Island EMS hires 17 new paramedics to staff P.E.I. ambulance service
Hires should have 'a significant impact,' says company that runs P.E.I.'s ambulances
Island EMS has grown its staff of paramedics with 17 new hires this spring, but as P.E.I.'s new community response units ramp up, the company says it is "always looking for more."
Grant Atkinson-Hardy, the operations manager for integrated health programs with Island EMS, said the company that runs the province's ground ambulance service has about 160 paramedics right now.
"We are growing," he said. "As with all professions and all workplaces, there's an amount of turnover that is expected. Our profession is a demanding one ... both mentally and physically. But with these 17 new employees, we are gaining."
The majority of the new staff are graduates from Holland College's primary care paramedicine program, he said.
"But we do have folks who come to our service from outside Holland College as well," Atkinson-Hardy said. "We have folks that have chosen to locate to P.E.I. for whatever reason, or perhaps maybe they've chosen to move home.
"To add 17 to our system is a significant impact. That really allows us to be able to make sure that our units are staffed .. and to be able to let our staff have some well-earned vacation time."
Paramedicine has changed in the past few years on P.E.I., Atkinson-Hardy said.
"We've gone from a system where we were focused mostly on emergency response ... and really started to expand into other areas of the health-care system."
Examples are the province's mobile mental health service, as well as the new Community Paramedic Response Units (CPRUs) that the government announced on May 7.
The units will let paramedics in specially equipped vehicles travel to and treat people who may not require transfer to a hospital for treatment, freeing up ambulances for calls about people more likely to need immediate critical care.
Atkinson-Hardy said the introductory phases of the CPRU project are going well as far as Island EMS is concerned.
The company always has room for more staff, he said: "We're constantly recruiting. Our door is always open."
Service awards
May 17-24 is National Paramedic Services Week, and four Island paramedics received service medals presented by Lieutenant-Governer Antoinette Perry and Health Minister Mark McLane, said a news release from the Government of Prince Edward Island.
James Orchard and Derek Stewart each received a 20-year medal, Dan Smith received a 30-year bar, and Wilfred O'Brien received a 40-year bar, the release said.