Paramedics and Social Services help fight COVID-19

Hastings County paramedic and social service departments have been working hard to serve the community during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Hastings-Quinte Chief of Paramedic Services Doug Socha spoke to the teleconference meeting of Hastings County council on Thursday.

Socha told council 1,142 testings have been completed in long term care facilities and in the community.

He noted there has been a shift to testing in retirement homes.

Paramedics are also involved in remote patient monitoring of patients discharged from hospital but who need vital signs monitored.

Socha points to work in assessment centres. “We’ve submitted a proposal for an assessment centre in Quinte West. We are looking at locations around that and hope to submit that to the Ministry of Health end of this week.”

The Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Service will be getting four new ambulances and will be hiring more paramedics this summer.

Director of Hastings Community and Human Services, Erin Rivers (File photo: Mary Thomas/
Quinte News)

Director of Community and Human Resources Erin Rivers reported on the program to connect emergency personnel with available licensed day care, and is working on obtaining more.

“We currently have six licensed homes with 20 available spaces in Belleville, Quinte West, and Stirling. As of yesterday, it has been expanded to a number of professional workers, including people who work on the food supply chain, retirement homes, grocery stores and pharmacies, certain federal employees including in the military. This puts upward pressure on our current waiting list which stands at approximately 80 families.”

Rivers says her department is also currently working on employment and financial assistance services to assist ongoing clients with applications for Ontario Works, emergency assistance, child care, and housing applications.

Hastings County CEO Jim Pine (File photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)

CAO Jim Pine tells Quinte News staff has been working hard on COVID-19 issues for more than a month.

For instance, he said, the county has taken the responsibility for the isolation shelter for the unsheltered in the case of suspected COVID positive results. The testing operation takes a number of days. When the need arises, the YMCA isolation centre is a busy place.”