The issue of ambulance availability and response times continues to be in the forefront in many communities, especially rural ones, and this Monday, Cochrane mayor and council will get an update from Alberta Health Services and EMS.
"We continue to hear concerns from Cochrane residents regarding the availability of ambulance service in our community," Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung said in a statement Feb. 4.
“Council shares those concerns and have been actively working to learn more and advocate for solutions," he said. "Over the past six months, we have engaged with AHS EMS to gain insight into the current state."
Genung said concerns have not only been brought up to AHS but also to the Health Minister Jason Copping last November.
At Monday's committee of the whole meeting, EMS operations associate executive director Randy Bryksa and director of emergency medical services Curtis Swanson will provide council with an update on local call volumes, response times and current challenges. Council will also be asking questions specific to the Cochrane area.
"The service delivery of EMS is relying heavily on municipal resources," the mayor said. "We have been working to better understand the impact we are experiencing with our Fire Services team who is often being called upon to provide first medical response."
The town points to a December incident where firefighters responded first to a person who wasn't breathing and had no pulse.
Firefighters performed CPR and used a defibrillator to revive the individual before EMS arrived. Patient care was then transferred to EMS and the individual was taken to hospital. They have since made a full recovery.
“Our fire crews are often called upon to use their medical first response training to provide lifesaving intervention for our community,” says deputy fire Chief Jared Wallace. “In this specific case, I’m confident the work of the firefighters, in conjunction with our partners from AHS, saved this individual’s life.”
The mayor said while the local fire department has undergone additional training to ensure the health and safety of residents, ambulance services falls under the province's jurisdiction.
"This is a provincial responsibility that Cochrane taxpayers are currently subsidizing," Genung said.
The committee of the whole meeting will be live streamed at Cochrane.ca at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 7.
