Now that 2023 has come to a close, Cochrane District EMS is looking back at some of its achievements over the last year.
From administering Suboxone to updating how it documents patient information, there have been several milestones for the service.
Jean Carriere, chief paramedic, said they were the first paramedic service in Canada to offer Suboxone, a medication used for treatment of addictions with opiates, on the front line.
“That's really been a collaboration between our local addiction centres, the paramedic service, obviously, the Ministry of Health, our local base hospital, and really coming together to try and address the opiate crisis within the district, and being able to start care right at the 911 level when our paramedics have responded to a call,” he said.
“This was being championed by one of our deputy chiefs, Seamus Murphy and it has really gotten a lot of attention nationally and even internationally. We have paramedic services from other provinces that are looking at our model in how we're introducing a starting treatment for somebody who would like to start rehab. So that’s definitely something that we have to celebrate and that we're proud of.”
SEE: Paramedics leading way with new program to address opioid crisis
Carriere said a new digital platform for patient documentation was also introduced.
“We had been with the same provider for over 10 years and looking at a competitive market, we wanted a documentation platform that really supported our data and data research. The decisions that we make are very much data-driven — where our calls are, the types of calls that we're doing, the types of treatments that we're doing — and we wanted to have a platform that really brought together all of the facets of paramedicine, which is our 911 side and also our community paramedic side, and being able to mesh those together,” he said.
“Again, we're the first ones in Canada to be using this. It's an American company and they're just getting into the Canadian market. We’ve really worked in collaboration with ImageTrend at developing a Canadian-based platform, so that we can really adapt and change to what data we’re trying to get out of the documentation that we're doing and also ensuring that we're meeting all of the standards with the Ministry of Health and documenting the calls that we're on.”
The continued collaboration with agencies regarding the paramedic program is also something to celebrate, Carriere said.
“When hospitals are discharging patients to home and they don't have a primary care provider, so they don't have a physician or nurse practitioner attached to that patient, then the paramedics are going in and helping with the discharge planning. So, we're doing follow-up visits in the home,” he said.
“And then when we look at our homeless population and the homeless shelter, we're also working with Canadian Mental Health (Association) with the safe health site to make sure that we're bringing the most appropriate care to that sector of the vulnerable population.”
The program also focuses on the aging population to ensure they can age at home, Carriere said.
“I think when we start looking at 2024 and what our vision is for this year, it's really going to be to expand that and look at how we can also serve our other vulnerable population, which is our homeless population and how paramedics can be a little more proactive in being able to do that,” he said.
This year, Carriere said they also plan to continue bettering how clients are served.
“And that translates into more lives saved, more availability to respond to calls, what types of services are really needed in our communities, in a contemporary sense, like today, what is different today than last year that we really need to change the way that we provide treatment and care,” he said.
Though Cochrane District EMS has suffered from a substantial shortage of paramedics, Carriere said the thing he wants to celebrate most is the paramedics they do have who worked tirelessly every day.
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“We've recognized that we definitely don't have enough paramedics, but the ones that are working have really stepped up. From working overtime week after week to ensure that we have paramedic services available in our communities, that has to be the most important thing that we celebrate for 2023; the dedication and the sense of community that our paramedics have,” he said.
“I can't say enough about the quality of the work that they do, the life-saving skills that they have, and the training that they do within year to make sure that their skills stay sharp.”
Carriere said their paramedics also spent several hours volunteering their time in the community.
“Especially over the last few weeks with food drives and the toy drive to make sure that kids over the holidays were going to have toys and that people were going to have access to food,” he said.
“I think that it's important that we celebrate, especially this time of year. We're short-staffed, not all the paramedics that wanted Christmas or New Year's off were able to get it off. They do definitely make sacrifices to make sure that we have emergency coverage and we have to recognize the the great work that they're doing.”
