Emergency Medical Services, or EMS, is a critical component to small town rural living.

There is at least one unit (ambulance) in each small town along the north shore operating under the EMS banner. In an emergency this service is required to transport patients a hospital. The towns of Marathon, Terrace Bay and Nipigon have small hospitals but often more serious cases need to get patients to Thunder Bay Regional Sciences Health Centre for treatment. With the vast distances between towns and extreme weather conditions the trip can take hours and that is if an ambulance is even available. The many accidents along Highway 17 can result in no paramedic ambulance services at all.

Having one in each town at least gives some comfort but what happens when that service is not available. Who decides on how this resource is used? How is it funded? Who is in charge of our health and safety when it comes to emergency medical services?

During the past few weeks there have been rumours floating around of possible cuts to these services in most areas. With all the focus on EMS lately it was time to get more information on what the EMS actually is and how it operates.

The Superior North Emergency Medical Service is managed by the city of Thunder Bay and operates 19 stations throughout the district with a staff of over 200 which includes 190 paramedics and 20 administrative staff.

Kim Krause from the Schreiber Media Centre contacted Wayne Gates, the Chief of EMS, to discuss the role of emergency services in our rural area. The initial statistics support the argument for the need of EMS in communities. !9, stations, 46 vehicles, 36,000 calls per year and climbing, and covering an area of over 100,000 square kilometres serving a population base of over 150,000! Quite a lot of responsibility and a costly one as well.

Various social issues also affect the need for ambulance services as drugs, alcohol, domestic abuse and crime are on the increase in general and more so during the recent pandemic.

Ironically the city of Thunder Bay has seen a reduction in population over the years but the need for EMS has increased substantially. Historically the provincial Ministry of Health had been responsible for emergency ambulance services with some units actually being privately owned. Originally the District Services Board was given the responsibility of managing EMS, but in Thunder Bay district the city was given that role, as it was understood that the city would be contributing the largest portion of funding.

The cost of this service last year was just over 27 million dollars with the province of Ontario contributing 50%, Thunder Bay pays 40% of the balance and other municipalities in the areas pay various amounts per year based on a formula of population, needs and history. 

Chief Gates went on to explain that most of the facilities are in dire need of upgrades. He then provided information on the job requirements of paramedics and the challenges involved with finding staff to work in the field. Chief Gates was very forthcoming and refreshing with all the insight he provided on how stressful the job can be and praised the people who take up the call in providing such a vital service to our communities.