WADEMSA receives county approval

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

WADEMSA’s Operations Director, Rob Witty, approached Wheatland County at the Dec. 1 regular council meeting with a request for council to join the municipalities of Hussar and Standard and get on board with the $2 per capita increase on top of the original $2 per capita already in place to offset deficit expenses.
Alberta Health Services has been running on a deficit since they took over the fire dispatch from WADEMSA in 2013, and brought the issue up to get Wheatland County’s assistance.
“When we lost that function of doing EMS dispatch, we also lost the revenue stream for dispatching ambulances,” said Witty.
“In the dispatch centre they call/ answer 9-1-1. They dispatch EMS and fire as well as their first responders. Since we no longer dispatch the EMS and no longer get paid to dispatch EMS, obviously that was a significant source of our revenues to keep the centre open. We’re running a deficit because we’re not getting paid to do EMS dispatch at the same fire dispatch caller 9-1-1.”
Wheatland County agreed to assist WADEMSA in the per capita funding requisition for the fire dispatch.
Councilor Ben Armstrong thought it was vital to keep the fire dispatch on a local scale and that is why council had no problem helping WADESMA out.
“We need dispatch for our fire service,” said Armstrong.
“We as council agreed a few years ago when Alberta Health Services was taking over all this that we’d like to see our dispatch remain Strathmore and that’s what it’s all about. The more local you can keep your dispatch, the better off you are, they know the area and serves us better to keep it local.”