4 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday. August 18, 2000 ^ New and improved ambulance service now on duly landed in Halton's lap Tuesday at midnight after being downloaded by the province. And it went without a hitch, said Halton's ambulance director Jim King. "Everything went well," he said. "We didn't experience any glitches." The changeover is the fruit of four months of tireless effort for King and his management team, which has been working feverishly to get the downloaded service on the road. "There's 101 things," he said. "You're starting from scratch. It has been a whirlwind four months." So when the baton changed hands, it happened seamlessly. "We checked our list. It's kind of like a Christmas list -- we kept checking and rechecking it twice," said King. "I'm very happy with the way it went." But with the switch in responsibility, both service levels and costs soared. Last year, ambulance ser- vice cost $5 million in Halton. In 2000, that will risQ to about $8.6 million. For the money, Halton will upgrade its ambulance fleet from eight vehicles to 12. And both the total complement of paramedics and their qualifications have been beefed up. The new service boasts 108 paramedics, up from 60 before. Of those, 40 are the more highly trained Advanced Life Support (ALS) para- medics. That means for the first time, every Halton ambulance will have at least one ALS paramedic on board at all times. That's a big difference for north Halton, which in the past had none. That upgrade has already paid off, with Milton receiving an ALS call on the first morning of the new service, said King. "Right off the bat we had an ALS call in Milton," said King. "We're really pleased we were able to up the level of care in Milton and Halton Hills." Adding extra vehicles to the ambulance fleet is tied to the hiring of more paramedics. But those jobs are already posted, and both the new paramedics and the enhanced fleet could be on the road as early as next month. That could help sluggish Halton response times, said King, who noted "we're certainly going to monitor the results." And some financial help may be at hand. The province is expected to toss at least $2 million into the system, though the money hasn't materialized yet. If it comes through, Halton residents can expect to shell out about $30 a year per household for the buffed up ambulance service. Compare that to the $270 each household ponies up for police services. And what it buys is better service, said King. "The level of care we had before was good at the primary level," he said. "I'm just pleased we can improve that level." By Irene Gentle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER When Halton's new ambulance service hit the road Wednesday it had 48 additional paramedics, smart new navy blue uniforms and a brand new name. And soon, the Halton Regional Emergency Medical Services will boast four new vehicles and up to 27 additional paramedics, as well. The service officially "