Heartland Health Region: EMS Current Situation and Moving Forward

Heartland Health Region invited elected officials from across the region to learn about the current EMS situation and how they plan to move forward.

My notes follow and then the presentation.

• Significant issues with EMS
• EMS stabilization is top 2 priority
• EMS excessive waits and delays
• Staff and physician dissatisfaction
• Problems include HR and vehicles
• Want reliable, safety, efficient,
• Conducting a P3
• Earlier request denied
• Invested $500k to stabilize
• New fleet management plan
• Now a multi year lease plan with 2 new vehicles per year
• Current State
• 17 EMS sites, 15 region owned
• Highest number of EMS in the province
• 30 vehicles in region
• EMS Staff
• EMRespondrs
• EMTs
• Primary Care Paramedic
• ICP
• ACPs: Kindersley only
• 25% call increase
• 50% emerge and transfer
• 2 ambulances in Kerrobert
• Kindersley extreme increase, min EMT
• 3 ambulances with 2 fully staffed
• 42% transfer
• Licensure
• College of Paramedics
• First responders are way down
• EMS budget is $5.3m expense and $1.6m revenue
• EMS on call wage is $87/yr
• 30 vehicles over 400k km
• Cost of maintenance up to $238k
• Staffing Pressure
• 37 positions guaranteed
• Many casual on call and can't support a family
• Overtime is increasing
• Up to 45 days straight on call
• Average age is over 41
• Kindersley 6 positions of .75
• Why no full-time? money
• Overtime
• EMS hours of OT/FTE 128 and now 156
• Coverage Pressure
• Wait times with up to 5 HRHA teams of 2 EMS staff each for 7 hours
• Kerrobert is a hub to Luseland and Dodsland
• Out of service times significantly increased in region, Kindersley is minimal occurring when both ambulances on a call
• Staff are moved to other areas to reduce response times (geo-posting)
• 166 out of area calls
• Mitigating Risks
• Reducing deadhead trips
• Communities have been funding EMS staff
• Air Services
• EMS System Opportunities
• Integration
• Community Paramedicine
• Collaborative Emergency Centres
• Future State
• Sustainable?
• Recruitment and Retention?
• Level of Care: EMR vs. EMT
• 3P
• March 16-20 in Kindersley
• Production, Preparation, Process,
• Include a variety of stakeholders
• What is would you identify/define as the important attributes or features of the Future State for EMS in HHR?
• Quality of life
• Condition of ambulances
• Reimagine the service model
• Reduce wait times
• Tiered system
• No municipal monies
• More communication

Thank you to Heartland Health for sharing this presentation.