By Journal Staff
Twelve days on the road gave eight agencies in Ireland a first-rate experience in the use of MPDS Version 12.2 in ProQA and AQUA by PDC Clinical Support Representative Louise Ganley and PDC Implementation Specialist Mario Foletti.
“We’ve been through this before,” Ganley said. “But this time we gave ourselves a little extra time to admire the beautiful countryside and visit with the dispatchers. They are very nice, caring people.”
Visits to the eight agencies in Ireland were divided into 10 days of business travel, separated by two days of motoring Ireland’s scenic A2 highway along the Antrim coastline. They traveled a total of nearly 800 miles and put nearly a full working day into each center on a course, starting at Wexford on the southeastern coast of Southern Ireland, and from there made stops at Cork, Limerick, Castlebar, Bally Shannon, Letterkenny, then north to the Republic of Ireland to visit Belfast, and then south again for stops in Navan, Tullamore, and Dublin.
The Tullamore call center, in Ireland’s midlands, has been using the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System (AMPDS) Protocol for several years and in 2012 achieved the award of a re-Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) in Ireland. It is also the site of a current study IAED Clinical Studies Officer Tracey Barron is leading to compare AMPDS v12.1 and v12.2 CPR Pre-Arrival Instructions.
In between stops at the various centers, Ganley and Foletti had a two-day break to get a closer look at the countryside. They hiked at the Giant’s Causeway, an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns resulting from an ancient volcanic eruption, and they walked across the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge. The one-kilometer (0.8-mile) bridge made of planks strung across wire sways nearly 100 feet above waves crashing against rock walls in the chasm below. It’s not for the acrophobic.
A most memorable stop was in Limerick where Foletti presented the local museum with a 1789 agreement signed by Hugh Massy, 2nd Baron Massy of Duntrileague, for the marriage of his daughter Jane Massy to Maj. William Greene. Hugh Massy held the office of sheriff of Limerick in 1763. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Baron Massy of Duntrileague, co. Limerick on Jan. 30, 1788.1
Mario and his wife Aileen discovered the 14-page betrothal document of ink on vellum (animal skin) while sorting through the attic of Aileen’s parents. The document, they later learned, was given to Aileen’s father by his uncle, an attorney, and was still folded in the style of legal manuscripts from that period.
Aileen, an Oxford University English local history graduate, immediately recognized the historical value of the document and, concerned about its preservation, made a series of inquiries. She finally was able to talk to the acting director of the Limerick City museum, who then arranged to pick up the document from Mario and Ganley.
“He was very excited to receive it,” Aileen said. “And I was very pleased to know it was going home where it belongs.”
Ganley, a history enthusiast, was more than happy to make the stop.
“It was very exciting,” she said. “Mario was thrilled to make the donation on the behalf of Aileen.”
Ganley splits her time almost evenly between traveling and the PDC office in Bristol, and she puts in thousands of miles each year. She stops at least twice each year at all 29 centers (in 12 agencies) covered by the U.K. office (England, Wales, Scotland, Isle of Man, and Southern Ireland). She and Foletti team up when the destinations require his operational/technical expertise.
“We enjoy visiting the centers,” Ganley said. “They’re always very welcoming and know they’re making a difference in people’s lives.”
Source
1 The Peerage, A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe, person pages 21124 and 24830, http://thepeerage.com/p21124.htm#i211238 & http://thepeerage.com/p24830.htm
