Huron County council has agreed to fund a potential gap in funding for the county's Community Paramedicine - Expanded Program.
The program helps provide medical services to people in their homes, but Emergency Services Chief Jeff Horseman said provincial funding for the program expires on March 31 of this year and they don't yet have a funding announcement for the next fiscal year. So, the request was made to county council to keep the program running until the province can announce the funding for the next year.
Horseman said their hope is that there will be a funding announcement in Thursday's provincial budget, so the request to county council was to keep the program going until July 31 while they wait for the funding announcement.
Horseman said the program often deals with the most vulnerable patients who don't have the resources to navigate through the healthcare system.
“Either they don't have the resources to help themselves through that process, they don't have transportation and if they require some treatment that we can provide, through their doctors orders, in home, then they don't have to look for alternates routes to the hospital,” he said.
Horseman adds, the Community Paramedicine program also reduces the number of people that take up hospitals beds because they don't have other options.
County council did approve the request to fund the program until July 31, but also expressed some concerns about the county funding a provincial service and the potential for the province to ultimately download the program.
