Ontario Paramedic Association

10/10/2026

PARAMEDICS HAVE TO 'MAKE QUICK DECISIONS'

Anyone looking for an exciting career may want to think about being a paramedic.

Paramedics provide emergency medical care – often saving a life – to sick or injured people in homes, at collisions and other emergency scenes.

They make critical decisions before transporting patients to hospital by ambulance.

They're definitely in demand.

“Within the next three years we estimate about 450 paramedic vacancies are expected within northeastern Ontario, so that's significant,” said Kate Kirkham, the Sault’s chief of paramedic services.

“In Sault Ste. Marie, we're looking to hire approximately 15 part-time paramedics to bring us up to our full roster and we do expect to have even more over the next few years,” Kirkham told SooToday.

She said the need for more paramedics will grow locally due to retirements and the growing complexity of the paramedic field.

“When I started we were around 36 full-timers and now we're up to 70. Programming is growing, needs are growing, so our service is keeping up,” Kirkham said.

“When I started we worked with six medications and a defibrillator and now it's over 30 medications that the paramedics can administer through the physician that oversees them. The work is more complicated. The patients are more complex.”

Kirkham said there's a lot more interest in letting paramedics work through those complexities at a pre-hospital level.

“It's been found that paramedics can actually address a lot of the issues before they even consider going to the hospital and that relieves the hospital of some of the pressures they're seeing in the emergency department.”

Kirkham said she and her crew are excited to see the launch of Sault College’s new two-year, four-semester paramedic program.

“We intend to have most of their students come through here for their clinical work,” Kirkham said.

The college has 20 students in the program and is targeting an intake of 40 in the fall of 2027.

There are three paramedic-specific courses this semester and two experienced primary care paramedics teaching.

Sault College will be recruiting additional paramedics to teach in the winter and there will be more paramedic-specific courses added.

Experienced paramedics can branch out into specialized work.

Adam Bering is involved in the Sault EMS community paramedic program.

“We deal with the older adults of the community. We try to keep them safely in their homes for as long as we can. We have an extra skill set on top of the 911 front line paramedics,” Bering said.

Community paramedics treat seniors with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), congestive heart failure, urinary tract infections and other serious conditions.

“We can give medications for conditions through our own medical director. We’ve been able to expand our skill set,” Bering said.

Being a paramedic appeals to Sam Dufault’s outgoing nature.

“A big part of paramedicine is socializing, communicating,” Dufault said, adding that she enjoys the challenge of working on the wide range of calls paramedics receive, from lift assists to serious trauma.

“A paramedic needs to be a really outgoing person. You need to be able to communicate with the public and be able to have a very approachable demeanour. When you're going to calls you're often going to people's worst moments and you want to be able to keep a calm, cool, collected persona,” Dufault said.

Dufault likes the job because she loves helping people.

“I would recommend the job, 100 per cent. It's an amazing job,” Dufault said.

“How many jobs do you know where you can communicate, provide care to people, and make a difference in someone's day? To be the difference when someone is having one of their worst moments and being able to help makes it very gratifying.”

Kirkham and Bering also recommend the job of paramedic for those who can handle it.

Apart from the successes in treating patients, paramedics see a lot of suffering and death.

They must be prepared to deal with that.

“It's a great career for the right person. I would say you have to have a certain level of resilience, along with compassion and wanting to help people,” Bering said.

The job is rewarding when there’s a good outcome.

“You're meeting people at possibly their worst times but you're offering them care and compassion. On the community paramedic side, we build more of a rapport with our patients,” Bering said.

“I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying the work.”

Prior to becoming chief, Kirkham said she loved being a paramedic on the frontline.

“A typical day when you’re out in an ambulance has its own excitement. You never quite know what's around the corner and it requires you to make quick decisions,” Kirkham said.

“You have to love people. You have to love the unknown. It's always changing and that part is exciting.”

By: Darren Taylor
SOOTODAY

10/09/2026

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10/09/2026

COCHRANE DISTRICT PARAMEDIC SERVICE LAUNCHES NEW “REACH” PROGRAM

Cochrane District Services Board has launched of a new pilot project in Timmins through the Cochrane District Paramedic Service.

Called Response, Engagement, Assistance & Community Health (REACH), this innovative new project is an initiative designed to address a rapidly growing number of “no patient contact” calls, where emergency services are called by people who see someone lying or sleeping in a public space and are concerned they are experiencing a medical emergency.

Paramedics, often accompanied by social workers, assess immediate health needs, provide basic supports, and connect people with community services.

REACH does not replace emergency ambulance response, and emergency resources continue to be deployed whenever urgent medical care is required.

During its first week of operation, the REACH project connected with 440 individuals, distributed 119 naloxone kits, and handed out over 250 bottles of water.

“In its early days, the REACH project is already demonstrating its value by finding and helping people who were avoiding or unable to access medical care despite having serious health needs in addition to preventing 9-1-1 calls through a more appropriate response,” said Marc Renaud, chief of the Cochrane District Paramedic Service.

“For us, success is not only about reducing no patient contact calls, but also about reaching vulnerable people, improving health outcomes, and ensuring that no one falls through the cracks.”

REACH was created in response to both the growing number of individuals experiencing homelessness across the Cochrane District and a dramatic increase in no patient contact calls.

Historically, Cochrane District Paramedic Service responded to approximately 300 to 500 of these calls annually.

In 2025, the number grew to approximately 3,000, and it’s projected that paramedics could respond to between 5,000 and 6,000 of these calls in 2026.

By: The Daily Press
TIMMINS DAILY PRESS

10/08/2026

NEW PARAMEDIC PILOT REPORTS EARLY DROP IN NO-PATIENT-CONTACT 9-1-1 CALLS

TIMMINS — A new paramedic outreach program is showing early signs of reducing unnecessary 9-1-1 calls.

The REACH program was created in response to a sharp increase in calls involving people found sleeping or lying in public spaces who had not requested emergency medical care and did not ultimately require an ambulance. The Cochrane District Paramedic Service (CDPS) has reported a roughly 25 per cent drop in no-patient-contact calls since it launched last month.

Historically, the service received about 300 to 500 of those types of calls each year. That increased to about 3,000 in 2025, and the service projected between 5,000 and 6,000 in 2026, according to a report presented to the Cochrane District Services Board on Sept. 17.

Paramedic service chief Marc Renaud said the increase was putting pressure on ambulance availability and paramedic workloads.

“We were able to analyze that issue, and we created the REACH program,” Renaud told the board.

REACH — which stands for response, engagement, assistance and community health — uses an existing paramedic response vehicle and operates from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

A paramedic is paired with an outreach worker and patrols areas where people sleeping in public spaces have frequently generated 9-1-1 calls.

When they encounter someone, the team checks their health and addresses any immediate medical concerns. The outreach worker then connects the person with community services.

In its first seven days, REACH staff spoke with 440 people and identified 25 situations where they believed a 9-1-1 call was prevented. The team also responded to 24 calls after a 9-1-1 call was generated.

The report says the 25 prevented calls represented an almost 25 per cent reduction in no-patient-contact calls per shift, although the figure is preliminary.

The team also distributed 119 naloxone kits, 13 naloxone refills and 273 bottles of water during the first week.

By: Marissa Lentz-McGrath
TIMMINSTODAY

10/07/2026

‘THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE:’ PEEL PARAMEDICS LAUNCH MEDICAL DRONE PILOT PROJECT IN CALEDON

As Peel paramedics face a steady stream of calls for help in Caledon, Brampton and Mississauga, first responders are turning to drone technology in an effort to potentially help bring life-saving interventions to people in need sooner.

Beginning on Tuesday, Peel Regional Paramedic Services unveiled a medical drone response pilot project in Bolton. Under the trial program, a drone could be deployed with medical supplies like a defibrillator, epi pens, naloxone and/or trauma supplies to curtail heavy bleeding to a 9-1-1 caller’s location. The supplies are aimed at treating conditions like cardiac arrest, anaphylaxis, overdoses, and possible severe trauma.

Based out of a paramedic station off of Highway 50, officials with the service said specially trained paramedic personnel can send the drone within a four-kilometre radius.

“It is mission-specific, so getting time-sensitive medical supplies to someone ahead of paramedic,” Paul Snobelen, a community programs specialist with Peel paramedics, told CityNews during a tour of the drone station retrofitted inside an ambulance.

“We’ve got a boundary setup that is Transport Canada-approved. We file a flight plan saying in this area, we are going to respond to 9-1-1 calls.”

After plotting a course and sending the drone to a specific address, a safe spot is found to hover over and the drone descends to around 10 feet above the ground and then the bag of supplies is dropped. It is up to Snobelen or another drone operator to radio to 9-1-1 dispatchers to advise the package has been dropped. The 9-1-1 call taker will tell the resident where the package is and to bring it to the patient, and that’s when instructions will be given over the phone or through a Facetime connection.

Officials said early data has shown the drone can typically arrive anywhere between three and eight minutes ahead of paramedics travelling in an ambulance.

“Minutes matter in this scenario, so the sooner we have an intervention the better the outcome can be,” Snobelen said.

By: Nick Westoll
City News Everywhere

10/06/2026

DRONES TO DELIVER LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT TO EMERGENCIES IN BOLTON AS PART OF PEEL PILOT

Drones in the sky may be first to respond when residents in Bolton, Ont., call 9-1-1 as part of a new pilot program aimed at getting potentially life-saving equipment to the scene while paramedics are on their way.

The medical drone pilot program, launched Tuesday by Peel Regional Paramedic Services, will operate during daylight hours. Its goal is to improve patient care in communities, particularly rural ones, according to the services' chief Brian Gibson.

"We know that when there's a cardiac arrest in the community, that distance and traffic may be a barrier to getting paramedics to the scene quickly," Gibson said Tuesday.

"By enabling a drone to carry an external defibrillator, or a naloxone kit for an opioid overdose, or an EpiPen for an allergic reaction, we may be able to get those critical supplies to a patient quickly in order to improve their outcomes and ultimately save lives."

DRONES WON'T REPLACE PARAMEDICS, CHIEF SAYS

Gibson said the drones will not replace paramedics, who will be on their way after residents call 9-1-1. Paramedics or emergency dispatchers will talk to callers over the phone, guiding them on how to access and use the equipment until paramedics arrive, he said.

PILOT WILL BE EVALUATED TO SEE IF IT CAN BE EXPANDED

Data from the pilot program will be used in research with the aim of improving survival rates in cardiac emergencies, Gibson said. Peel paramedics will evaluate the pilot program to see how it might be expanded across Ontario.

"We know that for every minute of cardiac arrest, there's a decrease of seven to 10 per cent of survival. Strengthening that chain of survival is important," Gibson said.

USE OF DRONES 'POTENTIALLY GAME-CHANGING,' EXPERT SAYS

Carmi Levy, a technology analyst and journalist based in London, Ont., said Tuesday the use of drones will make a "huge difference" in cases where time is of the essence.

This is a potentially game-changing use of advanced drone technology," Levy said.

By: Muriel Draaisma
CBC

10/05/2026

WATERLOO REGION EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES ARE 42 SECONDS FASTER, BUT ONE TOWNSHIP STILL WAITS MORE THAN 18 MINUTES

The response time for the highest priority medical emergency calls in Waterloo Region improved to eight minutes and 26 seconds in the first half of 2026 — 42 seconds faster than the same period in 2025.

Some of that change is likely due to the implementation of the new medical priority dispatch system (MPDS) triage tool rolled out in Waterloo Region last December, said John Riches, paramedic services chief, in an update to regional council earlier this month.

MPDS offers improved accuracy in assessing patient acuity, allowing for a more tailored response based on resource availability and prioritizing immediate life-threatening calls.

Response times improved in all but one of seven regional municipalities — in the Township of Wellesley, it took 18 minutes and 16 seconds, on average, to respond to the highest priority calls.

“We did see some concerning trends in the Township of Wellesley,” Riches noted.

Those plans include placing an ambulance in Linwood or Wellesley Village to help reduce response times.

There were no Code Zero events — instances when only one or no ambulance is available to respond to a call in a coverage area — during the first half of this year.

Ambulance off-load delays at local hospitals have “plateaued” following several years of significant decreases, Riches said.

There were 83 ambulance days lost due to off-loading during the first six months of 2026 compared to 92 for the same period in 2025. However, those numbers are in stark contrast to the 601 ambulance days lost in 2022.

The total number of vehicle responses (39,934) increased by 7.3 per cent (2,714) during the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2025, which is almost three per cent higher than growth projections, Riches noted.

Unit utilization, a statistic that ultimately tracks how busy ambulances are, is the healthiest it has been in years, Riches added.

By: Bill Jackson
WATERLOO REGION RECORD

10/04/2026

ORNGE DONATES AMBULANCE TO PARAMEDIC PROGRAM AT CONFEDERATION COLLEGE

Ornge, the not-for-profit ambulance service, has donated a decommissioned ambulance to Confederation College’s Primary Care Paramedic program.

Going forward, students on their way to a career in paramedicine will be able to train in a modern, up-to-date vehicle.

Rob Plummer, the coordinator for the paramedic program at the college, says the decommissioned ambulance is “a critical central piece to our program, that brings the level of our training up very, very high.”

Previously the program relied on an older ambulance that was already at the end of its service life.

“It was like a hand-me-down sort of thing. We were happy to have it, it helped for a number of years, but it got to the point where it’s no longer viable as a training vehicle,” says Plummer.

For Plummer, being able to use a physical ambulance makes a big difference compared to simply learning theory in the classroom.

“In the classroom you can discuss concepts, but you can never actually discuss the actual tactile,” he says. “By getting them into the ambulance, the front and back, loading, unloading into a real vehicle, driving it, feeling how it performs; it’s the G-force, it’s the ranges of where it starts to get a little bit tippy, it’s stopping ranges, are really critical for them to make that transition out onto the workforce. Because it makes them a lot safer.”

He adds that the new ambulance is state-of-the-art, with a hydraulic stretcher and conventional dimensions, offering students a more transferable skillset to the equipment they’ll be using in the field.

The paramedic program’s new ambulance will be used by about 60 or 65 students this year.

“As long as we have this ambulance — and we’re going to look after it and make sure we have it for at least a decade or more — there will be hundreds of students that will have access to this as part of their training,” says Shane Strickland, Associate Vice President, Academic for the college.

By: Sam Goldstein
Your SUNSETCOUNTRY

10/03/2026

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10/03/2026

EXPANDED MEDICAL CLINIC IN VERMILION BAY COULD HOUSE NEW PARAMEDIC BASE

MACHIN — A potential new and larger clinic in Vermilion Bay may also be the home of another paramedic base for the region.

The Township of Machin wants to build a larger health centre, with the current one too small to meet all the municipality’s needs, said chief administrative officer Max Nagy.

The Highway 17 community is made up of three settlements — Vermilion Bay, Eagle River and Minnitaki — all on or near Eagle Lake between Dryden and Kenora.

“We're extremely lucky to have the clinic that we have,” Nagy said. “Everybody there is just absolutely fantastic, we're so lucky to have it in our community, but obviously, as you grow a little bit and especially with COVID, there's a little bit more restraints that were put on the clinic.”

“There were some issues that arose and we realized that we do need to expand that current facility.”

They’re also hoping to attach a paramedic base to the proposed facility, Nagy said. Currently, there is no paramedic base in Machin itself, but the Kenora District Services Board, or KDSB, (which operates Northwest EMS) is studying the possibility of expanding there.

“The KDSB is exploring the creation of a Machin paramedic base to improve rural and unincorporated area response times,” the services board said in its 2025 annual report.

The paramedic service currently has two bases in Kenora and one each in Dryden, Ear Falls, Ignace, Nestor Falls, Pickle Lake, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Sioux Narrows, according to the KDSB’s website.

Currently, Machin and the surrounding area is served by paramedics called from Dryden or Kenora, Nagy said.

Nagy said the municipality has purchased some land on Spruce Street, just off Highway 17 in Vermilion Bay for the proposed facility. The township owns the current clinic building with health services provided through the Points North Family Health Team and the province’s rural and northern physician group agreement, he said.

“We're creating a proposal for this joint facility to take to the government to see how we can make this a possibility,” Nagy said.

By: Matt Prokochuk
NWOnewswatch