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Saskatchewan's EMS service is
getting a check-up! |
The provincial government is
following through on a commitment to improve
emergency medical services (EMS) in Saskatchewan.
 Health
Minister Don McMorris has announced a province-wide
EMS review, to be conducted in consultation with the
ambulance industry and regional health authorities.
Its recommendations will focus on pre-hospital and
inter-hospital transfers, and will form the basis
for a long-term plan to improve the province's road
ambulance services.
"Saskatchewan people repeatedly
tell me that emergency medical services need to be
more effective, accessible and fair," McMorris said.
"This review gives us an opportunity to be proactive
in this area, and make positive changes that will
benefit patients, families, health professionals and
communities across the province."
Don Cummings, an Edmonton-based
consultant with extensive experience in health
system issues, has been appointed chair of the EMS
review committee.
Ron Dufresne, president of SEMSA
is very pleased with this announcement from Minister
McMorris and the ministry of health. "Minister
McMorris is following through on commitments to
support and improve the health of all Saskatchewan
people." Ron explains.
Mr. Dufresne further added "In
addition his commitment to engage the industry and
health regions to find effective and sustainable
solutions for EMS in Saskatchewan is welcomed. There
are challenges facing the EMS industry in both urban
and rural areas and this review, through its
collaborative approach will yield the solutions
required for a long term vision. We thank the
Minister for his commitment to Emergency Medical
Services and the constituents of the communities
SEMSA members serve in Saskatchewan."
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| FORD Offer Gasoline Ambulances in 2010
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Dear
Partners in Farm Safety,
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The Canadian
Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has partnered with Pioneer
Hi-Bred Ltd. and the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association
(CASA) to develop an on-line library of approximately 80 farm
safety photos to be hosted on the CASA web site
www.casa-acsa.ca .. You are being asked to contribute photos
for consideration in the library..
Please forward your photos by
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008.
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Digital
Photos and Electronic Files:
All electronic files must be a minimum of 300 dpi, jpeg or tiff
format preferred, and should be approximately 4-5" wide. Colour
files can be CMYK or RGB. Either PC or MAC is okay. (Note:
We cannot use images at web resolution of 72 dpi.) The
graphic designer can accept e-mail files not larger than 4 or 5
mg, which is one photo at a time - anything bigger should be
sent on disk, CD or Zip disk by courier to Theresa as below. If
e-mailing photos or if you have any technical question, please
send to: Bark Productions Inc.
babs@barkinc.com or call 1-877-370-2275 ..
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Hard
Copy Photos or Slides: Prints should be no smaller than
4" x 5" and not larger than 8" x 10" and on glossy paper if
possible. For slides, 35mm is preferred. Please attach a label
or post-it note to the back of each photo stating your name,
organization, and return address. Please do not write on the
back of your photo because it will show through on the scanner.
All of your photos will be returned to you. Please send them
to: |
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Theresa
Whalen-Ruiter
CFA Farm Safety Coordinator
4401 Eighth Line Road,
Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3N4
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Photo
credits will be embedded into the photo formatting so they
cannot easily be removed. Please indicate the name of the
photographer and the name of the business or organization that
the photo was contributed by, so they can be recognized. An
example of the photo credit would be: "Photo by Theresa
Whalen-Ruiter, courtesy of the Canadian Federation of
Agriculture." |
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Contributors
whose photos are selected for use in the on-line library will be
asked to sign a Contributors Agreement. This formality is
needed so that newspapers, and other users of the on-line
library, can be confident that they are not infringing on anyone
copyrights as long as they use the photos for the promotion of
farm safety. In simple terms, the agreement says that you own
the copyright to the photo and give permission for it to be used
for free on the on-line library as long as you get credit for
the photo, and the photo is used for the promotion of farm
safety. There will also be a Terms of Use Agreement on
the CASA web site that outlines the limits of free use for the
photos, such as not being used for commercial endeavours.
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If you have
any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me any
time. Thank you. |
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Theresa
Whalen-Ruiter, CFA Farm Safety Coordinator
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E-mail:
farmsafety@cfafca.ca or
twr@rogers.com
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Tel: (613)
822-0016
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| Ferno Stretcher Alert
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| Patient Safety in Emergency Medical Services Research
Paper
| The Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) and the
Emergency Medical Services Chiefs of Canada (EMSCC),
together with the Calgary EMS Foundation, have jointly
identified a significant gap in the current understanding of
patient safety in emergency medical services. A coordinated
and collaborative approach to exploring and addressing the
need for new knowledge in this field has therefore been
undertaken. CPSI, EMSCC and the Calgary EMS Foundation are
pleased to announce the following Request for Proposals:
"Patient Safety in Emergency Medical Services". The purpose
of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to invite interested
researchers to submit a detailed proposal that will enable
the EMSCC, CPSI and Calgary EMS Foundation to select the
researchers that it determines are best suited to complete
the project. |
| To obtain more information please visit our website at
www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca. |
| Deadline for submissions: August 31, 2008
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| Please forward this information to potential interested
colleagues
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| Alberta News Release
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| Heartland Regional Heath Authority Media Release on NEW GPS
Implementation
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| New Partnership to Improve Health Care for First Nations
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| Ford RECALL!
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Ford is conducting a voluntary customer
safety recall of approximately 1.18 million 1997-2003 model
year Ford F-Super Duty trucks, E-Series vans and Excursions
currently registered in the U.S. due to a concern over
robustness of the cam position (CMP) sensor that may result
in degraded engine performance including hesitation, stumble
or stalling.
http://www.ford.com/dynamic/metatags/article-detail/223-ford-initiates-voluntary-safety-recall
This
may not apply to most Canadian ambulances, but some imported
from U.S. manufacturers.
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Bayer Diabetes Care notified healthcare professionals and
consumers of a voluntary market recall of test strips (sensors)
used exclusively with the Contour TS Blood Glucose Meter. The
product was recalled because test strips from specific lots
could result in blood glucose readings with a positive bias that
could demonstrate 5 - 17% higher test results. This issue is
unrelated to the Contour TS meter itself and pertains only to
certain test strips used with the meter. There is no impact on
the performance of strips with other Bayer meters.
Healthcare professionals, retailers, patients and other
customers who use Contour TS are advised to check the lot number
of the test strips in their inventory and contact Bayer Diabetes
Care for information regarding the return and replacement of
strips. See the manufacturer's press release for specific
product lot numbers affected by this recall.
Read the complete 2007 MedWatch Safety Summary including a link
to the manufacturer’s press release regarding this issue:
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2007/safety07.htm#diabetes
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| Tentative Agreement Reached between SAHO and HSAS! (News
Release)
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| FYI...Groundbreaking Agreement Puts
Paramedics on Winnipeg Fire Trucks! (click
here)
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| The Canadian Food for the Hungry organization
with offices in Saskatoon will collect any used medical
equipment. You don't have to save it up at your end as they have
a huge warehouse in Saskatoon.
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Ford Motor
Company has reached a settlement with International to
resume production of the 6.0L diesel engine later this fall
in the 2008 model year Econoline vans and cutaway chassis. Crestline
will continue to lead the ambulance manufacturing industry
in offering you a choice between Ford Diesel, Chevy Gas and
Chevy Diesel chassis choices on selected models.
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For
further information regarding Ford’s announcement, please
contact your Crestline sales representative.
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| The Future of EMS in Canada
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Bruce Farr, president of the EMS Chiefs of Canada, released a White
Paper on the status and future direction of emergency medical
services (EMS) in Canada. The purpose of the White Paper is to
outline the direction policy makers must take to develop a
comprehensive, effective system of community-based pre-hospital care
across Canada.
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| Call for HELP with HISTORY!
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A book is being written
and a website developed about the history of ambulances in
Canada and the author is looking for input and help in some
research. |
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Peter Adsten (formerly of Crestline Coach) is searching for
photos of ambulances from 1950 to 1970 as well as
information concerning the Saskatchewan Road Ambulance.
If anyone can be of some help, please contact Peter Adsten.
(peteradsten@shaw.ca)
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| Crestline Chassis Disruption Notice! Click Links for
Additional Information!
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| Plane Crash in Northern Saskatchewan Kills Pilot and Injures
Three
Poor Weather Could be a Factor (click
for more details)
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A television
producer is looking for medics who have tales to tell about off
duty medical calls. Nicole Lawson, who works for Dreamfilm, said
she is interested in how practitioners handle emergency
situations while off duty. The stories will be re-enacted for
airing. Dreamfilm collaborates on TV series and
documentaries with networks such as CBC, Knowledge Network, Life
Network, HGTV and Oxygen (US).
To email your story:
off.duty.doctors@gmail.com.
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Due to the overwhelming
response, SAHO WHS&E Services will be offering two more sessions
of the Harassment Train-The-Trainer (TTT) course.
Check out our
Training and Education
Page for More Details! |
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| PAC-Paramedic Association of Canada NOCP Review/Survey
| As you know, the Paramedic Association of
Canada is in the process of completing a review and
revisions to the National Occupational Competency Profiles.
As the owner of the profiles used for CMA accreditation
purposes, the industry expectation is that PAC will review
the NOCP on a 5-7 year cycle to ensure it accurately
reflects the profession. The final process in validating our
work to date is to solicit additional stakeholder input and
comments. We’ve chosen to undertake that process by way of
utilizing an on-line survey tool. |
| Although the survey has been circulating
for at least two weeks now, responses have been slow to come
in. It’s crucial that we ensure we’ve properly validated our
work prior to asking the PAC Board of Directors to accept
the revised document. I’m hoping you can help distribute the
following survey links and encourage Saskatchewan EMS
practitioners across your province to take time to
contribute to their profession and the NOCP revision
process.
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| Further Questions or concerns, please contact Eric Glass (chairman@paramedicsofmanitoba.ca)
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The Health Council of Canada has released a
report with case
studies of five communities where primary health care teams are
addressing the needs of people with chronic diseases like
diabetes, chronic pulmonary disease, heart disease, cancer, mood
disorders and arthritis.
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Getting It Right: Case Studies of Effective Management of
Chronic Disease Using Primary Health Care Teams looks at
team-based care in: Calgary, Alberta; Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario;
Truro and Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Espoo, Finland. To read
about the successes and challenges for both patients and health
care providers we invite you to click
here to view the
full report on the Health Council of Canada website.
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| Heartland EMS services are very pleased to be able provide
our clients with a means to communicate with care givers when
they are unable to do so. |
| SUBHAS C. MAHARAJ, the creator of Pictosho, a pictorial
communication tool, has included some information about this
booklet that SEMSA may choose to share with its membership. |
| Subhas asked me if I would share the PictoSho information
with other Health Regions and ambulance services and SEMSA is a
great venue to do that. Subhas does not charge for PictoSho so
the only cost associated is printing. |
| We piggybacked our print job with MD Ambulance and could be
an option for other services/HDs. If you are interested, Subhas’
contact information is included on the first attachment.
| Jody Dupuis
Kerrobert EMS Coordinator
834-2646 ext 229
834-7367 cell |
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PictoSho Information I (click here) |
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PictoSho Information II (click here) |
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