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Celebrating the Faces of Paramedicine

Paramedic Services Week is May 22 to 28.

Paramedics play a vital role in our community. In honour of Paramedic Services Week, were highlighting some of the members of Peel Regional Paramedic Services.

Meet Katie, Primary Care Paramedic

Katie, Primary Care Paramedic

Katie, Primary Care Paramedic

Katie has been a Peel Paramedic for 18 years. Having a good partner to depend on has allowed her to deliver the care the Peel community needs.

As we celebrate Paramedic Services Week, we're thankful for Katie and all the other faces of paramedicine.

Watch Katie's story

Meet Alexis, Community Paramedic

Peel Paramedic Alexis Boston won't arrive at your home when you call 911.

But she might arrive before you call.

As one of Peel Region's Community Paramedics, Alexis spends her days helping residents in their homes. Her goal is to pinpoint potential emergency situations and prevent them from happening.

"We want to keep people out of the hospital and at home safely for as long as possible," says Alexis.

Peel Paramedics

Alexis, Community Paramedic

The Community Paramedic team achieves this by:

"Recently, a middle-aged man was discharged from the hospital," says Alexis. "He was recovering from a stroke and had major cognitive deficits and weakness on one side. We introduced exercises and put supports in place, such as an occupational therapist. We also gave him brain teasers to help him regain his cognitive skills. Today, his memory has improved, and his strength is increasing."

Addressing the needs of residents in a proactive way and empowering them to take charge of their own health are what Alexis finds most rewarding about her job.

The only downside?

"We develop such strong relationships with our clients," she says. "If all goes well and we've done our job, they end up not needing us anymore. We're happy for them, but its also bittersweet breaking those ties."

To find out more about the community paramedicine program, email communityparamedicine@peelregion.ca

Meet Tony, Tactical Paramedic

Tony, Tactical Paramedic

Tony, Tactical Paramedic

While all paramedics have an intense job, tactical paramedics takes it to a whole new level.

They support the police in situations or scenarios that are deemed unsafe such as active crime scenes. While working in tandem with the police, tactical paramedics helps victim(s) while trusting the officer to keep them safe. Being a tactical paramedic, Tony Tiberia is conscious of how critical his role is.

"As a paramedic, you need to be a critical thinker. As a tactical paramedic, if in the moment you don't address the situation right away, there may be a negative outcome." Tony is now going into his 12th year on the team. Becoming a tactical paramedic takes on extra responsibility which includes plenty of training involving physical tests, obstacle courses, simulation training, interviews and a mentorship.

"What drew me to it was how it was a different element from just being a regular paramedic. It involves a whole different skillset where I know my role and feel confident in it."

The team is currently comprised of 16 paramedics, two supervisors and one commander. Such a small team creates a sense of comradery and even family among the group.

"We are a pretty tight-knit group. When you start as a tactical paramedic, you learn with the same group of people. Then there is constant training and team building. You ride on the same truck with the same person, and you really get to know them well as a two-person team, but you get to know the larger team well because you are constantly training with them."

Paramedics play a key part in keeping the community safe in times of need, a factor that inspires Tony on the job each and every day.

"I take pride in serving the community. You are there to stop hurt, pain or suffering. You need to take pride in that or else you are not going to be good at your job."

Meet Geenard, Logistics technician

Geenard, Logistics technician

Geenard, Logistics technician

Geenard is a logistics technician (LT) with Peel paramedics. LTs work 24/7 to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. Geenard cleans, disinfects, and restocks ambulances so paramedics have all they need for each emergency.

As we celebrate Paramedic Services Week, we're thankful for Katie and all the other faces of paramedicine.

Watch Geenard's story

Meet Paul, Community Safety Program Specialist

Ask Paul Snobelen to describe his job in 10 words and he'll say he "gets more people to do more things before paramedics arrive".

Paul's main goal, as Community Safety Program Specialist, is to increase your chance of surviving a cardiac arrest

He achieves this by connecting people willing to help with people who need help.

"When someone's in cardiac arrest, performing CPR and using an AED in the first few minutes is critically important," says Paul. "Empowering people to take action before paramedics arrive can save more lives in Peel."

For years, Paul has managed Peel Region's Public Access Defibrillator program, placing hundreds of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in our communities. If someone uses one in an emergency, he then supports them to understand what took place.

"I want everyone to know their actions matter, regardless of the outcome," says Paul.

More recently, Paul has teamed up with Sunnybrook Hospital to explore how technology can help make more life-saving connections.

The Volunteer Community Responder pilot program uses a mobile phone app. and a network of trained volunteers to help in cardiac emergencies.

"When someone's in cardiac distress and we know there's a volunteer nearby, we send an alert to their phone and ask if they can start CPR right away," explains Paul.

Paul, Community Safety Program Specialist

Paul, Community Safety Program Specialist

This pilot program is showing promise in Peels cities. But for our rural neighbourhoods, the team is piloting a different technology to achieve the same result.

"We're working towards putting an AED onto a drone and flying it to where the cardiac arrest is taking place," says Paul. "We'll then drop off the AED, and through 2-way audio and video communication, well coach someone to give CPR or other life-saving measures before paramedics arrive."

All these initiatives add another layer of safety to our communities, targeting gaps that cant be filled by paramedics alone.

Thanks to Paul, and the hundreds of residents willing to help, Peel is a safer and better place to live.

Are you willing to help in an emergency? Here's what you can do: