What began as a pilot program in 2015 has become a pillar in the community of Revelstoke.
In 2015, Revelstoke piloted a community paramedicine program, and upon its success, launched an official community paramedicine program in 2016.
Christine Bell is Revelstoke's community paramedic and serves the community with both hands-on medical work and community outreach.
"Part of the reason for the program was to take the pressure off pre-hospital emergency care and work more in communities in the rural and remote areas with education around prevention and health promotion," said Bell.
Bell explained that one of the reasons BC Ambulance launched the program was to help stabilize staffing in rural communities. This stabilization is also made possible by collaboration with Revelstoke's GPs, health teams, and Community Connections.
Bell works with Community Connections in Revelstoke when conducting community outreach. This work involves helping with the food bank, making food deliveries for seniors, and learning lunches, among other initiatives.
One community outreach activity that Bell especially enjoys is the coffee socials where she checks for vitals and offers space for people to chat with her if they have any concerns. She runs the socials every other Tuesday at the Community Connections Centre.
The community paramedic can also be seen at the farmer's market once a month, where she sets up a booth to let people know who she is and what she's doing.
Bell's outreach work has been well received in the community.
"Even at the farmer's market, I'll have somebody come up to me [with a health question] and then I can refer them to a different practioner," said Bell.
Bell's role also focuses on health promotion. In the role, Bell has seen a gap in harm reduction in Revelstoke and is looking to change that.
"We have a bit of a blind eye to drug use in Revelstoke...I've been working closely with Public Health and we have a two-hour program that I've been facilitating to the public," said Bell.
Other health promotion initiatives include a diabetes clinic in September. Bell has also had many other local establishments reach out to her about naxalone training. On August 24, Bell will have a tent set up with Public Health to promote awareness about drug overdose, as August 31 is International Overdose Prevention Day.
