Community paramedicine program can help seniors with chronic health conditions live at home longer

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The health care system as a whole has gone to great lengths to help seniors remain in their homes, out of hospital emergency rooms and out of long-term care facilities.

Paramedics have been doing their part and learned in 2025 that the community paramedicine program has received permanent funding from the province.

The program is now province-wide but back in 2014, the Guelph-Wellington community paramedicine program started as a pilot project of the Guelph-Wellington Paramedic Service. 

In a way, the program allows paramedics with extra training to become the eyes and ears of the family doctor – recording vital signs, reading monitors, talking to patients and relaying medical information to the patient’s doctor, who in turn might change a prescription, order a procedure or recommend another course of treatment depending on the patient’s need.

Dawn Koehler is superintendent of the Guelph-Wellington community paramedicine program and she’s very passionate about the program and the clients it serves.

“We get a lot of ‘you saved my life,’” she said in a phone interview. “What I love is that we empower people to take care of their own health.

“I find it satisfying to help people with the prevention piece.”

Call 911 with a medical emergency and paramedics show up. They stabilize patients and transport them to hospital by ambulance if necessary.

There are many incidents where that is the right course of action. Heart attacks, broken limbs, car accidents, injuries – people suffering these conditions need to get to the hospital, and fast.

But there are many people with chronic conditions who don’t need to go to the emergency room but do need some medical attention. That’s where the community paramedicine program comes in.

Specially trained paramedics provide in-home, non-emergency care to assist people living with chronic conditions like congestive heart failure, diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Those who qualify, feel up to it and agree to it, can borrow equipment like scales, blood pressure cuffs and blood oxygen sensors, and community paramedics can monitor the data remotely.

“If we see an issue, we come out and check on the client,” Koehler said. Similarly, with some education the client can call paramedics and request a visit if they feel something is awry.

With the client’s consent, information is sent to the family doctor or specialist, who can instruct the paramedic on what to do next.

“Our goal is to catch a worsening illness before (the client) goes to hospital. We want to prevent hospitalization,” Koehler said.

Community paramedics also conduct home visits when a referral is first made, when a health agency feels one is necessary, and if a person has called 911 multiple times.

Paramedics assess mental and physical health conditions, check vital signs and check the home for any dangers or concerns.

Educating the client is a key component of the program and Koehler said she likes that aspect of it – “empowering people to take care of their own health.”

Koehler said there are 650 people in the community paramedic program and 160 of those use remote monitoring. They are equally divided between Guelph and Wellington County.

Most of them are seniors; many who get home visits are waiting for a room in long-term care.

“Most (health care services) know about us,” Koehler said, adding hospitals, doctors and family health teams often refer their patients to the community paramedic program.

The paramedics, in turn, can refer clients to personal support workers or other community services.

“We connect clients to the right resources if they want the help,” she said. “This is all on an agreed basis with full consent.”

They also accept self-referrals.

To learn more, visit Guelph.ca/community-paramedicine, call 519-822-1260 ext. 3379 or email communityparamedic@guelph.ca.