Community paramedics bring care to patients

“It makes the patient more comfortable.” So says Sue Caulder of Fort Macleod, referring to the in-home care her husband Frank receives through Alberta Health Services’ Community Paramedic Program. Available in eight communities across the province, specially trained paramedics visit patients where they live and perform diagnostics and procedures that would normally be done in a hospital. “It’s very rewarding,” says Holly Wright, a community paramedic in Lethbridge. “We spend much more time with the patient; we do much a more thorough assessment; we consult with family, the site staff, physicians, home care, lab, diagnostics. So you come up with a treatment plan and then you implement that treatment plan for that patient.” The Community Paramedic Program is one way AHS is delivering more community-based care.