Happy Paramedic Services Week!
May 23-29, 2021, is Paramedic Services Week in Canada. This celebration is our opportunity to recognize the contributions of TPS’ incredible staff, both on the frontlines and behind the scenes, who help maintain a safe and healthy city for all residents of Toronto. Check out the memo with all of the details on the TPS Staff Blog, and watch a message to all staff.
—A/Chief Gord McEachen.
Provincial Update
The Ontario government has released their Roadmap to Reopen, a three-step plan to safely and cautiously reopen the province and gradually lift public health measures. The plan is based on the province-wide vaccination rate and improvements in key public health and health care indicators. In response to recent improvements to these indicators, some outdoor recreational amenities will be allowed to reopen, with restrictions in place, effective May 22, 2021, at 00:01.
This week, the Province expanded COVID-19 vaccine booking eligibility to all Ontarians 18+. Over one million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Ontario since the start of May and the province remains on track to have administered first doses to 65 per cent of Ontarians aged 18+ by the end of the month. The Province also announced that they are proceeding with second dose administration of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
City of Toronto Update
This week, the City announced the Long Weekend Dose Driveand opened 19,000 new appointments at six City-run immunization clinics for the Victoria Day long weekend. From Friday to Monday, including the 19,000 new appointments, the nine City-run clinics have the vaccine supply and capacity to vaccinate 56,160 people. To date, more than 1.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Toronto!Continue reading…
Optional COVID-19 Vaccinator Training
Toronto Paramedic Services is offering training and credentialing to all active Base Hospital-certified Paramedics to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. Training will be available until June 15, 2021, and is to be completed off duty.
View the training link (https://www.temseducation.com/moodle/course/view.php?id=451) and read the full memo on the TPS Staff Blog.
Communications Recap
In addition to the training communications mentioned above, memorandums were released regarding the following:
- All Staff:
Security Awareness - Operations, Community Paramedics, and Education:
Address Flagging and Updates to SOP 03.06.13 (Paramedic Scene Safety)
First and Accelerated Second Dose COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic for Paramedics - Communications:
Address Flagging and Updates to SOP 09.08.13 and 09.08.19
First Dose COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic for Communications Centre Staff
Hate is a Virus: An Anti-Asian Racism Event
This Asian Heritage Month, staff are invited to confront the historical and present injustices facing our Asian communities and to #stopasianhate. On Wednesday, May 26 at 12:00, join a WebEx discussion on anti-Asian racism and hate featuring keynote speaker Amy Go, President of the Chinese Canadian National Council – For Social Justice, and moderator Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, to learn about confronting racism experienced by East and Southeast Asians within the context of living and working in this city. Details available on the intranet.
Until then, please check out this short video: Eyes Open: An Anti-Asian Racism PSA.
The warm weather this past week has reminded us that summer is just around the corner. With the long weekend starting, please remember to take time and unwind as we make our way through the last few weeks of lockdown. Continue to follow public health guidelines – wear a mask, wash or sanitize your hands often and continue to stay at least 2 metres away from others. Happy Victoria Day Weekend!
Please continue to take care of yourselves, your families and each other.
(Original signed by)
Jennifer Shield