With the launch of the Alberta Paramedic Association, we are at an exciting new chapter in Alberta EMS history. Although we are a young association we are a group of dedicated professionals, who feel that an association will bring Alberta EMS practitioners together, in a way that has not happened in this province in over 30 years.

The association is dedicated to “Four Pillars” of ems practice: Advocacy, Continuing Education, Research, and Public relations. With these four pillars as guiding principles, we will unite Alberta practitioners, and forge new relationships with stakeholders, industry, and allied healthcare providers. Eventually providing college approved continuing education courses, participating in research, advocating for practitioner interests, and large-scale public relations campaigns we hope that the time will come when the Alberta Paramedic Association will be recognized as a leader in Canadian EMS associations.

We have a very extensive five-year strategic plan, outlining goals, and measurable outcomes that we hope to attain in the coming years, the five-year plan can be seen on our website, please let us know what you think.

We have been operating under a generic set of bylaws provided by the Alberta Societies Act, but we have been building our own, specific bylaws that will be sent out for consultation to our members for ratification in early 2015. These draft bylaws are viewable on our website, and we welcome members’ views, and input so we can build a solid set of bylaws that work for our association and will take us into the future of this association.

Committees are in the process of being populated, and work will begin in 2015. If you are interested and would like to volunteer for committee work, please send your resume so that you can help begin the work in the association. Committees that have been created are public relations, HELP, continuing education, and the policy review committee. We need your help to get the committees working.

We are looking forward to getting the association to work, and serving all of Alberta’s dedicated practitioners.

I would like to start by thanking everyone that has joined us as a founding member over the past few months. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response from practitioners across not only Alberta but across Canada as well. As we grow and improve our service to Alberta practitioners, we will send out updates to our members. As I look through the list of names of our current members, I see practitioners with years of education and experience in the field. I see names of past and current employers, supervisors, and co-workers whom I have a vast amount of respect for. I am greatly humbled to be writing each of you and I feel the need to highlight that this association is being built to be run by practitioners like each and every one of you, not by me.

Under the Alberta societies act bylaws, we are required to hold an AGM and give members of the association the right to vote in every active administration member. My hope is that as we continue to represent paramedics in a professional and positive light that we can gain more memberships and those likeminded people will eventually be able to take the helm of the APA and continue to steer it towards success.

I’m sure many of you signed up to keep tabs on the association’s progress. The following list is what we have either been working towards or have already completed as of the New Year:

• Finished the process of opening the bank accounts and setting up accounting under the incorporation.
• Working to prepare a presentation to ACP at council chambers scheduled at the end of the month.
• Started the process of reading through resumes and volunteer requests which have been submitted to us to volunteer on committees for public relations, education, awards, HELP fund, and policy review.
• Working to get in contact with volunteers who have marketing backgrounds for use as consultants.
• Finished our final copy of revised bylaws that will be submitted to the membership for review in the coming months.
• Completed a five-year strategic plan, what will help guide us in our formative years as we build the association, the strategic plan will be posted on the website shortly.
• Began work on pro-paramedic banner messages for walk bridges in both Calgary and Edmonton.
• Completed design of the special edition serialized Alberta Paramedic Association challenge coin for founding members and the casting process has begun.

This is just a short list of the work that has been completed and some of the work that continues to go forward, I would like to once again thank those of you who have shown interest in committee work, and those of you who have become founding members, I look forward to many years of growth with the association.

As it stands, the current state of the Alberta Paramedic Association is very healthy. We have had a consistent stream of new founding memberships and volunteers. Our bank account has grown to roughly $8000 since our launch and our operating costs are still at zero. The hosting for the website and forum, the graphic design work and the time and commitment of the committee and board members has all been volunteered by supportive and proactive practitioners. I feel that the success of the APA up to this point is proof that a positive culture chance is currently happening in Alberta and I hope we can continue to look out for each other as practitioners and friends.

We would like to encourage you to e-mail us at info@albertaparamedics.ca if you have any further questions for us or you would like to volunteer your time or money with the APA.

Regards,
Andre Devore