25 March 2024
By Tom Sasvari - January 12, 2022
Little Current to gain an additional paramedic
MANITOULIN – The Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board (DSB) has received some very good news from the province in terms of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory and a second paramedic ambulance in the community.
“We have received approval from the province of Ontario for a second ambulance at the Wiikwemkoong ambulance station,” said Fern Dominelli, CAO of DSB, on Thursday of last week. “The province has agreed to provide 100 percent permanent funding for this. And in our (DSB) 2022 budget, we had approved this paramedic response for the Little Current base for 12 hours during the day once the second ambulance in Wiikwemkoong was approved and the paramedic response unit could be moved from Wiikwemkoong to Little Current.”
Mr. Dominelli explained, “right now, 24-hour ambulance service is provided in Wiikwemkoong, with two paramedic ambulance crews that work on a 24/7 basis (12 hours each). On top of that, one paramedic response unit with one paramedic is going to be converted to a second ambulance with two paramedics.”
“Based on the call volumes, we have been talking for a while about the need for a second ambulance in Wiikwemkoong,” said Mr. Dominelli. “Within the next month, two ambulances will be on duty 12 hours during the day each, with one at night and one paramedic response unit being moved to Little Current.”
“The target date of January 9 has been set to begin this,” said Mr. Dominelli. “There will also be a third (backup) ambulance in Wiikwemkoong so we are going to have to modify the ambulance station there to accommodate this additional vehicle.”