It’s Paramedic Services Week from May 23 to 29! This week celebrates our team of brave, everyday heroes who have dedicated their lives to protect the health and safety of our residents. The theme this year is Paramedic as Educator – Citizen Ready, which recognizes the important role that paramedics play to educate and inform our community.
We have an excellent team who have gone above and beyond to support our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. From mobile testing to mobile vaccination teams in long-term care, retirement homes and essential workplaces, paramedics have played a significant role in keeping our most vulnerable residents safe. They have also started vaccinating homebound individuals who cannot come to one of our vaccination clinics. Thank you for your dedication to keep our community and most vulnerable residents safe during this time—your efforts have been remarkable.
Our paramedics here in Halton also help keep our community safe by providing urgent medical care to residents when they need it most. We are fortunate to have more than 270 paramedics who serve our community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each year, our team responds to more than 50,000 calls and transports more than 30,000 patients to hospitals in our region and to specialized hospitals outside our regional boundaries. Halton’s Paramedic Services team also provides a number of educational activities to keep our community safe, such as life-saving and emergency programs and training for residents and businesses across the region. These programs help educate residents who want to learn how to respond to a cardiovascular emergency such as a cardiac arrest, heart attack or stroke.
Last year, as part of our #StrongerTogether campaign, one of our Paramedics shared his experience on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m pleased to share this video again this year for you:
Thank you again for your continued dedication to our community during this time. For more information on Halton’s response to COVID-19, please visit halton.ca/COVID-19.