Page 38 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 106

38 Issue #106 November 2021 www.sportsenergynews.com

Cakes & MORE ...Simply Delicious!
• Custom Cakes
• Fresh Baked Goods
• Sandwich & Dessert Platters
• Don’t forget our lunches to go!
EASTCOURT MALL
2nd Street, Cornwall • 613-936-6069

911 Checking In with Our First Responders

Cornwall Fire Services

with Chief Jeff Weber

Winter is coming.

We talk a lot about fire safety in this column, but I’d like to take a moment to talk about ice and snow.
Cornwall Fire Services responds to ice and water rescue calls, and to vehicle collisions. Here are a few things we’d like you to
keep in mind as the weather gets colder.
No ice is safe ice: if you’re venturing onto the water this winter, remember that conditions on all ice can change in an instant. Clear
blue ice is the strongest, white opaque or snow ice is half as strong, and grey ice is unsafe.
Drive according to weather conditions. If bad weather is in the forecast, drive more slowly, and leave more space between you and the
vehicle in front of you. Keep an emergency kit in your car.
Be thorough when you shovel snow: ensure all entries/exits at your home are cleared of snow to ensure you can get out in case of fire. Make sure windows
aren’t frozen – you may need to use these to escape.
One more note – City staff regularly remove snow and snowbanks from around fire hydrants. With thousands of hydrants in our city, this can take some
time. If you’re able and willing, consider adopting the hydrant closest to your home. Shovel or snow-blow around it regularly. This will be a huge help to
the fire department in case of fire.
Thank you for doing your part to stay safe this winter!

Cornwall SDG Paramedic Services

By Wayne Markell

Deputy Chief Cornwall SDG Paramedic Services

In a Heartbeat - “Planning”

A major component of what we do in the management sector of the Paramedic Service, is planning - planning for next year and the
next decade. To do so with any accuracy and benefit to the product that we offer our main end user, our patients, requires a multi-
faceted, complex, and layered assessment.
A myriad of questions affects our assessment and planning: • How best do we integrate our planning with our other
• What will be our staffing needs? Vehicle replacement healthcare partners with the expansion of homecare initiatives, palliative
cycles? What will be the required amounts of medical supplies, linens, fuel, care initiatives, stroke and cardiac care initiatives, pandemic response?
uniforms, PPE, and other safety equipment?
This needs to be completed annually, 6 - 18 months ahead of time at a
• What is the required number of transport vehicles per shift? minimum, to garner budgetary approvals prior to implementation in any one
• What are the emerging trends in call type and volumes? Are year. It informs our 5–10-year plan, designed to assist in building financial
they increasing, stagnant, or decreasing? Will that occur here?
reserves to offset tax-payer exposures in any single year.
• What trends are affecting our resource availability? (i.e.,
delays at hospitals, added time-on-task, added scope of paramedic practice, As you can imagine, these plans are often altered due to events or issues that
were not considered when that planning was undertaken (i.e., severe supply
population demographics across our region, etc.).
• What advancements are coming in pre-hospital care chain disruptions due to a world-wide pandemic), requiring us to adjust and
equipment? Will this require training hours to assist our staff with proficiency? adapt once known.
• What are the capital investment requirements? Keeping an Our staff are extremely resilient, especially over the last 20 months, as
eye on new vehicle design and function, communication equipment design alterations have been frequent, abrupt, and even inconsistent at times, as I
and function, advancements in real-time data transfer (to and from the am sure you have all experienced. We are extremely fortunate in Cornwall
paramedic on scene). and SDG to have this group of caring and compassionate folks answering
• Are advancements in medication and procedural protocols the call, each day.
forthcoming? Are they targeted at emerging health issues like the opioid When you are planning your celebrations this upcoming holiday season,
crisis, our pandemic response, our Community Paramedicine outreach please put some extra time into planning how you will do so safely!
programs, etc.?