Residents of a county west of Edmonton say council’s decision to potentially end integrated fire and EMS service contracts in favour of a new provincial model could have unforeseen consequences. Like many communities across the province, Spruce Grove was hit with reduced provincial funding for municipal ground ambulance contracts. Spruce Grove currently uses an Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedic and ambulance service operated at the municipal level. But the provincial funding benchmark for that model changed. Municipalities were told earlier this year that they must opt for a provincially delivered model of emergency care under Emergency Health Services (EHS), or accept less funding from the Alberta government in order to maintain the ongoing municipal model. Shannon Higgins, a Spruce Grove resident, says the current municipal model saved her husband’s life in October. She was joined by others in support of the integrated services at an unrelated Saturday fundraiser put on by the Alberta First Responders Association (AFRA). “My husband had a cardiac arrest in front of me … It was very traumatic and scary. My kids started CPR, we called 911, and our integrated services showed up in four minutes. They saved his life,” she told CTV News Edmonton. “My safety net is being taken away. If I call 911, I want to know my ambulances are going to be showing up … Taking away and dissolving our integrated services and handing them over to EHS is a very dangerous and scary decision, because we don’t know what that’s going to look like.” Strathcona County, Red Deer and St. Albert councils each voted to accept less money from the Alberta government to fund its emergency transportation services and re-negotiate a contract that would keep the municipal model intact. Spruce Grove council initially also opted to reject a new provincial contract after, in June, the province paused its processes and announced it would work with affected municipalities to find a funding solution. At the end of July, however, Spruce Grove Mayor Jeff Acker announced that decision was in limbo. “During our July 16 meeting with the Honourable Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services, we were advised that the procurement pause did not mean the province was prepared to negotiate a different funding model for Spruce Grove or other affected municipalities,” the July media release said. “Based on that information, council’s direction to transition to provincially delivered ambulance service on Oct. 1 remained in place.” That transition date was extended to Nov. 1 after council asked for more time for the province to review its cost model for ground ambulance services. LaGrange said Friday that the province wanted to ensure “benchmark pricing was an accurate reflection of what the benchmark should be for ambulance service.” “I’ve met with every single one of the municipalities. I’ve met with the fire chiefs association as well as the Integrated Fire Association, the Paramedics Association … We’ve all agreed that they’re going to have a closer look at it,” she told reporters at an unrelated press conference. “It’s a lot of conversations going on, and I think we’re in a good place at this point in time.” Acker, who was at the Spruce Grove AFRA fundraiser on Saturday, offered words of reassurance to his constituents. “I know there’s a lot of concern with integrated (services) … Regardless of the decision moving forward, Spruce Grove is going to be well-served by ambulance-trained ALS paramedics. The sticker of the operator on the side of the ambulance may change, but I don’t want people to be fearful that these discussions by council is removing ambulance care in our city,” he said. The province is expected to have a final funding review of ground ambulance services by Sept. 30. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum
