Remote Sask. community gets donated ambulance

Residents of Stanley Mission will soon get help to deliver better healthcare in emergencies.

After a string of cardiac arrest incidents in 2024, a group of healthcare professionals in Stanley Mission got together to look for a better way to transport patients.

“It wasn’t ideal doing CPR, lifesaving measures in the back of a half-ton in the middle of winter or in the back of a small SUV,” said Janet McKenzie, nurse manager with Stanley Mission Health Services.

In the current system, the community safety officer would pick up a nurse and take them to the patient’s location. But when more serious incidents required transport to the nearest hospital in La Ronge, it could be anywhere from 50 to 90 minutes depending on road conditions.

“We collectively kind of came together and we identified that there's a need and a better way to do things,” said police officer and advanced care paramedic Eric Jelinski.

“And so that sort of spearheaded the first responder vehicle project.”

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With support from the chief and council, Jelinski went out looking for suitable ambulances.

But they didn’t have a few hundred thousand dollars to spare, so Jelinski had to look for some help from sponsors.

“For Medavie [Health Services West] to step up with this truck, it was just the biggest thing,” said Jelinski, who also got donations from the National Police Federation, the RCMP, Vallen Distribution and the Saskatoon Paramedics Association Local 3270. “The corporate sponsors, to help us decal it and get it mechanically fit, that was perfect. But without the truck, we were nothing.”

Once Jelinski had secured the vehicle, he had to make sure it was roadworthy.

“We went to Kal Tire to get it mechanically outfitted perfectly,” he said. “Cowan Graphics was able to help us with the beautiful decaling.”

The truck will head to Stanley Mission on Wednesday with a few extra supplies like a stretcher.

McKenzie says the team at the clinic in Stanley Mission are excited to finally get the truck and load it with everything else it needs to provide patient care.

“I'm so happy that it's come to fruition,” said McKenzie. “I can't wait to see it tomorrow.”

The finishing touch was the decal on the hood. Instead of ‘ambulance’, McKenzie took to her local Facebook group for help with a more appropriate Cree translation.

“Ahkosiwitâpânâsk,” she said.

Jelinski says the support from the community will have the direct impact of saving lives in Stanley Mission.