Information from Alberta Health Services (AHS) suggests that Okotoks-based ambulances are staying in town more often, although over half of their calls are to other communities.
The data is included in an AHS presentation on Okotoks EMS service that was given to Okotoks council during its March 11 meeting. The data was presented during a closed session that was not open to the public, but the presentation was released by the Town of Okotoks on April 8.
The data suggests that Okotoks-based ambulances responded to about 40 per cent more calls within Okotoks in 2023-24 compared to the 2022-23 fiscal year, but over half of their responses continue to be to other communities like Calgary, High River or Foothills County.
From April 2023 to March 2024, ambulances stationed in Okotoks responded to 3,032 events, including calls to surrounding communities. More than 2,600 of those calls were classified as emergencies, 313 were interfacility transfers and 109 were listed as "other."
For Okotoks-based ambulances, 44 per cent of responses were for calls in Okotoks, 20 per cent were for calls in Calgary, 15 per cent were for calls in High River and 12 per cent were in Foothills County.
Data from the 2022-23 AHS fiscal year shows that 40 per cent of Okotoks-based ambulance responses were to Calgary over that time period, suggesting Okotoks-based ambulances have been called to the city half as often during the 2023-24 fiscal year to date.
For calls in Okotoks, the presentation states that a local ambulance responded to 67 per cent of local events. Ambulances from Calgary responded to 16 per cent, and High River or Diamond Valley ambulances each responded to six per cent.
The data seems to suggest an improvement over the 2022-23 fiscal year, when Okotoks-based ambulances responded to 50 per cent of the calls in Okotoks, and High River or Diamond Valley ambulances were called to Okotoks more often.
It’s not known if anything else was discussed during the closed session, and a similar presentation was given at Foothills County’s council meeting on April 10.
