September 24, 2007
PROVINCE TO PROVIDE MORE THAN $1.3 MILLION TO MEET GROWING DEMANDS FOR SKILLED EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE PERSONNEL
The province will invest more than $1.3 million and partner with Red River College to develop and deliver a primary-care paramedic program at the college’s main campus and at three rural and northern sites throughout the province, Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced today.
The intensive 12-month program will help meet the growing demand for emergency medical service personnel in rural and northern Manitoba.
“Emergency medical services are fundamental to our health-care system. Paramedics are often the first point of contact when facing a health-care emergency,” said Oswald. “This new program and our continued health-care investments in rural and northern Manitoba will help to ensure more Manitobans are getting the quality health care they need closer to home.”
The three northern and rural sites will operate on a rotating basis with eight students at each site. The Winnipeg location will serve 16 students.
“Our partnership with Red River College will allow northern and rural students who want to enter this exciting and important field to learn close to their home communities,” said Advanced Education and Literacy Minister Diane McGifford.
The new primary-care paramedic program is expected to educate approximately 40 primary-care paramedics every year, providing students with the foundation to deliver advanced level of
pre-hospital patient care. This will ensure paramedics are prepared to provide patients with more complex cases including intravenous treatments and providing lifesaving drugs.
pre-hospital patient care. This will ensure paramedics are prepared to provide patients with more complex cases including intravenous treatments and providing lifesaving drugs.
“Red River College is excited to expand our program mix by offering paramedic training, which will complement many of our existing health-care programs,” said Ken Webb, vice-president, academic and research. “This is another example of how RRC works closely with the province and employers to help meet critical labour demands in Manitoba.”
The advanced-level training will give the graduates highly-developed skills required to help other health-care providers in primary health-care settings, particularly in rural and more remote areas of the province.
“The education of emergency medical services personnel will indeed help regional health authorities in their efforts to provide high-quality, pre-hospital patient-care services to those in need,” said Randy Lock, executive director of the Regional Health Authorities of Manitoba. “We look forward to working with the province, Red River College and other stakeholders as the primary-care paramedic program is developed and delivered.”
In 2001, the province introduced the medical student/residential financial assistance program, a grant program to provide medical students with financial support for their education in return for promising to practice in Manitoba. Building on that innovative and successful retention initiative, the province will also be investing $100,000 to provide paramedic students with financial support for their education in return for a promise to provide emergency medical services in rural and northern areas of the province.
Since 1999, the Manitoba government has made significant investments in emergency medical services including:
· developing the $7.8 million Medical Transportation Co-ordination Centre in Brandon;
· investing $6.5 million to replace an air ambulance jet in the Lifeflight program which provides
life-saving transport each year to more than 500 people living in dozens of remote communities;
life-saving transport each year to more than 500 people living in dozens of remote communities;
· investing more than $4.6 million to construct or substantially upgrade 16 emergency medical stations in communities including Kinnesota Trails, Morden/Winkler, Oak Bluff, Carmen, The Pas, Killarney, Swan River, Minnedosa, Rivers, Ste. Anne, Gypsumville, The Pas, Steinbach, Lundar, Ashern and Dauphin;
· providing an estimated $7 million each year to fund the full patient cost of inter-facility transports; and
· investing more than $15 million in a fleet vehicle program including the purchasing of 160 new ambulances.
Work is already underway to develop a curriculum for the new program, which is anticipated to begin in September 2008.
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