WHO'S ON THE V LIST? - Virani Real Estate Advisors

PARAMEDICS : RESPONDING TO
THE COMMUNITY
Mike Binns EMA II Paramedic for 20 years, with Paramedic Lisa Crowder
“. . . no matter how long and
busy the shift was, Mike just
had a way to make us all
laugh”.
by V List Reporter
CREDITS
44 year old Mike Binns was born and raised in North Vancouver’s
Delbrook community, and still proudly calls the North Shore his home.
Married to his wife Dawn, the Binns’ are excited to be expecting their
fi rst child. Dawn, an Emergency nurse, fi rst met Mike when she was
working at Lions Gate Hospital. Dawn tells us that she “was intrigued by
his [Mike’s] sense of humor, no matter how long and busy the shift was,
Mike just had a way to make us all laugh, especially me”.
Mikes’ exemplary career as a Paramedic 20 years ago started in the
Vancouver Regional Dispatch center, when he transferred from the North
Vancouver RCMP civilian dispatch. He quickly earned the respect of his
dispatch colleagues and shortly afterwards made the move to become a
street paramedic. Once trained, he went out onto the street, but for the
fi rst several years he would fi ll in for the Dispatch Center.
Over the past twenty years, Mike Binns has seen many important
improvements in Paramedic training and equipment. When he fi rst
started, Mike remembers the ambulances were simply glorifi ed vans and
horses, now they have state of the art vehicles loaded with some unique
equipment. Carrying the stretcher up and down entire stairways is a thing
of the past with the newer folding, much lighter stretchers; the job has
become physically easier.
His involvement with the Ambulance Service as a whole does not end in
North Vancouver. Because the BC Ambulance is a Provincial Service,
Mike sits on several committees with the focus of improving the service
brought to citizens and the Paramedic work standards . Mike likes to
debate issues, and thinks it is an important part of moving forward. He
believes that wearing the union title allows him to bring these issues to
the forefront.
Since the beginning of his career, Mike has always been involved with the
future of the Paramedic fi eld. After a stint as a Paramedic Chief in Lytton,
BC, Mike came back to the North Shore and became heavily involved
with the Ambulance Paramedics of BC: the Union that represents the
3,300 Paramedics in the province. Serving as the Regional Vice President
for the GVRD, Mike contributes hundreds of hours to the profession,
even when he’s not riding in the Ambulance.