Norfolk County Paramedic Services is celebrating new and continued investments from the Province of Ontario that will help strengthen local, community-based healthcare.
The recently announced funding marks a major step toward improving access to timely, compassionate, and paramedic-led care across the region.
Since 2021, Norfolk County’s Community Paramedicine for Long-Term Care (CPLTC) program has helped seniors and vulnerable residents receive in-home and virtual healthcare support.
The Ministry of Long-Term Care has provided $964,600 in temporary funding for the 2025/26 year and recently confirmed that the program will become permanent in 2026/27.
To date, Norfolk’s CPLTC team has served 1,108 patients and completed over 10,500 non-emergency appointments, reducing the number of 911 calls and easing hospital capacity pressures.
In 2025 alone, paramedics have already completed more than 3,100 home and virtual visits, providing proactive care that keeps residents connected to essential services.
To support faster ambulance offloads and more efficient emergency room operations, the Ministry of Health will provide up to $109,200 in one-time funding for the 2025/26 year through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program.
The funding may be used to staff emergency departments with additional nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists, or physician assistants — a move designed to reduce ambulance wait times and allow paramedics to return to service more quickly.
County officials say the investment reflects Ontario’s ongoing commitment to integrated healthcare delivery and system-wide efficiency.
Norfolk County will also receive up to $6,088,150 under the Land Ambulance Services Grant (LASG) for the 2025/26 year — a $231,900 increase from 2024/25. The LASG program provides 50 per cent provincial funding for eligible costs related to core land ambulance operations.
The grant supports high-quality emergency response services and ensures Norfolk County Paramedic Services can continue to meet growing community demand while expanding proactive, community-based care initiatives.