Baptism by fire for new paramedics
Twenty-three recruits added during online ceremony Thursday
Welcoming 23 new paramedics was like seeing the cavalry ride in for Niagara Emergency Medical Services, after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now, it’s a sigh of relief for everyone,” said Niagara EMS public relations and affairs superintendent Bryce Brunarski. “We have the recruits coming in, and we know they’re going to be good.”
EMS welcomed the new recruits in an online ceremony Thursday night, bolstering their ranks after dozens of paramedics were forced into selfisolation in the past several weeks.
Brunarski said as many as 60 paramedics at a time were off work in self-isolation for various reasons in the months since COVID-19 arrived in the region. That includes one paramedic who has fully recovered, after testing positive for the virus in late April.
“We have paramedics who are spouses, or other family members. That caused sometimes multiple employees in one family to be isolated,” Brunarski said.
As a result of the dedication of paramedics who were able to continue working, he said, they managed to avoid critical manpower shortages.
“Thankfully, we had full-time paramedics willing to step up and work overtime if necessary. We didn’t get to a critical point. Somebody was crossing their fingers hard enough and we were OK,” Brunarski said.
“For a little while there, we were making sure we had enough staff. Thankfully, we did.”
Although plans to hire the new recruits — a mix of recent college graduates as well as experienced personnel from other emergency medical services — were made long before the
COVID-19 pandemic was a reality, dealing with the virus has underscored the need for the additional staff.
Brunarski said the new members bring the total number of paramedics to about 380.
They will be vital to the service, “particularly if the pandemic continues or we get a second wave.”
“We will be able to provide more paramedics into the community to assist in ways such as more testing, shelter support, and possibly assist in congregate settings,” he said.
During the online epaulette ceremony — held to celebrate completion of their training, which was also conducted on
line — Niagara’s acting medical officer of health Dr. Mustafa Hirji and acting chief administrative officer Ron Tripp joined Niagara EMS chief Kevin Smith and management to congratulate and thank the new paramedics.
“We are in the midst of a pandemic and this is a time when front-line health-care providers are more important than ever,” Hirji told them. “The public is relying on people like you to care for them and help them through this time.”
“These are extraordinary times that we live in right now,” Tripp said.
“And the career that you’ve chosen is an incredibly important one, not only in everyday life — the work that you do — but the importance is actually punctuated now that we’re in the midst of a pandemic.”
Brunarski said the new paramedics are well prepared at college as well as through the online training they received since being hired by Niagara EMS.
Nevertheless, it will be challenging for them in the weeks to come.
They’re starting their career in the midst of pandemic at a time when information is being updated constantly, adding to the challenges they will face.
Despite holding the online celebration Thursday, Brunarski said Niagara EMS hopes to hold a proper ceremony for them when things get back to normal.