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Huron Expositor, 2013-11-27, Page 66 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, November 27, 2013 Consultant recommends sweeping changes to county EMS Establishment of bases in Seaforth, Clinton Paul Cluff QMI Agency Sweeping changes have been proposed to Huron County's EMS including establishing bases in Clin- ton and Seaforth and removing two of the coun- ty's fleet of rapid response vehicles. Consultant Daryl Cully's recommendations, reviewed at the Wednesday, Nov. 20 county council meeting, come after months of consultations with stake- holders, including one -on - on meetings with councillors. The review was recom- mended by George Cuff - a consultant hired to examine overall county operations and ways to improve them. Huron EMS operates within or close to budget and response times are good for the most part, said Cully, who reviewed statis- tics, budgets and staff work- loads for his report. Huron EMS was rated above aver- age in its last review by the Ministry of Health, which sets standards for upper tier municipalities. Cully's report touched on everything from operational issues to staff morale to what the county council focus should be when it comes to EMS. Cully recommended base changes: establishing loca- tions in Seaforth and Clin- ton, converting Tucker - smith to an administration base and moving the St. Joseph post to Zurich. "Vehicles should be where the calls are occur- ring," he said, referring to his data. Cully said Huron EMS have the lowest response goal/targets in southwest- ern and eastern Ontario. According to data, for the most critical calls, Huron EMS responds within eight minutes 51 per cent of the time. Eight minutes is the pro- vincial response time stand- ard - the time the para- medic crew is notified until they arrive on scene. The base set-up recom- mended by Cully would ensure critical calls are reached in the quickest time, he said. The alignment is an end - around from a previous consultant's findings, though requirements have changed over the years, including response time targets. Cully suggested eliminat- ing a policy of refurbishing vehicles in favour of buying new. Refurbishing hasn't proven to save money long- term, he said. He also sug- gested buying SUVs and phasing out the use of pick- up trucks and equipping EMS vehicles with snow tires by year's end. There is no data to sug- gest usage of rapid response vehicles has helped with response times and sug- gested removing two from the fleet and staffing an additional ambulance over a 12 -hour period. In a list of overall recom- mendations, Cully said EMS management should be more inclusive of paramed- ics in overall decision-mak- ing. Action should be taken on minor decisions and not left for council to decide when already approved by budget, he added. Cully found a disconnect between county council, EMS management and Huron County council met Wednesday, Nov. 20. paramedics. He suggested the chief and deputy chief dedicate more time to sta- tion visits for meetings with paramedics, so concerns don't fester. Paramedics have expressed concern with the loss of the 24-hour shift, and single staffing of rapid response vehicles. He also noted a staff concern about frequent movement from location to location in the county, essentially to have EMS on the ready. It leads to staff sitting for extended periods, away from bases, to cover off the county. More than two-thirds of call volume is vehicle move- ments, Cully said. "One of the reasons we are here is staff morale." He suggested county council focus on strategic levels and not operational issues or paramedic operational concerns, though he noted that EMS shortages should be reported on a monthly basis to the CAO. Cully said it is important to let the community know what is going well with its EMS, suggesting there is a lot of misinformation in the community that could be clarified by an annual report. The consultant's EMS review contract with the county, approved in June, was for $35,980. Council went into closed session after Cully's presentation. Afterwards, they agreed to receive the information as presented. "I think the general feeling is there needs to be some improvement, but we have been exceeding some standards across the province," said Coun. Deb Shewfelt, the Mayor of Goderich. Shewfelt hesitated to say when and if changes could be made, but he hopes they would come at budget time and after long conversations. "We started to make changes and I think sometimes changes result in other changes. We needed a total review of how we are operating. It's a moving target, a growing target. We need to take (EMS services) to the next level." Fall rally held at St. Mary's Presbyterian Church On November 4th, the fall rally of Huron -Perth Presby- terial was held at St. Mary's Presbyterian Church. On arrival, forty one members were welcomed with coffee and muffins by the Goderich Arthur Circle W.M.S. Willy Drost, president of St. Mary's Friendship Auxiliary W.M.S. was M.C. for the day, and introduced Rev. Gwen Ament, minister, who brought greetings to those gathered. A short service of worship was followed by Lil- lian Rowe, who told us about her trip to Uganda where she visited a Baby Respite Centre - a very touching story indeed. Ethel Corry gave a short review of new books available and a brown bag lunch was enjoyed. The after- noon session began with a sing -song of favourite hymns, let by Shirley Aitcheson, with Lois Kipfer on the piano. The afternoon speaker, Nancy Vermond, was introduced by Barb Tubb. Nancy spoke of the organisa- tion 'Grandmothers to Grandmothers' dedicated to raising funds to assist grand- mothers in African countries devastated by AIDS, who have taken on the responsi- bility of raising their grand- children since the parents are deceased. Anyone who is a grandparent can imagine how difficult this would be, especially when dire poverty is a fact of daily life. Greetings were brought by Mary Jane Bisset, Regional Staff for Education & Leader- ship Development for Synod, South Western Ontario. Offering was received & ded- icated, and roll call was taken. Treasurer's report, Regis- tration report and announce- ments were made. The very interesting day ended with courtesies made and a dos- ing prayer, offered by Willy Drost. t 'Now 4-11-1 411 0 .'1 e You are invited to attend these area churches ST. THOMAS CHURCH ST. JAMES ROMAN 21Jarvis St. Seaforth CATHOLIC CHURCH Rector The Rev. Karine Farmer WELCOMES YOU Rectory 519-482-9071 Church Office 519-527-1522 14 Victoria Street, Seaforth Sunday December 1st 519-345-2972 First Sunday of Advent Sun. Mass 11 a.m. Worship at 9.30 am Bring a new gift for a child ST. PATRICK'S, DUBLIN Bring fresh greenery for Advent Wreath Sat. Mass 5 p.m. ACW lunch Tues. Dec. 3 at noon at Seaforth Golf Course Sun. Mass 9 a.m. Everyone Welcome FR. CHRIS GILLESPIE BETHEL BIBLE CHURCH EGIVIONDVILLE An Associated Gospel Church UNITED CHURCH 126 Main St. Seaforth 519-527-0982 Pastor Mark Kennedy Pastor Steve Hildebrand Sunday School for all ages 9:45-10:45 Youth Coordinator - Laura Nakamura SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 11 a.m. 1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Wednesday Evenings WORSHIP DEC. 1ST, 11 A.M. • Youth Groups - Junior & Senior High 6:30 to 9 p.m. Youth Sunday School at 11 a.m. • Boys & Girls Club JK to Gr. 6 Adults @ 10 a.m. 7 - 8:15 p.m. Everyone is Welcome • Adult Bible Study 7 p.m. Website: 5.- EVERYONE WELCOME www.egmondvilleunitedchurch.com NORTHSIDE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH UNITED CHURCH 59 Goderich St. W. Seaforth MINISTER MARY FLETCHER 519-527-0170 Welcomes you Rev. Linda Moffatt Sunday Dec. 1st Lorrie Baker - Organist 1st Sunday of Advent Holy Communion and Worship White Gift Sunday Sunday Dec 1st You are welcome to worship with us! Communion and 54 Goderich St. W. White Gift Sunday 66. 519-527-1449 § www.cavannorthsideunited.ca',Mg IBI Sunday Office School & Nursery Provided. Hours Wed. 9 a.m. - noon. have the lowest response goal/targets in southwest- ern and eastern Ontario. According to data, for the most critical calls, Huron EMS responds within eight minutes 51 per cent of the time. Eight minutes is the pro- vincial response time stand- ard - the time the para- medic crew is notified until they arrive on scene. The base set-up recom- mended by Cully would ensure critical calls are reached in the quickest time, he said. The alignment is an end - around from a previous consultant's findings, though requirements have changed over the years, including response time targets. Cully suggested eliminat- ing a policy of refurbishing vehicles in favour of buying new. Refurbishing hasn't proven to save money long- term, he said. He also sug- gested buying SUVs and phasing out the use of pick- up trucks and equipping EMS vehicles with snow tires by year's end. There is no data to sug- gest usage of rapid response vehicles has helped with response times and sug- gested removing two from the fleet and staffing an additional ambulance over a 12 -hour period. In a list of overall recom- mendations, Cully said EMS management should be more inclusive of paramed- ics in overall decision-mak- ing. Action should be taken on minor decisions and not left for council to decide when already approved by budget, he added. Cully found a disconnect between county council, EMS management and Huron County council met Wednesday, Nov. 20. paramedics. He suggested the chief and deputy chief dedicate more time to sta- tion visits for meetings with paramedics, so concerns don't fester. Paramedics have expressed concern with the loss of the 24-hour shift, and single staffing of rapid response vehicles. He also noted a staff concern about frequent movement from location to location in the county, essentially to have EMS on the ready. It leads to staff sitting for extended periods, away from bases, to cover off the county. More than two-thirds of call volume is vehicle move- ments, Cully said. "One of the reasons we are here is staff morale." He suggested county council focus on strategic levels and not operational issues or paramedic operational concerns, though he noted that EMS shortages should be reported on a monthly basis to the CAO. Cully said it is important to let the community know what is going well with its EMS, suggesting there is a lot of misinformation in the community that could be clarified by an annual report. The consultant's EMS review contract with the county, approved in June, was for $35,980. Council went into closed session after Cully's presentation. Afterwards, they agreed to receive the information as presented. "I think the general feeling is there needs to be some improvement, but we have been exceeding some standards across the province," said Coun. Deb Shewfelt, the Mayor of Goderich. Shewfelt hesitated to say when and if changes could be made, but he hopes they would come at budget time and after long conversations. "We started to make changes and I think sometimes changes result in other changes. We needed a total review of how we are operating. It's a moving target, a growing target. We need to take (EMS services) to the next level." Fall rally held at St. Mary's Presbyterian Church On November 4th, the fall rally of Huron -Perth Presby- terial was held at St. Mary's Presbyterian Church. On arrival, forty one members were welcomed with coffee and muffins by the Goderich Arthur Circle W.M.S. Willy Drost, president of St. Mary's Friendship Auxiliary W.M.S. was M.C. for the day, and introduced Rev. Gwen Ament, minister, who brought greetings to those gathered. A short service of worship was followed by Lil- lian Rowe, who told us about her trip to Uganda where she visited a Baby Respite Centre - a very touching story indeed. Ethel Corry gave a short review of new books available and a brown bag lunch was enjoyed. The after- noon session began with a sing -song of favourite hymns, let by Shirley Aitcheson, with Lois Kipfer on the piano. The afternoon speaker, Nancy Vermond, was introduced by Barb Tubb. Nancy spoke of the organisa- tion 'Grandmothers to Grandmothers' dedicated to raising funds to assist grand- mothers in African countries devastated by AIDS, who have taken on the responsi- bility of raising their grand- children since the parents are deceased. Anyone who is a grandparent can imagine how difficult this would be, especially when dire poverty is a fact of daily life. Greetings were brought by Mary Jane Bisset, Regional Staff for Education & Leader- ship Development for Synod, South Western Ontario. Offering was received & ded- icated, and roll call was taken. Treasurer's report, Regis- tration report and announce- ments were made. The very interesting day ended with courtesies made and a dos- ing prayer, offered by Willy Drost.