No Injuries Resulting from Fire at 30 9th Ave.

In the mid-afternoon of May 25th, 2022, there was a minor fire at 30 9th Avenue, a 10-unit building in Englehart, Ontario. The cause of the fire was determined to be a result of work being conducted in the building by an external contractor. The safety measures in the building were efficiently implemented with all tenants being evacuated safely and the local fire department attending the building.

The fire was quickly controlled and then extinguished. The building was cleared by Englehart and Area Fire Chief in the early evening, permitting all tenants to re-enter their units through their external access doors. At the present it was determined that the damage was restricted to the central building and did not affect the tenant's units.

The Housing Services Management will be following up with restoration contractors to begin repairing the damages later this week.

The DTSSAB is thankful for the cooperation of the tenants of the building and the assistance of the Englehart and Area Fire Department.

The Community Paramedicine Long Term-Care Program Launch

The Community Paramedicine Long Term-Care program has begun treating patients in the Timiskaming District as of April 2022. There has been significant community engagement through referrals from Home and Community Care Support Services, medic referrals, the DTSSAB website, and word of mouth. Services are available 12hrs/7 days a week, with a phone number available for after-hours contact.

DTSSAB EMS is inspired by the level of passion of the Community Paramedic team. This group of individuals are enthusiastic about undertaking work that directly involves them with the community and helps bring peace of mind of a sense of stability to individuals, families and caregivers who are waiting on long-term care placement.

The DTSSAB announced the funding received from the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care of 2.5 million dollars to be disbursed over a 2.5 year period in March of this year. Part of this funding has been directed towards software, equipment, vehicles, hiring, and maintaining of staff. The staffing of the program will include 4 full-time medics, team lead, 8 alternate shift medics, and an Executive Assistant.

Future plans for the program include expansion by seeking a Medical Director to provide oversight for expansion of medical directives. In the future, this program may also include the use of Remote Patient Monitoring, which will increase the capacity of patients the program can undertake.

This week is Paramedic Services Week, with today specifically being dedicated to Civilian and Community Paramedics. The DTSSAB wishes to celebrate all of the paramedics and support staff that make up DTSSAB EMS as we graciously serve the district.

Paramedic Services Week 2022

May 22-28th, 2022, marks Paramedic Services Week. This year’s theme is #FacesofParamedicine. This week allows us to reflect and appreciate the paramedics who work every day to keep us and our communities healthy.

“On behalf of the DTSSAB Board, I would like to recognize all of our paramedics, this week and every week,” says DTSSAB Board Chair, Derek Mundle, “We are truly grateful for their contribution to the health and well-being of our communities. The services you provide is one that we all hope we never have to access, but that we take comfort in knowing we can count on you, should an emergency occur.”

This past year has seen the continued resilience of DTSSAB paramedics as they pivoted through the changing mandates and protocols of the pandemic. It saw the Leadership restructuring of the service, as well as the growth of the service through the welcome addition of the Off-Road Response Unit and Community Paramedicine program.

“Our paramedics form a team that I am honoured to lead,” said EMS Chief, John McCarthy, “they are dedicated to supporting the health of our community, through their dedication on duty, continued volunteering outside of regular duties, and constant push to expand their knowledge and skill base.”

The delivery of paramedicine requires a team including dispatch, training, logistics, specialities, and much more. The DTSSAB wishes to celebrate all paramedics and support staff that make up DTSSAB EMS as we graciously serve the district.

Municipal Reimbursement for Northern Fire Services

On March 19th, the province announced a new program, through the Northern Fire Protection Program, to reimburse municipalities that provide fire protection services in unincorporated areas. These funds will help northern municipalities recover costs associated with responses in areas without fire protection services such as search and rescue, medical, motor vehicle collision, and property fires that are not covered by any other funding agreements.

“This is welcome news for Timiskaming,” says Chair Derek Mundle. “In the past, local fire services have incurred significant costs for participating in search and rescue missions in remote areas without fire protection. Such significant costs can have a detrimental effect on the budgets of smaller fire services and the municipalities as a whole."

The program will be administered by Ontario’s Office of the Fire Marshal. The types of calls that are eligible for reimbursement include:

• Structure fires and carbon monoxide-related incidents

• Search and rescue operations and emergency medical care

• Motor vehicle collisions occurring on roads that are not provincial highways

• Hazardous material requests

Local fire services can possess an immense amount of knowledge and expertise in regards to assisting OPP and EMS to locate, access and assist ill and injured patients when located in the remote areas of our District. The DTSSAB EMS looks forward to strengthening our partnerships with local fire services in the best interest of providing care to individuals in need throughout our District.

“We were pleased to see this announcement and are grateful for the advocacy efforts of Danny Whalen on behalf of FONOM, John Vanthof’s office, and James Township in bringing this issue to the forefront with the Province” said DTSSAB Chair Derek Mundle.

The DTSSAB announces appointment of new CAO, Mark Stewart

On behalf of the DTSSAB Board of Directors, I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Stewart to the position of Chief Administrative Officer for the District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board effective March 21, 2022.

Mark’s appointment reflects the Board’s confidence in his ability to lead the organization in achieving success with current and future initiatives. Mark’s commitment to leadership, his perseverance to ensure the needs of individuals we serve are met, as well as his professionalism, open communication, and integrity are all essential qualities for this important role.

Mark is a familiar face to many, as he has been an integral part of the DTSSAB’s Senior Leadership team as Director of Client Services over the past fifteen years, supporting effective DTSSAB Board and Senior Leadership decisions. Mark has demonstrated progressive leadership skills throughout his 23-year career at DTSSAB, having worked within the human services sector for 25 years.

Our Board believes that Mark’s dedication to the organization, his experience and knowledge of our programs and services, his community partnerships, as well as his leadership qualities position him for working effectively with management and staff to deliver on plans which are in line with our Vision, Mission and Values.

As Mark prepares to begin his new responsibilities, the leadership role of Director of Client Services will be recruited promptly.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to congratulate Mark on his new role and extend our deepest gratitude to Kelly Black for her steadfast leadership as CAO since 2019.

We look forward to working with Mark in this new capacity and ask you to join me in welcoming Mark as your new Chief Administrative Officer.

Derek Mundle

Chair, DTSSAB Board of Directors

The DTSSAB announces funding for the launch of Community Paramedicine Long-Term Care

The DTSSAB is pleased to announce the district is receiving funding in the amount of $2.5 million dollars from the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care for the development and delivery of the Community Paramedicine Long-Term Care (CPLTC).

The DTSSAB has been delivering the Community Paramedicine High Intensity Program since March of 2021 which has had a positive impact in our communities for the health and well-being of our patients. The funding through the CPLTC is to be disbursed over 2.5 years ending in March 2024 and will be used for the creation of the delivery of Community Paramedicine program, specifically addressing the needs of long-term care patients building on the success of the High Intensity program.

The ability for DTSSAB EMS to provide care to long-term care patients within their home will benefit the district’s entire health care system through reduced 911 calls, emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and stabilization of long-term care waitlists. The increased integration between home, community, and primary care can also help bring peace of mind and a sense of stability to individuals, families and caregivers who are waiting for long-term care placement. The Community Paramedicine Long-Term Care Program’s intention is to work in collaboration with existing practitioners to enable management of chronic health conditions at home, hopefully minimizing instances of patients going into crisis. In the future, this program may also include the use of Remote Patient Monitoring, which will increase the capacity of patients the program can undertake.

The delivery of the CPLTC will reflect the collaboration and partnership between the DTSSAB EMS and Home and Community Care who will determine eligibility of individuals for the CPLTC making referrals to the DTSSAB EMS for receipt of services.

“The DTSSAB is grateful to the Province for the funding allocation for the delivery of the CPLTC within the district of Timiskaming” states DTSSAB Chair Derek Mundle. “The delivery of CPLTC will make a difference in the lives of many residents in our communities”.

The DTSSAB EMS is presently in the process of recruiting additional community paramedics to support the additional patient caseload. The DTSSAB anticipates having the CPLTC ready for roll out by April 2022. The program is being tailored to be maximally effective for the Timiskaming District to assist as many patients as possible.

2022 DTSSAB Budget Approved

The District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board (DTSSAB) passed its 2022 budget at its meeting on February 16, 2022. Board Chair Derek Mundle stated “in 2022, as in every year, the DTSSAB is cognizant of the impact of our budget on our municipal partners. The Pandemic continues to impact municipalities and we worked diligently on maximizing the financial contributions from the senior levels of government to minimize the impact on the municipal budget.”

The overall 2022 DTSSAB budget is $39,087,424 which is a 10.69% increase over 2021. The budget funds the following four programs in the district: Ontario Works ($11,803,507), Children Services ($10,312,427), Housing Services ($7,279,902) and Emergency Medical Services ($9,651,488). The increase in the overall budget is due to one-time Provincial funding provided to our Emergency Medical Services and Children’s Services Programs, an increase in our Homeless Prevention funding and a projected increase to our Ontario Works Caseload resulting in approximately $3,400,000 increase to the overall budget. Increases in our Housing Services and Emergency Medical Services programs have resulted in an increase to the municipal apportionment of 2.97% ($199,149). This year the Board chose to remove funds from our working fund reserve in the amount of $200,000 to reduce the billing impact to municipalities and the unincorporated townships.

“The 2022 budget is a good budget for our municipal partners. The DTSSAB delivers these services on behalf of the district municipalities, and we strive to ensure that our operational costs do not exceed the expectations of the municipalities. This year we were able to deliver a 2.62% increase despite much higher increases to costs to operate our programs and especially with increased costs due to the pandemic.” commented Chair Derek Mundle

The municipal share of the overall budget is $6,902,043 (17.7%), the Territories Without Municipal Representation (TWOMO) contributes $1,830,911 (4.7%), federal/provincial share is $30,075,170 (76.9%) and contributions from reserves of $279,300 (0.7%) comprise our revenue sources.

“Over the years the Board has kept the municipal apportionment as close to 0% as possible despite increases in salary and benefits and operating costs such as hydro and fuel, by using contributions of our reserves. Since 2008 we have used $2,324,100 from our working fund reserves.” noted Mr. Mundle. The Board, which consists of seven appointed municipal representatives and two elected representatives from the territories without municipal representation, bring the viewpoint of the local taxpayer and their municipality to the table and ensures that the budget is fair and responsible in delivering the services that the DTSSAB has been mandated to deliver. Our focus is always maintaining or increasing our services without having a negative impact on our municipalities.

For further information on the budget, please contact Kelly Black at 705-567-9366 ext. 3253 or 705-568-7791.

Timiskaming Community Safety and Well-being Plan

Community Safety and Well-being Plan

The District of Timiskaming is creating a Community Safety and Well-being Plan. Community Safety and Well-being Plans combine the strengths of partners in the community with the unique needs of the area to work towards being a safer, happier and more cohesive community.

Community Input

The community will help to shape the plan and focus on key issues. The survey includes questions about your day-to-day life, health, education, employment, safety, leisure, and recreation experiences, as well as what you think about living, working and playing in your community. By sharing your experiences and what matters to you, you help to shape life in your community, determine key priorities, and indicate where you think change is needed most.

Please only complete this survey if you live in of the District of Timiskaming or Temagami region. The Timiskaming District includes all residents who live in Matachewan in the west to Kearns in the east, and Sesekinika in the north to Temagami in the south, and all areas in between.

This survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. The survey responses are being confidentially collected and only overall results will be shared. There are no questions that ask for individual identifying information.

There are no mandatory questions. If you wish to participate you are free to fill out only the questions you are comfortable answering.

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Survey Link (English)

Survey Link (French)