid experts: this is the result of the training course promoted between February and May by the voluntary rescue association, better known as Croce Bianca, which has its operational headquarters in Torri but also has a branch section in Garda, where tomorrow a new ambulance will be presented in collaboration with Èbeo, at 10 a.m. in front of the town hall.

It was actually in Garda, at the social center of via Colombo, that the new volunteers carried out their long and demanding training, guided by the staff coordinated by Dr. Francesco Saverio Camogli, medical director of Croce Bianca in Torresana.

Activities and Training of Volunteers

“The participants,” says Fabio Raguzzi, president of the Torri volunteer association, “belong a bit to all economic and social categories, although this year I was pleased to see a good number of hoteliers participating. Training tourism operators is one of our primary objectives.”

“I believe that in this way our association can contribute even more to the tourism economy of the Garda area.”

A dozen trainees will then become part of Croce Bianca, “and this,” says Raguzzi, “is also a reassuring result.”

Volunteers, Staff, and Operations

Currently, the organization relies on the active collaboration of about 110 volunteers, who represent a valuable asset for the entire local community.

Moreover, Croce Bianca also depends on 22 professional nurses with emergency response experience: they cover shifts from 8 p.m. on Friday evening to 7 a.m. on Monday morning.

Volunteers and professional nurses of Croce Bianca do a considerable amount of work.

The Torri headquarters operates every day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., which is the same hours that Garda’s section is open, remaining active until 7 a.m. the next day.

There are also periods of peak activity, such as between Easter and the May 1st bridge.

“From the evening of April 21 to the morning of May 2,” Raguzzi recounts, “we carried out 60 emergency interventions in red code. Covering all shifts 24 hours a day, not only with our volunteers but also with the group of professional nurses, because we believe this is the way forward.”

Types of Incidents and Prevention

Traffic accidents, motorcycle injuries, alcohol-related episodes, fractures from accidental falls, heart crises: these were the most frequent cases during this ten days of heavy tourist influx.

“And to think,” observes the president of Croce Bianca, “that some of these accidents could have been avoided with a bit of prevention.”

For example, a young foreign tourist who suffered a serious cranial trauma falling from a mountain bike: if she had worn a helmet, she would have only suffered a few bruises.

Speaking of mountain biking: Croce Bianca provided its expert contribution to the recent Gran Fondo Paola Pezzo, held in Garda, receiving great and tangible appreciations.

Angelo Peretti