Two Female Leaders at Chatham Emergency Squad
Two female leaders – President Evan Skinner and Captain Nicole DiMaggio – follow in the footsteps of the Chatham Emergency Squads’ (CES) women pioneers as they simultaneously took the reins of the top two squad positions in January. “I’m proud to serve next to Nicole in the top jobs as a symbol of how completely women are integrated into the squad, from leadership to cadets,” Skinner said. However, she pointed out that the “gender doesn’t play a role in nominations or elections; the ability and willingness to serve is paramount.”
History of Women in the Squad
It has been eight years since the top leadership positions were held by two women; Connie Hartman as captain and Christine Grobert as president in 2015.
Until 1959 squad membership was restricted to men, first drawn from the Fire Department and later recruited from among the male citizens of Chatham. In 1959 the squad faced a personnel shortage in handling the increasing load of daytime transportation requests. Many of the members worked out of town and were not available during daytime hours. As a result, the squad decided to open its membership to women, with the first two women joining in November 1959. By 1974, women comprised half of the squad membership, handling all work on an equal basis with their male colleagues.
In 1985, Sue Dornfeld became the squad’s first female captain and the following year, she was joined by female president Ronnie Read in the first female dual leadership pair. Ginnie Philp served as the second female captain in 1987 and 1988. In 1989 and 1990, Carol Nauta served as captain with Therese Pick as president – both women are still living in Chatham.
Getting Involved
For both Evan and Nicole, the interest in emergency medicine simmered for years until life circumstances sparked their decision to join the emergency squad. “I was always drawn to emergency medicine but didn’t have the drive or financial opportunity to pursue it as a physician,” Evan explained. While she was walking her children to Southern Boulevard School for years, she would point to an CES ambulance going by and tell her children that when they grow up, that’s what she was going to do. In March 2014 she attended an event at her church where two squad members gave a speech. “On the way home, my husband turned to me and asked ‘What are you waiting for?’ I joined the squad that night and was riding on the Tuesday day crew 10 days later.”
When she was in her 20’s Nicole became interested in emergency medical care through a friend whose father was a volunteer EMT in Bergen County. Her interest continued when she moved to Chatham and became the next-door neighbor to squad EMT Brian Foley. “I would pepper him with questions about the squad and frequently told him ‘I’m going to join you one day’.” She spent the next 15 years raising her three sons, and joining the squad was pushed into the future. In 2014 her son, Michael, was struck by a car while walking home from school on Main Street. “The Chatham Emergency Squad was there within minutes to care for him. Michael’s injuries were severe; he required ten surgeries and two years of rehab. During that time the Chatham community lifted up my family and was our lifeline. Friends, neighbors, and strangers delivered our meals, did our grocery shopping, walked my dog, drove my carpools, and provided unending support. Once Michael was back to living his normal life, I knew I had to give back to the community that had been so good to me and I joined CES in 2017. It is without question one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Nicole said.
Duties of the Leaders
Prior to being nominated president this year Evan had a previous two-year tenure as president in 2019-2020. She has also served on the Board of Trustees as board secretary and VP of Community Engagement. In her current position Evan presides over all regular and special meetings of the members and the Board of Trustees as well as assures that all important administrative tasks are performed. The president names new auxiliary members, oversees the squad’s legal documents and secures legal advice when appropriate, in addition to representing the squad at public events. Together with the Captain she appoints new members.
Nicole has also served on the Board of Trustees as training lieutenant and operations lieutenant. She has also been the cadet manager. Her job as captain is to ensure that the squad is fully prepared to serve the community and respond to 911 medical emergencies. This includes making sure that the crews are fully staffed and appropriately trained, ambulances properly equipped and running effectively, as well as ensuring that first aid supplies are stocked and up to standard. She also works with the local police, fire, emergency management, and municipal partners to ensure any emergency response readiness.
Many Rewards
The Skinners had always been active in their children’s schools. But when their youngest went to college
they encountered “a huge drop in the casual ties to Chatham” which they had enjoyed for 21 years.
Their friends also started to move away from Chatham. “Joining the squad reconnected those bonds to
the community in so many ways. I met people I’d never otherwise meet and became professional partners as well as personal friends.
Additionally, when we go into a Chatham home to provide assistance on someone’s worst day, we are called upon to use our education and experience. But we also get the reward of helping our neighbor and the pride in knowing that we’re delivering this care at no charge to the patient or family. That’s a whole series of wins,” Evan said.
For Nicole the rewards are also twofold. “The first is the camaraderie and fellowship amongst squad members. We all come from different backgrounds and have different reasons for joining the squad but the one thing that binds us all is our desire to serve our community. This mission is central to who we are. Being surrounded by this humble and selfless group of people inspires and moves me. The second is being able to assist someone in their time of need. There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you are able to help stabilize an unstable patient or simply provide comfort and reassurance during a stressful time. Through all of these individual interactions, you can’t help but think that maybe you really are making a difference,” she explained.
Challenges Ahead
“Volunteer EMS agencies across the state are experiencing a decline in volunteers and funding. Some have closed their doors for good, including several in our immediate area. The communities left behind are forced to hire full time staff or contract with outside agencies and charge for services. This results in a loss of many non-direct service benefits of an all-volunteer squad that communities may not ever realize they are receiving,” Evan explained. For example, the emergency squad is providing state-mandated ambulance coverage at all varsity high school football games. The squad also provides standby service at parades, festivals, and races. Community benefits include the transport service for residents that may need assistance getting out of their homes to medical appointments or back home from them. The emergency squad also organizes CPR and first aid training to fellow first responders as well as teachers and members of the DPW staff.
“Chatham isn’t immune to the challenges these other squads have encountered. We must be aggressive about recruiting top candidates and we must ensure that we are addressing any challenges to volunteers joining us. This is the driving need behind our recently announced Capital Campaign – Building for the Future. The improvements we plan to both our buildings will respond to the needs of a changing volunteer force – private work space to allow work-from-“home”, safe, secure, comfortable sleeping quarters so even out-of-town members can continue to serve overnight shifts and updated training, decontamination and supply storage,” she emphasized.
Nicole agrees and points out that in order to maintain the squad’s mantra “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” it is “paramount” to recruit local volunteers. “What makes CES so special is that you can always count on a member of your community responding to your emergency. Our trained EMTs live and work throughout the Chathams, so when an emergency arises there is always a helping hand nearby. If we were forced to move to a paid model of EMS we would lose this critical aspect of care,” she said.
The Chatham Emergency Squad is an all-volunteer squad that provides basic life support emergency care to Chatham residents, businesses, and visitors. Ninety percent of CES’s budget is paid for by donations from Chatham residents and other donors. CES provides stand-by service for special events including Chatham High School varsity football games, Turkey Trots, Fishawack Festival, and other special events. CES is committed to providing CPR training to Chatham first responders, teachers, members of the DPW staffs and the public. CES is always interested in speaking with potential members.
The CES website www.chathamemergencysquad.org has links for those interested in volunteering and/or donating.
