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Staycations expected to rise BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF Budget-wary Albertans are expected to embrace staycations this travelling season. As oil prices continue to flounder at the $30 level and a lengthy parade of corporate cutbacks make the headlines, more summer travel plans will mean staying on home soil. “People will, for sure, stay closer to home,” said Liz Taylor, Tourism Red Deer executive director. National tourism groups have noticed an upswing in tourism at traditional big draws, such as the mountains and big cities like Vancouver. Most of those visitors are Canadian, with a healthy segment of Europeans attracted to our affordable destinations. Despite the weak Canadian dollar, which gives U.S. visitors a big boost in spending clout, the bread and butter for tourism providers are still Canadian visitors. That’s not to say that national tourism organizations aren’t planning to ramp up their U.S. pitches, but the reality is only about 37 per cent of Americans have passports and their tendency is to stay closer to home. “We will see more Canadians doing things (in Canada). Their travel pat-
terns have changed,” said Taylor. Previous tourism studies have shown a direct correlation between the strength of the Canadian dollar and our cross-border travel plans. Spending patterns also change in a downturn. Travel may still be on the family itinerary but savings are often sought on food, accommodations or purchases. “It suits us well because all of our accommodation is really reasonable. Even last summer, all of the attractions were strong, people were out doing things.” Taylor said Red Deer and District Museum and Art Gallery saw a modest family rate deal pay off with solid crowds on Family Day. Tourism industry recommend that those looking to book campgrounds or other accommodations in the popular areas to not wait because a busy season is expected. Central Alberta communities recognize the potential to boost tourism in the area. A $100,000 Central Alberta Destination Management Plan was recently completed and is being presented to the 11 participating municipalities to be adopted as part of their economic development and planning strategies.
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FILE Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Swimmers enjoy a beautiful day at Sylvan Lake last summer. The number of people enjoying travel plans closer to home, or staycations, is expected to go up this year.
Penhold fire dept. becomes emergency medical techs
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BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF Penhold’s volunteer fire department has become a provincial leader. The 35-strong department has become the first volunteer fire department in the province that can respond as emergency medical technicians without the presence of ambulances. It is an important achieve- JIM PENDERGAST ment in Penhold, which does not have a locally based ambulance and volunteer firefighters are almost always first on the scene, said Fire Chief Jim Pendergast. About half a dozen of the department’s volunteers are trained as emergency medical technicians and one is a registered nurse. While the level of training of individual volunteer firefighters varies, many departments only offer basic first aid as a policy. All of Penhold’s firefighters are trained to at least the next level — emergency medical responder. In Penhold, EMT-trained firefighters have been cleared to administer certain medications and start intravenous drips. They are working to get cleared to provide naloxone, a drug that is used in overdose cases. “We’ve been through a pilot project with Alberta Health Services over the
-Jim Pendergast Penhold Fire Chief
Photo by ASHLI BARRETT/Advocate staff
Firefighters Mark Linksi, Nicole Thomson and Drew Iwasnokow (left to right) go through first aid and other medical supplies at the Penhold Fire Department Saturday afternoon. last three years ending last year,” he said. This past January, the department’s new status was officially approved.
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To make the transition, Penhold firefighters were trained to meet certain protocols and to fill out patient care reports under the tutelage of a
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doctor appointed by Alberta Health Services. If only EMR-trained firefighters are on scene, they provide only that level of care. But when EMT-level firefighters are at the scene the department can now offer a higher level of treatment. Pendergast is proud of the level of commitment his volunteers have shown. “All of our firefighters had to take their EMR training and their EMT training at their own cost,” he said, adding training bills run into the thousands. “To have them step and do that is so awesome.” Some had to take out student loans to cover the cost of the more advanced training. Another first for the department was its use of an Alberta Health Services portal to file patient care reports online. Even large fire departments, such as Red Deer’s, are only just starting to adopt the new filing system.
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All of our firefighters had to take their EMT training and their EMT training at their own cost.”
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