NOVA News
09/05/2024 – Lehighton Man Honored for 30 Years with NOVA (Times News)
Rep. Zachary Mako presenting Jason Nicholas with a citation from the state House of Representatives.
A Lehighton man was honored recently for completing 30 years of service with the Northern Valley Ambulance.
Crew members, representatives of several organizations, family and friends gathered at the South Station of NOVA on Levans Road to honor Jason Nicholas for his service.
Kristie Wentling, executive director of NOVA, and Kevin A. Schmidt, president of its board of directors, presented a plaque to Nicholas, while state Rep. Zachary Mako presented the honoree a citation from the state House of Representatives.
The citation, in part, expressed the House members’ appreciation of Nicholas and first responders, stating they “take great pleasure in recognizing those citizens who selflessly devote their lives to ensuring safety of the residents of their communities and ultimately of all the people of this great Commonwealth.”
The citation also reads, “The House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania proudly notes his record of exemplary service, in keeping with the highest ideals and traditions of this Commonwealth.”
Nicholas began his tenure in emergency services as a junior firefighter with West End Fire Company No. 2 in Palmerton at the age of 14. He served as a volunteer with the former Slatington Ambulance from 1991 until its merger with Northern Valley Emergency Medical Services Inc., where he has been employed since 1994.
A former member of Neffs Fire Volunteer Fire Company, he has been active with the Slatington Fire Department since 2005 and held the positions of lieutenant, chief, deputy chief, captain and president. Employed by Lehigh County as a deputy coroner since 2001, Nicholas began serving Carbon County in the same capacity in 2024.
In comments, Nicholas recalled his journey through emergency services, recalling that when he first joined the West End Fire Company it had only three pieces of apparatus: a tower, closed cab engine and open cab engine. He said his equipment consisted of a bunker coat, hip boots, gloves and a helmet.
David Lucia was the chief for the Palmerton Fire Department at the time, and Nicholas said that he highly regarded the chief and considered as a father figure.
Nicholas further reminisced the department cleaned chimneys for residents as a fundraiser and would be called to pump out basements on Lehigh Avenue due to flooding. He also remembered cleaning and polishing the trucks for parades.
Nicholas plans to work full-time for the Lehighton Ambulance Association, while also working part time at NOVA and the Palmerton Ambulance. He will also remain a part-time employee at the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office and will assist the Carbon County coroner.
01/11/2023 – LVHN Mobile Stroke Unit Partners with Northern Valley EMS
Northern Valley Emergency Medical Services (NOVA), serving a 90-square-mile area primarily in northern Lehigh County, has partnered with Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)’s Mobile Stroke Unit to bring a higher level of emergency stroke care to those it serves.
With the addition of NOVA, the mobile stroke unit now covers about 400 square miles in the region.
The mobile stroke unit, part of Lehigh Valley Fleming Neuroscience Institute, was the first mobile stroke unit in Pennsylvania when it debuted in 2019 and is currently one of 20 such units across the county providing leading-edge stroke care.
“The faster a stroke patient gets treatment, the better the outcome.” – Ken Reichenbach, mobile stroke unit program director
The mobile stroke unit is based at Cetronia Ambulance in the Allentown area and has been operated in partnership with Cetronia since its inception.
The new partnership with NOVA, operational as of Dec. 22, 2022, means the stroke unit will respond to stroke calls along with Northern Valley (NOVA) or rendezvous with NOVA crews on their way to a comprehensive stroke center, such as Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest.
In Lehigh County, NOVA serves North Whitehall, Washington, Heidelberg and portions of Lowhill townships. It also serves Walnutport, Northampton County and provides emergency services on part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
“We’re excited to be able to provide a higher level of care for stroke patients and begin crucial intervention and treatment before even arriving at the hospital emergency room,” said Kristie Wentling, NOVA executive director.
The mobile stroke unit does not operate everywhere within the LVHN footprint. However, in addition to Northern Valley, it currently has agreements with and assists on stroke calls with Cetronia, Macungie and Boyertown ambulance companies.
Ken Reichenbach, mobile stroke unit program director, said the mobile stroke unit is essentially a neurological emergency room on wheels.
The stroke unit is equipped with a camera that doctors at LVHN stroke centers can operate to evaluate what’s happening and direct initial treatment. Mobile stroke unit crews could be directed to start clot-busting medication or blood-thickening medication, depending on the type of stroke.
Doctors have direct communication with the stroke unit crew, which also can perform a computed tomography (CT) scan so doctors can get a view of what’s happening inside the patient’s brain. Communication with doctors also provides information on which type of stroke center – primary or comprehensive – is best for the patient under the circumstances.
Someone has a stroke every 40 seconds in the United States. In most cases, that means blood flow to the brain is blocked. It also can mean an artery in the brain has ruptured and is causing bleeding around the brain.
In either case, the lack of oxygen-rich blood means brain cells begin to die within minutes. Millions of cells can die each minute, causing potential trouble with movement, speech and thinking.
Strokes also can be deadly and are the fifth leading cause of death in this country. “The faster a stroke patient gets treatment, the better the outcome,” said Reichenbach. “That’s why time is brain.”
January 5, 2023 – Browne presents $115,000 grant to NOVA – by Lou Wheeland
A news conference was held in October 2022 at the headquarters of Northern Valley Emergency Medical Services, Ormrod, and then state Sen. Pat Browne, R-16th, awarded $115,000 to the ambulance corps.
According to NOVA Executive Director Kristie Wentling, the ambulance corps will use the funds to replace the chassis under a 2018 ambulance that is suffering from four years of hard use.
The original Ford E350 chassis will be replaced by a Ford E450 chassis, a heavier duty chassis which will allow the ambulance to serve longer for NOVA.
NOVA plans to remount an additional three ambulances over the next two years, replacing a current ambulance remount with a new Braun Ambulance.
Also speaking during the presentation were Jason Breidinger, public relations co-chairman, and NOVA President Kevin Schmidt.
May 8, 2020 – UV Disinfection Lamps
UV Disinfection Lamps were installed to the entire NOVA fleet. The John A. Johnson and Wilhelmina S. Johnson Foundation, Inc. funded this important project with the goal of keeping the patients and providers safer while inside NOVA ambulances. The UV Disinfection Lamps kill small viruses and bacteria on surfaces and in the air, including COVID-19, cold, and flu. NOVA is very grateful to the Johnson Foundation for supporting this project.
