A day in the life of a Lanark County Ambulance Service paramedic
By Lorraine Downey
With alternating 12-hour day and night shifts,andsome eight-hour day shifts, more than 90 paramedicsworkout of Almonte, Carleton Place, Perth, Smiths Falls and the Village of Lanark.All have atwo-year paramedic diploma, provincial certification, andcertification under theRegionalParamedic Program of Eastern Ontario.Many medicshave college or university degreesand many have hadother careers.
After checking the ambulance at the beginning of the shift, ensuring the vehicle, drugs, and equipment are ready to go, we tackle base duties—cleaning the base, checking stock, and deep cleaning each truck weekly.This involves cleaning every surface and piece of equipment inside the ambulance and verifying stock.
In themiddle of our deep cleanthe base tones go off: Code 4 for an elderlyfemalewith an altered level of consciousness. Code 4is the most serious call and wetravel with lights and sirens to her residence. Along the way we are grateful to drivers who pull over to let us passorwait patiently at green lights as westop,check to see if it is safe, andproceed through.
Our patienthasn't been seenin a few days and aneighbour checkedon her.After giving heroxygen, immobilizing her neck/spine, taking her vitals, attaching acardiac monitor, testing her blood sugar,anddoing a stroke assessment, we suspect a stroke.
Weimmobilize her on a backboard and,with her friend holding doors and equipment, we remove thepatient from her house.Returning to the hospitalwith lights and sirens, I am constantly monitoring the patient, and, most importantly,reassuring herduring theshort trip to the hospital.The doctor agrees with ourassessment and she is admitted.
Luckily her neighbour had a key but often we cannotgain access andwe wait for a keyholder to arrive or, in a worst-case scenario, for police or firefighters to break down a door.
Paramedics arehere for everyone, from the first-time parents who panic at the first contraction,to the teen who just took a bottle of pills but wants to live, to the accident victim with serious injuries, to the elderly person with a brokenhip.
As the population ages,paramedicinewill evolve tomeet the needs of the community. The paramedics of the Lanark County Ambulance Service will continue to bring a sense of order, compassion and professionalismto our patients and their families when they need it most.
Lorraine Downey is a paramedic with the Almonte Base of the Lanark County Ambulance Service