Canmore’s fire department will remain the only stand-alone department in Alberta capable of providing advanced life support response when called upon to respond to medical emergencies.
The debate over what level of service to provide – either advanced (ALS) or basic life support, which is what other stand-alone fire departments offer – dates back three years to when the municipality divested from providing EMS services to Alberta Health Services (AHS) after it took over providing ambulances in the year prior.
While some integrated fire-EMS services in the province are capable of providing advanced life support, Canmore is the only fire department that does and it is working, according to Fire Chief Todd Sikorsky.
Sikorsky told council on Tuesday (June 16) that the past three-year pilot for first response service levels has involved a lot of work with external stakeholders and the department’s medical director.
“We are here in front of you as that working group to say what should be our next steps,” he said. “This is the right size fit for Canmore, the right place, time, people and gear.”
Sikorsky recommended adopting ALS as the standard for Canmore’s first response when it is capable. That means when full-time staff on duty are paramedics they can provide a higher level of care than when an EMT or EMR responds. Over the past three years, Canmore’s fire department has been ALS capable 82 per cent of the time.
“This is the only advanced life support medical first response program in the province,” said Don Allen with AHS. “It was really a good fit, it was well timed as the transition went from Canmore Fire-EMS over to AHS and a number of your staff were trained at the ALS level.”
Council voted unanimously to approve the advanced life support response program, noting the increased service level for the area works well in combination with AHS providing EMS to the region.
“I think the three years of the pilot program has shown the value of this,” said Mayor John Borrowman. “I can’t see any downside and see nothing but positives out of this approach.”
Councillor Sean Krausert said the decision to support the program was an easy one for him.
“This is about giving the best possible response to our residents in a time of need and about potentially saving lives,” he said.
Coun. Joanna McCallum noted other areas of the province that are similarly isolated as the valley are envious of what Canmore offers in terms of this service.
“I have been a big fan of providing ALS services in town and I know this has been a long road and I appreciate all the data you have provided,” she said.
Over the past three years, Sikorsky said, there were 2,652 calls for EMS through the 911 system and of those Canmore Fire-Rescue attended 677. There is a variety of reasons for Canmore to attend including to provide lift assistance, more manpower, first response when no ambulance is readily available and if the call is of a serious nature.
“Of those 677 calls, 49 occurred when no EMS resource was readily available in the town of Canmore,” Sikorsky said. “Of those 49 calls, six were of an advanced life support nature.
“We cannot positively say that advanced life support made a big difference, but we can say that for the six members of the public that did see an ALS response, their care was advanced – whether that was a life saving difference or comfort difference, we don’t want to get into that.”
He told council the additional cost for the added level of care is $7,040 and includes additional medical supplies and medications needed, along with the cost of having a medical director. The additional training costs are $400 every three years for the five staff members that require recertification on specific ALS skills.
The costs of having additional qualifications for firefighters is not part of the collective agreement between the union representing them and the municipality, Sikorsky added.
However, one of the weaknesses of the program is that Canmore is not reimbursed by the province for providing the service. Even with that factor in play, Sikorsky said the program is sustainable.
“One of the worst fears we have is a citizen waiting (for an ambulance to respond),” he said. “Instead of waiting for that resource, that is where we can fill that gap and start medical care and patient assessment.”
