Winnipeg paramedics win prestigious Emergency Medical Services award

WINNIPEG - Winnipeg Fire Paramedics Service members Ryan Sneath and Karen Martin received the prestigious Award of Excellence from the Emergency Medical Services Chiefs of Canada (EMSCC) at the association’s annual conference in Vancouver on Thursday, June 14. The award was presented to Sneath and Martin in recognition of their efforts in establishing the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service’s Main Street Project Community Paramedic Program.

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�Paramedics Sneath and Martin have worked together as a highly motivated project team and their combined efforts have been instrumental in the implementation of this very beneficial community paramedic program in Winnipeg,� said Mayor Sam Katz.

�This team has shown pride and determination in their work and they have demonstrated the true meaning of patient advocacy in every aspect of the program development,� said Christian Schmidt, Acting Deputy Chief, Operations, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. �Their work has been truly innovative in establishing paramedic practice in a non-traditional delivery model and is most worthy of the national recognition which has been received.�

Schmidt also noted that the national awards committee also recognized that in addition to their contribution toward improved patient care services and patient safety�"the efforts of Sneath and Martin in the development of the Main Street Project Community Paramedic Program, have resulted in significant and measurable health care savings which have had a positive impact for patients and the community’s emergency medical system.

In 2009, a joint venture began between the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority which placed an Advanced Care Paramedic within the Main Street Project facility on a part-time basis with a goal of positively impacting patient care by helping clients receive timely appropriate health care.

The Main Street Project Inc. is a not for profit organization located in downtown Winnipeg.

The EMSCC was incorporated in 2002 as a national forum for information gathering, policy development, and coordinated action by the leadership of Canada's paramedic systems.