With ever-increasing calls for service, County of Simcoe Paramedic Services (CSPS) needs to find a way to keep up, and improving and expanding its facilities, response time as well as providing access to at-home care are a few ways of doing that, county councillors were told Tuesday.
Councillors received several updates from staff during the Nov. 26 committee of the whole meeting, including the status of current facilities and ongoing projects.
Included in a report were progress highlights about the "operationalization" of the Barrie-Simcoe Emergency Campus, the completion of a new station in Bradford, ongoing construction of the Springwater South post in Midhurst, and active planning for new stations in Waubaushene, Severn and Wasaga Beach, as well as three additional posts within Barrie.
Sarah Mills, director and chief of paramedic services, noted that, in partnership with Operational Research in Health (ORH), staff are in the development phase and are in the midst of evaluating the impacts of station locations on overall performance. They will be filling county council in on their findings in the coming months.
As part of the facility plan, new paramedic stations have been built in Stayner, Alliston, Beeton, Orillia, Collingwood and Elmvale, in addition to the Barrie-Simcoe Emergency Services Campus operational hub that opened in 2020 on Fairview Road.
As part of that plan, Mills said staff looked at moving from leases to owned properties, and purchased stations in Midland and Angus. Paramedic posts have been established in Everett, Alcona, Tottenham, Horseshoe Valley, Brechin and Perkinsfield.
The new Springwater South post will replace a larger leased space with a smaller two-bay paramedic post, Mills explained in the report, therefore aligning with the "hub-and-spoke" model. Construction on that facility, located on Snow Valley Road, just outside of Barrie, is underway and there is a target opening of July 2025.
The configuration and location of a current leased facility in Coldwater has been deemed “unsuitable” for meeting the call demand and projected growth in Severn Township and the surrounding area. It has been recommended the post be relocated to Waubaushene.
If county council approves the department’s 2025 budget, CSPS will begin construction of a station there to better meet the needs of the community, noted Mills.
Paramedicine
Councillors also received an update Tuesday on the county’s community paramedicine program, which is aimed at "enhancing health outcomes" for the region's vulnerable population.
The report says the comprehensive approach currently encompasses five areas that include: the vulnerable population wellness clinics; community paramedic home visit program; community alternative response engagement (CARE) pilot; 911 referral program; and the paramedic patient follow-up program.
The community paramedic programs deliver “proactive and compassionate care, addressing the unique needs of our community's most vulnerable members that helps prevent deterioration in health conditions requiring emergency response and acute care," the report states.
“By fostering strong relationships and providing tailored support, we are committed to enhancing health outcomes and ensuring that every individual receives the comprehensive care they deserve,” wrote Mills.
The community paramedicine wellness clinic program is dedicated to delivering essential health services to vulnerable populations across the county, particularly those residing in homeless shelters and social housing buildings. It offers wellness checks, vital-sign monitoring, as well as support through collaborations with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), primary care practitioners and pharmacists.
“Since the inception, our clinics have provided services to 2,053 unique patients, demonstrating the ongoing demand and impact of these community-based healthcare initiatives," Mills noted. "In 2024, our team provided 2,375 patient assessments in the social housing locations and 766 patient interactions in shelters and transitional housing locations."
The community paramedic home visit program serves 850 rostered clients and has provided more than 4,000 in-home visits, county councillors were told.
The community alternative response engagement (CARE) pilot project, which was launched recently in collaboration with the CMHA and Barrie city police, provides a specialized, non-police response for people experiencing mental health and addiction crises.
This program is aimed at reducing emergency department visits and limiting interactions with the criminal justice system by offering timely, community-based interventions tailored to non-emergent, non-violent mental health and addiction situations, states the report.
The CARE team, Mills explained, operates under a "treat-and-refer" model, deploying a community paramedic and CMHA crisis intervention worker trained in de-escalation, mental health assessments, overdose response and community referrals.
“This alternative response provides the right care, by the right provider, in the right setting allowing more appropriate deployment of paramedics and police to respond to higher acuity and more appropriate calls,” Mills said.
“In the program's initial few weeks of operation, the team has interacted with seven to 10 patients a week," she added. "We have found success facilitating and referring individuals into CMHA’s Justice Safe beds, preventing unnecessary trips to the emergency department, preventing transport ambulance response and reducing officer involvement in non-criminal mental health and addiction situations.”
Beginning early next year, Mills said all paramedic staff will complete the 'mental health model of care' training, which will enable them to refer select 911 patients directly to the CARE team in addition to police dispatch, as well as provide other options, such as transporting the patient to alternate destinations, including crisis beds and withdrawal management services.
Council also heard an update on the county’s 911 referral program, described as a “proactive initiative where paramedics access patients' health and social needs in the field to identify unmet needs." In turn, a community paramedicine patient navigator connects those patients to essential resources.
“This program aims to enhance patients' independence and their ability to thrive at home while decreasing unnecessary 911 calls," Mills said in her report. "In 2024, our paramedics identified 970 instances of patients who could benefit from additional support at home."
The patient navigator facilitated 1,972 referrals to various services, she added.
Common referrals include Ontario Health at Home, 211 and Alzheimer Society Simcoe County, as well as CMHA and the county’s community paramedicine home visit program.
