This site will look much better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

Grande Prairie Region Improves Emergency Response Tools

During medical emergencies, every second counts, and quicker responses can save lives.

Paramedics in Alberta's Grande Prairie region can now reach accident victims more easily... thanks to a Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI) project involving the Grande Prairie Regional Emergency Medical Service (EMS), the City of Grande Prairie geographic information system (GIS) department and TELUS Geomatics. And that means faster treatment for those in need.

"We wanted an enhanced mapping system that would enable paramedics to reach patients quicker and more easily," says Mr. Randy Pohl, Director of Operations with Grande Prairie Regional EMS. "It's essential to our response time."

The SCI, a component program of GeoConnections, funded this project to develop easy-to-use hardcopy map books and a computer-based digital map system, each of which promises to speed response times and simplify the work of ambulance paramedics'

A dozen maps to cover 30 000 km2

Paramedics had been using as many as 12 different large folding paper maps produced by various city, county, municipal and industry sources. These maps covered the region's urban, rural, remote and wilderness areas--some 30 000 km2 in total. Not only did the scale and quality differ from one map to the next, they were also awkward to use.

"Unfolding a 4' X 4' paper map inside an ambulance at 4:00 a.m. and trying to find your way to a site can be challenging," says Mr. Pohl. "Less experienced employees who weren't from this area often had difficulty finding out-of-the-way locations."

Recognizing the need for a more efficient mapping system, Mr. Pohl got in touch with the Grande Prairie GIS department and TELUS Geomatics, who introduced him GeoConnections' SCI. Funding from the SCI helped enable the three organizations to improve the mapping system in several phases.

The first phase: a single hardcopy map book

In the first phase, TELUS Geomatics and the Grande Prairie GIS department worked closely with Grande Prairie Regional EMS staff to create two digital map books of the response area in a GIS-ready format. The maps identify all areas of importance and have a uniform scale and colour scheme.

Measuring 11" X 17", the first book breaks all 30 000 km² into sections based on the Alberta Township system. Once paramedics get a legal land description, they simply go to the index, find the appropriate map, and flip to it. They also have a choice of macro and micro maps, depending on their needs.

In addition, paramedics have a specialty map book that contains layouts of apartment complexes, condos, colleges, schools, sports facilities, industrial parks, bike path systems and the like.

Map books find warm welcome

The Grande Prairie Regional EMS is testing both map books in the field, with excellent results. "Initial response has been fantastic," says Mr. Pohl. "The map books are easy to use and they're well laid out. I'm confident that these maps will improve our response times in rural, remote and wilderness areas."

Without SCI funding, the Grande Prairie Regional EMS would have had to buy hundreds of large maps and cut them by hand to fit the 11" X 17" format (each 11 " X 17 " map book contains 110 pages). Such a makeshift solution, although an improvement over the large maps, would have employed different scales and legends and contained no indexes not the user-friendly system sought by the Grande Prairie Regional EMS.

Phase two: entering the digital mapping world

In the project's second phase, the Grande Prairie Regional EMS is going digital: a paramedic will simply enter an address on a rugged laptop computer in the ambulance, and the location, highlighted by a star, will appear on an onscreen map. The organization will also be able to build a database of calls and gain better insight into trends and activity levels by region as well.

"The digital mapping data is available," says Mr. Pohl, "but we needed software to make the data useable. That's primarily what we're doing right now with help from SCI ."

In future phases of the program, the Grande Prairie Regional EMS is looking to integrate a global positioning system into ambulances and to equip dispatchers to monitor the vehicles on screen in real time.

With compact, easy-to-use map books and an advanced digital mapping system, Grande Prairie Regional EMS paramedics will be well equipped to locate and reach remote addresses fast. And when lives are on the line, that kind of response can be priceless.