A Chatham councillor wanted to ensure that the Municipality wasn’t going to be stuck with a bill, after the province announced funding for new community paramedicine programs.
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced provincial funding for community paramedic programs, including two different programs that will benefit residents of Chatham-Kent.
Here is our original story on the news.
Chatham-Kent staff recommended to council that C-K should enter into a funding agreement with the province for the program. The Ministry is set to provide $212,900 in 2014/2015 and $80,600 in 2015/2016 for the programs.
During the Nov. 4 council meeting, Chatham Coun. Doug Sulman questioned who would fund the project after the two years was up.
“I’ve seen this before,” Sulman said. “$300,000 becomes $500,000… before you know it the project coordinator is on the Sunshine List.”
Al DeVillaer, the coordinator for Emergency Medical Services in Chatham-Kent, said after the two years is up, the program will end.
“Our EMS should not be effected, only complimented,” he said.
The community paramedicine programs are designed to complement the current local ambulance services and will not impact the current municipal budget or response times.
Medavie EMS officials said the first program will help enable paramedics that are already in the community deliver care to a broader group of patients using their existing skill set and existing EMS system capacity.
The second program will work with existing health-care partners in the community, such as the Chatham-Kent Health Link, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, and the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), to collaborate, develop and implement a dedicated community paramedic.
