Emergency Health Services Employees Honoured
The long-service award was presented to 84 Emergency Health Services (EHS) employees, most of them paramedics, who have made an outstanding contribution to their field. Not all were able to attend the ceremony in Halifax today, September 16. (Province of Nova Scotia)
Eighty-four Emergency Health Services (EHS) employees with 20 or more years of service were recognized today, September 16, for their commitment to keeping Nova Scotians safe.
The long-service award recipients include 45-year employee William Muirhead, a paramedic in the New Glasgow area who was the only person who reached that many years of service this year. The awards were presented at a ceremony in Halifax.
To qualify for an award, employees must have at least 20 years of service, be in good standing and be involved in or directly support the administration, preparedness and operation of the system. Most of the recipients are paramedics.
The 84 recipients have a total of 2,130 years providing and supporting emergency care and saving lives in Nova Scotia. There were six length-of-service milestones recognized (with number of recipients):
- 45 years (one)
- 40 years (three)
- 35 years (eight)
- 30 years (11)
- 25 years (27)
- 20 years (34).
The ceremony also included the presentation of the Tom Dobson Award to paramedic Mark Walker of Hammonds Plains. The award recognizes an employee who has made or continues to make an outstanding contribution to enhancing the paramedicine profession in Nova Scotia.
Mr. Dobson was a distinguished 23-year EHS paramedic who developed several innovative programs and service delivery models that enhanced care for patients and advanced the paramedicine profession in Nova Scotia.
(Province of Nova Scotia)
Quotes:
“Delivering healthcare in today’s environment is increasingly difficult, however, this creates opportunities for both the emergency health services system and providers to foster innovative solutions to deliver high-quality patient care and improve the patient experience. This is the spirit of the Tom Dobson Award, and I am humbled and grateful to have been able to contribute to the EHS system over the course of my career.”
— Mark Walker, advanced care paramedic, Director, Interprofessional Practice and Risk, Emergency Medical Care Inc.
Quick Facts:
- there are about 1,546 individuals who support the emergency health services system in the province
- in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the EHS communications centre received more than 204,000 calls, an average of about 560 calls per day
- there are 257 vehicles and four aircraft in the EHS fleet, including ambulances, patient transfer units, medical transport units, single paramedic response units, helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes
- EHS, part of the Department of Health and Wellness, is the regulator of ground and air ambulance services in the province; services are provided by Emergency Medical Care Inc.
Additional Resources:
Information on becoming a paramedic: https://novascotia.ca/dhw/ehs/becoming-a-paramedic.asp