Lethbridge adding two new ambulances into EMS system

​The City of Lethbridge and Alberta Health Services (AHS) are adding two additional ambulances starting in April. This will improve Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response times, keeping rural ambulances in their communities and ensuring people in the Lethbridge area get the care they need.

"Adding these life-saving resources to the community of Lethbridge is another example of how we are collaborating with our partners and communities to make our EMS system more responsive to the needs of Albertans," says Jason Copping, Minister of Health. "This is part of our health action plan aimed at improving access to emergency services and bringing response times down. We are supporting our rural and urban communities."

The ambulances will run 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and will provide Advanced Life Support – the highest level of care possible on an ambulance. These were made possible through net new funding of $304,954 from AHS and will be staffed through the creation of 10.8 new full-time employee (FTE) positions with an associated ongoing contract annual revenue of $1,790,340, funded by AHS.

"This is great news for our community and for the safety of our residents," says Mayor Blaine Hyggen. "We are very pleased to be working collaboratively with AHS on this delivery of essential services for Lethbridge."

These two new ambulances are in addition to 19 net-new ambulances that went into service in 2022 and were funded through $16 million included in the current Government of Alberta Budget.

"We are making fast, effective improvements to EMS services in Alberta," says Murray Crawford, Interim Senior Provincial Director, EMS, AHS. "Adding these new ambulances will improve EMS response times, one of our four priorities at AHS, and help Albertans get the timely and effective care and support they need."

"The City of Lethbridge has been working collaboratively with AHS during the past few months to add more ambulances into Lethbridge," says Greg Adair, Chief of Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services. "We are looking forward to these additional EMS resources in the coming months as these two additional ambulances will bring EMS services to the people of Lethbridge faster."

For more information on the steps AHS is taking to address EMS response times, visit www.ahs.ca/ems.