Survivors, First Responders and Heroic Bystanders Celebrated at Essex-Windsor EMS Survivor Day

The stories of 20 survivors and those who helped save them were shared during the Essex-Windsor EMS and Southwest Ontario Regional Base Hospital Program 13th Annual Survivor Day.

The event, held Friday at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts, celebrated survivors of trauma and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in 2025.

Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics provided life-saving resuscitative interventions to 20 patients in 2025. The cases celebrated at Survivor Day highlight how the quick, informed actions of those on the scene and the medical skills of paramedics can save lives.

“Your presence is a powerful reminder of why this work matters,” said Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Justin Lammers. “Behind every call is a person with a life, a family, a history, and a future. Because of many people’s actions, survivors have the opportunity to make more memories, celebrate more milestones and spend more time with the people they love.”

As well as the 20 survivors, those recognized at Survivor Day included 70 Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics, 53 firefighters, seven ambulance communications officers (ACOs), six members of the public, two paramedic students and seven police officers.

Three rescues involved the use by bystanders of a publicly available Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

“We are fortunate to be part of a community where so many people and organizations are committed to the same purpose: preserving life, reducing suffering, and helping people through some of the most difficult moments they will ever face,” said Lammers.

During the ceremony, survivors who attended were presented with rolled up and bottled printouts of their heart rhythms taken by paramedics. Those involved in saving them were presented with Essex-Windsor EMS “save” pins.

Also celebrated Friday was Essex-Windsor EMS paramedic Rick St. Pierre, who received a milestone pin for participating in 20 saves during his career. St. Pierre began his career before saves started being tracked like this in 2013 and has most likely been involved in even more saves.

Lammers called St. Pierre an “exemplary paramedic” who “leans in when it counts” and “continues to hone his craft.”

Below are video stories of four survivors and the people who took action when it mattered most and gave them the gift of life: