It has been an unprecedented year for paramedics and other emergency medical personnel. Not only are paramedics tasked with keeping up with the demanding tasks required of their jobs on a day-to-day basis, but they are also working tirelessly to keep our communities safe during a global pandemic.
Perhaps no one understands this struggle more than the members of the Renfrew County Paramedic Service, who were awarded the 2020 Local Hero award by the Renfrew Area Chamber of Commerce.
The award was presented by Chamber president and Renfrew town Councillor Tom Sidney on Dec. 8, 2020 at a virtual awards ceremony livestreamed on their Facebook page. This award was added to the Chamber’s roster of annual awards for the first time this year, making the Renfrew County Paramedic Services the first ever recipients.
“We’re absolutely delighted and humbled to be here tonight,” Renfrew County Paramedics Commander Amber Hultink said, while accepting the award. “The nomination was for an individual or a team, and I’m just one individual part of a very big team that has pulled together to have a big impact on the residents and visitors of Renfrew County.”
“I just want to thank everyone for the ongoing support,” Hultink continues, “It’s been a wild year for all of us, but I am humbled and privileged to be accepting this award on behalf of our service.”
The Renfrew County Paramedic service has made headlines on a multitude of occasions this year, including when they were awarded the title of Newsmaker of the Year for 2020.
Sidney, who also works regularly with First Responders on PTSD prevention as a clinic manager at the Robbie Dean Family Counselling Centre, says this is an issue he holds very close to his heart.
“I’ve been working in mental health for almost 25 years now, so I have a very in-depth knowledge of First Responders, the jobs that they do and how it impacts them,” Sidney says. “This is a crucial opportunity to recognize the value of paramedicine. Sometimes paramedics get the shorter end of the stick as far as their value as First Responders. There tends to be more focus on police and fire… so this is a chance to give paramedics the attention they deserve, because they are a very important essential service.”
Sidney says that paramedics in Renfrew County have their work cut out for them, as Renfrew County is the largest county in Ontario. The county has a population of more than 100 thousand and encompasses 17 municipalities, stretching from the Town of Arnprior in the Ottawa Valley to the United Townships of Head, Clara and Maria northwest of Deep River.
“Pre-COVID, the Renfrew County Paramedics pioneered a lot of unique services,” Sidney says. “Most of the county is rural. Knowing that, there’s a lot of distance involved, so the Renfrew County Paramedics have always been visionaries in rural paramedicine.”
When COVID hit Ontario early last year the Renfrew County Paramedic Service stepped up to conduct COVID-19 testing, and continue to do so as the pandemic rages on. This includes at-home tests for the elderly and those who are otherwise unable to leave their homes, creating and running a virtual triage and assessment centre to ease the burden on the 9-1-1 system and emergency rooms, and organizing pop-up testing stations… all on top of their daily calls unrelated to COVID-19.
“Pretty much anyone in the county who needs to be tested is tested by the Renfrew County Paramedic Service,” Sidney says. “The organizational skills it takes to put that together as far as keeping themselves and everyone else safe, making sure people’s confidentiality is respected and making sure that the testing is handled properly, all while standing in a parking lot. But it’s just as impressive that while that is going on, they are providing paramedicine to the entire county at the same time.”
By the end of 2020, people began to take notice. In September, Ontario Premier Doug Ford gave the Renfrew County paramedics a well-deserved shoutout during his daily address. Other counties also began to replicate the efforts of the Renfrew County Paramedic Service in their own jurisdictions across Ontario.
Throughout the year, some of the other accomplishments accredited to the Renfrew County Paramedic Service included opening a mobile testing site at the Canadian Tire Centre to support 2,700 Ottawa residents and save on PPE, creating a pre-swab swipe system for health cards to maximize speed and efficiency at testing sites, and pioneering a drone delivery service for defibrillator units, which completes deliveries seven minutes faster than an ambulance would.
“All that on top of their own worries and their own stuff they have to deal with as human beings. You know, they have families too,” Sidney reminds us. “Living in Renfrew County, it’s very easy to be proud of the paramedic services for what they’ve done and how they continue to handle everything that’s being thrown at them.”
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Photo Credits: Renfrew County Paramedic Service
Victoria St. Michael is a multimedia content creator with experience producing high-quality print and digital content. Victoria graduated with an Honours Degree in Digital Journalism from the University of Ottawa and a Journalism Diploma from Algonquin College, and has bylines in publications across North America. With an avid interest in humanitarian and global issues, she hopes to use her unique voice to help build a well-informed, forward thinking and progressive Canada.