The Alberta government is spending $11 million to expand specialized support services and will hire more community paramedics and create new care teams to assist seniors and vulnerable Albertans in the community.

Associate Health Minister Brandy Payne made the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday and says the increase in services will help patients get the care they need right in their own homes.

There are currently 30 mobile community paramedics who provide on-site care to seniors and Albertans with chronic conditions and 20 more will be added to the program in Calgary and Edmonton.

“As the program expands across the province and allows for integration into other communities, outside of Edmonton and Calgary, I think we’ll begin to see more and more people requesting this service. Ultimately, the benefit of this is if someone doesn’t need to go to the hospital, if they can get medical care at home, this is a really good fit for many families and individuals,” said Payne.

“Since introducing community paramedicine in Calgary in 2012 and then starting another program in Edmonton in 2014, we’ve proven that we can provide the care in community and reduce the stress and provide better care for patients and their families while reducing the same stress and pressures on a busy hospital system. Today’s announcement helps us expand this work provincially,” said Dale Weiss, executive director of Alberta Health Services EMS North Zone.

The mobile paramedics can treat and suture wounds, administer IV treatments and blood transfusions and perform diagnostic tests in the field and are supported by on-call physicians.

“The idea of transporting to hospital and waiting in the emergency room for a more minor concern is really daunting and with this program, people are able to receive treatment and medical support at home, where it’s appropriate, and continue on their day so I think it’s a really beneficial program for Albertans,” Payne added.

The new hires will work from dedicated call centres in the two cities and 26 others will create new teams for home-based and continuing care patients in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Camrose, Wetaskiwin, Grande Prairie and Peace River.

“The growth and success of our Community Paramedic Program is a direct result of EMS integration into the broader healthcare system. This integration has allowed us to have better collaboration between our paramedics and our healthcare partners responsible for community care in Alberta,” said Darren Sandbeck, EMS chief paramedic, Alberta Health Services.

For more information on the initiative, click HERE.