EMS Holly Poirier, formerly of Kipling and now residing in Saskatoon, has started filming her fifth season of Paramedics: Emergency Response.
How did this show come about, you may wonder? The producer was sitting on an airplane and talking to some random guy who commented “You know what would be a good show is if you followed a paramedic around.”
“Hey that’s actually a pretty good idea,” said the producer.
He approached the MD Ambulance in Saskatoon and talked to them about it and they also agreed that it was good idea.
They first started filming with a couple of paramedics in Saskatoon until they came across Poirier and her partner at that time, who had the qualities and personality they were looking for and so it began for the two of them. Although they said ‘no’ at first, they eventually gave in and here they are.
When the show first began, Poirier says she was very aware of the cameras always being there but says now she’s used to wearing a bodycam and a microphone. “It’s second nature now,” commented Poirier.
A day in the life of a paramedic
“Days are busier because there’s a lot of transfers and what not but I run an emerg. car, so I very rarely actually do a transfer,” explained Poirier, who added: “Nights tend to be more violent crimes – stabbings, shootings, overdoses, parties after the bars close down so the filming is done through the nightshift because of continuity.
“Our service is one of busiest services in Western Canada. I do have day shifts which are basically all emerg. calls for us, but it’s a hectic shift from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. – barely having time for a break. Calls are steady….it’s go, go, go all night long. We’re lucky to see a base.”
“We just got two new trucks on the street and it’s still busy. And no it hasn’t slowed down during COVID … it’s actually worse. We have to wear ski goggles on calls and N95 masks on AGMP calls which means certain airway procedures. There’s a certain protocol for everything,” Poirier explains.
Backing it up a few years, Poirier actually started out wanting to go into massage therapy shortly after graduating Grade 12, also working in the local care home and hospital as a care aide, but soon changed her career path to become a paramedic as this was something she always wanted to do. Being a lifeguard throughout her high school years, becoming a paramedic was always in the back of her mind.
Starting her career in Yorkton in 2011, she soon moved on to Saskatoon in 2013.
Among the memorable situations of being a paramedic Poirier has come across are bad ones and unfortunately those come almost every day. Bad car accidents and suicides are a couple of the worst calls that come in.
Poirier especially doesn’t like getting those ‘kid’ calls, especially a cardiac arrest, now that she has her own two-year old daughter Harper. Her significant other Gilles is used to her being in this line of work.
It’s definitely different working in Saskatoon than in a rural area.
