‘We are a business of caring’: Parkland Ambulance celebrates 50 years

Photo from Parkland Ambulance Facebook Page: A fleet of ambulances sit outside the Parkland Ambulance Care Ltd headquarters in this photo from around 1990.

Parkland Ambulance

On Nov 21, 1974, Parkland Ambulance Care started operating an emergency ambulance service in the City of Prince Albert and the surrounding area. Now 50 years later we are celebrating a tremendous organization of people dedicated to caring for people.

In those early years, things were simple. No 9-1-1, ambulance attendants had limited skills and vehicles were converted station wagons or vans. As the time changed so did the level of care. Advancing medical knowledge so that we had EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians), then EMT-A, an advanced EMT. To today where we have highly skilled primary and advanced paramedics who are part of a self-regulating profession. Back in the seventies there were no sophisticated communications. The ambulance crews dispatched and answered their own emergency calls. Often hanging up the phone to jump into the ambulance, drive to the emergency scene, and care for someone’s loved one back to the hospital. There was no telephone help back then except for the reassurance that we were on our way. Today, Parkland Ambulance Care operates one of three provincial wide area medical communications centers for the north. A dedicated team of telecommunication specialists manages the call center so that we not only can give you help to help someone while paramedics are on the way but coordinate other ‘helpers’ such as police, firefighters or first responders that needed for the emergency.

When Barry and Wayne began Parkland Ambulance Care, it was born from Father Michael who had already established an ambulance service in Blaine Lake. The brothers here began what today is the third largest service in Saskatchewan. A busy day back then maybe was five emergency calls in a shift. Today multiple crews manage on average fifty emergency calls every 24 hours, over 18,000 incidents annually. The communications center handles over 33,000 calls annually.

PHOTO FROM PARKLAND AMBULANCE FACEBOOK PAGE: Parkland Ambulance employees pose for a photo during the organiozation’s 10th aniversary in 1984

Technology like the growth of computers has been a huge factor in equipment and vehicles. Knowledge and care have evolved from basic or advanced first aid to a level of skill that in most cases can equal the initial visit to an emergency room brought right to your door. Evolution of teams brought a community paramedic to your home so that you do not need to visit the hospital. Diagnostics, medications, and advanced levels of care truly make 50 years ago quite basic when compared to now. Today our ambulance fleet puts on about one million kilometers annually and uses thousands of litres of fuel a month. Keeping things neat, tidy and in a professional appearance is everyone’s goal daily. The level of professionalism to bring an elevated level of care to your emergency is our goal. It was 50 years ago and still is today!

One thing that remains consistent with time is a professional who is dedicated to caring for you. While the faces have certainly changed, some long serving employees a bit less or more grey hair and younger smiling faces step into the shoes of their predecessors. Our motto ‘We Care for You’ is as genuine today as it was 50 years ago. When we remove the knowledge, the medications, the equipment, and state of the art vehicles you are left with a person. Our paramedics and telecommunicators are people who care about you. They genuinely want you to be cared for as if you were their own family. Our team believes putting you first gives you the confidence that we will do everything we can to care for you. When the paramedics arrive at your home you are what matters to them. We are a business of caring for people. Caring for you and caring for each other makes us special people.

This year Parkland Ambulance Care celebrates an amazing 50 years of service. Barry and Wayne, with their father Michael, started this journey not knowing what the future would bring. Through many challenges, with tremendous pride, a lot of hard work and support of their family, Parkland Ambulance Care is a leader in this province. Our current Chief, Trevor Dutchak, is the third generation whose families’ careers have spanned these fifty wonderful years. The Dutchak family’s dedication is recognized not only within Prince Albert and area, but across the province and certainly nationally too! Collaborating with many partners, Parkland Ambulance Care has created unique opportunities, led advancements, and built a dedicated professional service. Each day, the men, and women, do many amazing things.

We honour where we have come from. For without paying tribute to our past, we cannot look with enthusiasm to our future. What will tomorrow be? It is an opportunity to continue what we have done and done very well delivering exceptional medical care. We continue to be leaders, and we will continue to look for new opportunities. Join us in celebrating 50 years of dedicated professional service. Congratulations to the Dutchak Family! Congratulations to the people past and present who have been or are heroes in the community serving us. Paramedics are Canada’s most trusted profession! Happy 50th Anniversary Parkland Ambulance!

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