Can Jam Jamaican Food Festival KERPA Fundraiser

Can Jam is an annual Jamaican food festival, held in Castlegar BC. Each year we host the event in honour of a local non profit organization, such as lunch programs for schools, and inclusive summer camps for children.

This year we are excited to announce partial proceeds will be awarded to KERPA, toward a new emergency response unit, planned to be stationed in Castlegar BC.

Please read the following about KERPA,

The service began approximately 10 years ago with the key objectives of supporting the emergency services and providing on-scene physician support and care to the most critically ill or injured patients in the Kootenay Region. KERPA also helps provide additional capacity and expertise to the existing pre-hospital and emergency services in the region. KERPA has had a long-standing collaboration agreement with the BCEHS and assists the emergency services at immediate threat-to-life 911 calls where patients require immediate emergency lifesaving interventions.

KERPA dispatches a locally trained rural EMS Physician in a dedicated, non-transporting, rapid response vehicle directly to the scene of life-threatening emergencies. Our physicians possess comprehensive understanding of the relevant patient, geographic, and local healthcare resource situation. In addition, they have knowledge of the communities and the terrain we respond in. KERPA provides this service for FREE and our rural physicians volunteer their time.

Our dedicated Board of Directors donate their time, and we have one paid, part-time office staff, who supports our charitable responsibilities. Provincial Medical Services Plan (MSP) is not billed for the care we provide – we provide this at no cost. We are funded through grants, community sponsorship and public donations.

In 2016, KERPA became a Canadian Registered Charity and, in 2021, we became the 1st Canadian Physician Ground Based EMS Service to be awarded full Special Operations Medical Retrieval Certification by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS). This accreditation marks the stringent international standards of medical retrieval, quality, safety and patient care KERPA provides (Appendix 1).

Calls Attended

Since May 2014, KERPA has been available to respond to 1283 calls. These are the highest priority calls assigned by BCAS Dispatch and include primary missions (where our physician arrives on scene and makes contact with the patient), standbys and cancelled calls.

Please join us June 30th 2024, at Millennium Park, in Castlegar BC. Enjoy authentic Jamaican cuisine, live reggae music, games and other entertainment for people of all ages.

Tickets include a meal and general admission, partial proceeds are awarded to KERPA on behalf of the Can Jam Team.

Tickets will be available online at eventbright.ca and at the event.

Host or Publisher Basil Fuller