This is Paramedic Services Week, and local officials are highlighting the work done by emergency services personnel in the region.
CK EMS general manager Donald McLellan says it’s a chance to reflect on the hard work and dedication of medical first responders, especially through the lens of the pandemic.
“The team has been constantly pivoting and readjusting to things, being safe, to be able to care for people, especially those that were suffering from COVID-19, but they’ve done a lot of other things to go above and beyond,” McLellan explains. “We’ve become an integral part of the testing strategy in Chatham-Kent, as well as the vaccination initiative.”
Most recently, the community paramedic program has also been involved in the administration of anti-viral medications for those battling COVID-19 in their homes.
McLellan says local paramedics are always looking for new opportunities to be creative in the delivery of emergency medical care and support the community as a whole.
“The goal is to bring health care to people and try to improve our ability to avoid unnecessary emergency room visits.”
McLellan says working through the pandemic, local paramedics along with all front line health care workers, have been put to the test, showing their resiliency time and time again.