Province will spend $6.5M to keep paramedic, EMT graduates in N.B.
Program is for current students and those training in the next academic year
The province has announced a $6.5-million bursary program for paramedic and emergency medical technician students that train in New Brunswick and commit to working in the province.
The program will be available to current and future students until March 2026.
To be eligible, paramedics must sign a two-year agreement and emergency medical technicians will need to sign a one-year agreement.
Students will then be reimbursed in two payments — the first when they finish school and the second when they complete their "return-of-service" agreement.
Craig Dalton, the CEO of EM/ANB Inc., previously known as Ambulance New Brunswick, said the funding will address current staffing shortages and, in turn, reduce the pressure on staff.
"The reality of serving today … is that doing what they do in a system that has been beset with staffing shortages is a challenge and it takes a toll," Dalton said.
The funding will cover the full cost of training for 273 paramedics and 39 EMT students. Of the paramedics, 75 are currently enrolled and up to 198 would start training in the 2025-26 academic year.
Health Minister John Dornan said the province is "down by about 200" staff and this recruitment effort will help create a "more comfortable working environment."
"We need to have more paramedics and EMTs on the road and this initiative will help ensure there's a pipeline of trained professionals training here to help fulfil current and future vacancies," Dornan said.
Dalton said staffing struggles are "like any other health-care profession."
"It's been that way for five plus years. So, it's a challenge to get that very small group of talent, and this is a huge tool in our toolbox to be able to do that," he said.
Dornan said the role of paramedics is evolving, and the services they provide continue to expand.
"It's tougher to be a paramedic today than it was 20 years ago," said Dornan, a doctor and former Horizon Health CEO.
He said paramedics are able to put tubes into people's lungs and defibrillate patients in the ambulance. He said the province is also working to allow paramedics to give "clot busters" in the ambulance to help people survive heart attacks.
"The ability, the tools that paramedics can use now are way more than they were in the past and they want this, they're asking us to let them do more."
In the future, he said paramedics will be "very integrated" with the province's collaborative care teams.
"Sometimes a paramedic will come to your door and you might not need to go to the hospital," Dornan said.
Dalton said seven additional ambulance units will be introduced across the province this year, "in areas where we are particularly stressed with the services."
Ambulance New Brunswick will also work with the province to rethink how units are dispatched.
"My message is the system needs to evolve as the environment evolves, and I'm confident that we're doing that," Dalton said.
Rebecca Bird has been a paramedic for three years and loves her job, despite it being difficult at times.
She attended the announcement in Moncton and is glad the province is helping students. She said she would've liked the same opportunity during her training.
According to Medavie HealthEd's website, the 50-week primary care paramedic program costs approximately $21,000.
Bird looks forward to having more staff in the province to improve the lives of current staff.
"It's really going to help staff our trucks, ensure that we're getting off on time … we're going to be able to help our other colleagues with covering what needs to be covered and hopefully giving us that work-life balance that we desperately need."
According to a news release from the province, the program covers training offered by Omni Life Support Training & Consulting, Medavie HealthEd, Oulton College and Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick.
Dornan didn't say whether the province would renew the bursary program, but said they would "evaluate" its value.
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With files from Nouemsi Njike/Radio-Canada