Nova Scotia Health paramedics support emergency care at Aberdeen Hospital

Charles Lavers returned to Pictou County after 17 years in the military, swapping overseas deployments for sirens and stretchers as he launched a new chapter in paramedicine. 

“It has allowed me to serve the communities that helped raise me. With inspiring colleagues by my side, paramedicine is humbling, gratifying work,” he says. “Every day brings new lessons and opportunities to grow and make a difference in people’s lives.” 

Over his 12 year-career working in the ground ambulance system through Emergency Health Services (EHS), Charles worked in multiple areas of the province before settling back in New Glasgow. 

While he loved his career on the ambulance, Charles jumped at the opportunity to serve his community in a different way. Earlier this summer, he joined a growing roster of advanced care paramedics in the emergency department at the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow. 

“I spent lot of time helping people on the road, and I really enjoyed it, but you only got a few calls a day up this way,” he explains.  

“So, I thought there would be more value in my time helping more people more often in the hospital.” 

Where they previously had none, Aberdeen now has four advanced care paramedics in the emergency department. Across Nova Scotia Health, regardless of their scope, paramedics work in collaboration with the emergency department team, such as doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists, assisting patient care in any way they can. 

“There’s been a lot of learning, and you have to practice a lot of humility being the new kid on the block again and learning the flow of the hospital,” Charles says. 

“I think one of the things that’s really come to light that’s really been impressive is how my new colleagues can multi-task so many things all at once; that’s been really humbling.” 

The experience has also been an eye-opener for Jerry Galway who, like Charles, joined the Aberdeen Hospital in June after a 26-year career in the ground ambulance system. 

“There’s so much more that goes on behind the scenes that I thought I had a grasp on in my career, but turns out I really didn’t,” Jerry says. “Coming here was a whole different world, and it was a big change, but it provided the ability to stay in medicine, which is something that I still really enjoy.” 

The presence of the paramedics in the emergency department represents an evolution in the profession, as their medical and critical thinking skills are being used in a variety of settings. 

It’s a shift that has not gone unnoticed by Mattew Vaughan, the assistant manager of health services at the Aberdeen Hospital emergency department. Matthew is an advanced care paramedic who joined Nova Scotia Health in 2023. 

“In my 28-year career I have seen a huge change in the care that’s delivered and how it’s delivered by paramedics,” he said.  

“When I started at EHS in 1997, the only medics at the time working in the hospital were at the Halifax Infirmary emergency department. But since that time, it’s exploded into industry; into health and safety and teaching,” he says. “There are paramedics who teach medical students at university now. So, paramedicine has really expanded into the healthcare system.” 

Jerry says he already feels like an integral part of an interdisciplinary team dedicated to providing the best patient care possible. 

He sees a bright future for his paramedic colleagues in the hospital system.  

“I spent a very long time building relationships with the staff here, so making that transition and just being a part of the team is amazing for me, but we’re also laying the groundwork for the next generation that’s going to step in and take over when I’m gone.” 

Photos of (1) Jerry Galway and (2) Charles Lavers demonstrating a medical procedure with a colleague.