Community paramedics
Peel Region community paramedics aim to reduce 911 calls and emergency room visits. We provide in-home care and assessments to help clients understand and manage their health.
What we do
Community paramedics are skilled in managing long-term health conditions and addressing issues that affect older adults. Our team receives additional training and continuous education to provide our clients with the highest level of care.
Our role during COVID-19
Peel paramedics took on a bigger role during the COVID-19 pandemic. In spring 2020, community paramedics worked with Peel Public Health to provide COVID-19 testing at:
- Homeless shelters.
- COVID-19 hotspots.
- Long-term care and retirement homes.
We completed 13,000 COVID-19 tests in 8 months to help stop the spread of infection. We also provided medical care to shelter residents recovering from COVID-19 at Peel’s isolation site.
In fall 2020, we started in-home testing for residents with symptoms of COVID-19 who could not access a testing centre.
We also helped with vaccinations at long-term care centres, retirement homes, and Peel Public Health vaccine clinics.
Community paramedics run wellness clinics for seniors living at Peel Living buildings.
At these clinics, we:
- Provide basic health checkups like blood pressure and blood sugar.
- Assess chronic health risks.
- Teach residents how to manage their health issues.
- Connect residents to health care and community resources.
- Help them navigate health care systems.
Our clinic locations are:
- 111 Agnes Street, Mississauga
- 2440 Truscott Drive, Mississauga
- 2550 South Millway, Mississauga
- 4 Caroline Street, Mississauga
- 35 Stavebank Road, Mississauga
- 177 Dundas Street West, Mississauga
- 1 Knightsbridge Road, Brampton
CP@Clinic program
Our clinics are partnered with McMaster University’s Department of Family Medicine CP@Clinic program. This program aims to improve seniors’ health and quality of life and help them connect better with primary care and other community resources.
Our community paramedics have also completed a course from McMaster University, including training in chronic disease management and the social determinants of health.
Since 2019, our CP@Clinic’s have:
- Connected residents with family doctors, personal support workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, TransHelp, seniors’ services, and more.
- Worked with family doctors to create care plans.
- Introduced resources and helpful information on healthy eating and better lifestyle choices.
- Administered COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
Community paramedics provide home visits under programs like High Intensity Support at Home and Community Paramedic Long-Term Care.
Community paramedics offer in-home medical support to clients who:
- Need help at home after being discharged from the hospital.
- Are on the wait list for a long-term care centre or are eligible for long-term care.
- Have chronic health conditions.
Clients are referred to us by paramedics, community partners, Peel Regional Police, or hospital staff.
Our community paramedics work in partnership with Trillium Health Partners' virtual Acute Internal Medicine Clinic for consultations.
Treatments and procedures
Our community paramedics can:
- Perform blood and urine tests.
- Administer steroids and bronchodilators for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Administer antibiotics for urinary tract infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Administer diuretics for heart failure.
- Administer laxatives and enemas.
- Perform intravenous (IV) and fluid therapy.
- Conduct bladder scans.
We can also refer clients for additional tests and specialist care.
Our medical team
We provide high-quality care and support to our patients. Our medical team includes:
- Medical Director - Dr. Sudip Saha, William Osler Health System.
- Clinical oversight - Dr. Neil Dattani, William Osler Health System and Dr. Deana Hathout, Trillium Health Partners.
Benefits of our service
By offering convenient at-home care, our Community Paramedics team helps to:
- Prevent emergency room visits.
- Keep clients safely at home as long as possible.
- Improve clients’ quality of life.
If you are not a physician or community partner, do not contact us directly.
You can be referred to us only by paramedics, community partners, Peel Regional Police, physicians, or hospital staff.
Physicians, nurses, and other medical practitioners at Trillium Health Partners must use their internal Epic pathway system to refer clients to us.
For more information about the community paramedic program, physicians and community partners can email us or call 905-791-7800 ext. 2739