Courtesy: Town of High Level
Town of High Level adds Emergency Medical Response Unit to fire department
The Town of High Level has a new tool for the fire department to assist with emergency medical events when every second counts.
The High Level Fire Department’s new Emergency Medical Response Unit has been in service since the end of September. Council added the vehicle to the Capital Budget in June of 2022 after a review of the state of EMS services in the High Level area clearly showed a need for it.
“EMS wait times have increased substantially in the past year across the province,” said Mayor Crystal McAteer. To help alleviate these pressures in our community, Council decided to assist the HLFD in the interests of public safety.”
The Town of High Level experiences “Red Alerts” several times per month where ambulances are not available to the community due to being timed out or being out of town on other responses. High Level often has the only Advanced Life Support Unit in the region, which also adds to the number of calls it attends.
The High Level Fire Department has been providing emergency medical response for nearly 20 years.
The department counts First Medical Responders (FMR’s), Primary Care Paramedics, and registered nurses among its firefighting staff. The Emergency Medical Response Unit will provide an added tool in patient care and crew safety in the event of an ambulance delay.
Prior to the arrival of this unit, the fire department responded in Rescue 1, a heavy truck with no patient care area.
“We were wearing out this unit on daily short runs without the ability to properly treat a patient during a delay,” said Rodney Schmidt, Director of Emergency Services and Fire Chief. “This vehicle will alleviate that.”
Currently, nearly 70 percent of the HLFD’s 450+ calls per year are medical calls.
With this new vehicle, responders will be able to treat patients in a safe environment, or, in the case of an emergent medical issue, transport them safely to the hospital utilizing predetermined protocols outlined by the Medical Director.
The unit has all the equipment and layout of a basic life support ambulance including heart monitor, IV’s, and medication.
“I want to thank Council for their forethought on providing another tool to assist in alleviating the issue of EMS pressures in the health system,” said Schmidt. “This will greatly improve patient safety and the safety of our firefighters providing emergency medical care to the community.”
Keith Hopper, Trending 55
