Warden Highlights AccessAbility Week, Local Food Week

Warden Hilda MacDonald praised members of Essex County’s Accessibility Advisory Committee for hosting an Accessibility flag raising and walk at the County of Essex Administration Building earlier this week to mark National AccessAbility Week.

“It was an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to building communities that are inclusive, accessible and welcoming to all residents,” said MacDonald.

The Warden encouraged councillors and residents to attend the third annual Outdoor Accessibility Fest-for-All on Friday, September 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Gosfield Communications Community Centre in Cottam! Everyone is welcome to attend this free community event. Learn more about the event!

MacDonald also congratulated the 24 new paramedics who were officially welcomed this week to Essex-Windsor EMS at a moving commencement ceremony, where many graduates had their epaulettes attached to their uniforms by family members who were also paramedics or first responders.

“These dedicated professionals have chosen a career of service that requires skill, compassion, and resilience,” said MacDonald. “Thank you for answering the call to serve and protect our residents.”

MacDonald noted it was Local Food Week, saying “we are fortunate here in Essex County to be home to some of the most productive and innovative farmers and agribusinesses” in the province.

“I encourage everyone to take a moment to thank the farmers, greenhouse growers and food producers who work tirelessly to feed our families,” said MacDonald. “It is also a great opportunity to make a concerted effort to shop local, buy local and support the businesses that help keep our regional economy strong.”

MacDonald closed her remarks by noting the Pride flag will fly outside the County of Essex Administration Building to mark Pride Month.

“Pride Month is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the diversity that strengthens our communities and to reaffirm our commitment to dignity, respect and inclusion for all residents,” said MacDonald.

New Agreements Approved with Residential Services Homes

Council voted in support of updating service agreements with the nine current Residential Services Homes providers in the County of Essex.

During 2026 budget deliberations, Essex County Council approved a $5 per diem increase to the Residential Services Homes Program providers. The City of Windsor also approved a $5 per diem increase. On April 1, 2026, a new per diem rate of $65 took effect for all Residential Services Homes Providers in Windsor and Essex County.

The County's service agreements with the Residential Services Homes prior to Wednesday referenced the former per diem rates. New service agreements needed to be established to reflect the new per diem rates.

There are no new financial implications associated with this decision, as the cost of the per diem increase was previously approved and incorporated into the 2026 Community Services budget. County Council approved up to $412,450 annually to support the $5 per diem increase. This estimate is based on the increased per diem applied across approximately 226 funded beds at expected occupancy levels.

Read the report!

ECAAC and ECL Boards Willing to Post Videos of Meetings

Administration was directed by Council at its February 18, 2026, meeting to consult with the boards and committees on which County Councillors serve to gauge the willingness and ability of each entity to record, livestream or otherwise post meetings online.

CAO Sandra Zwiers reported Wednesday night that, so far, only two of the eight committees still in existence have indicated such a willingness: the Essex County Accessibility Advisory Committee (whose meetings already are recorded and posted) and the Essex County Library Board, which, at its February 25, 2026  meeting, determined that recording and posting of archived videos is feasible and worthy of  support.

Read the report!

Financial Services in 2025 Met County’s Key Priorities, Strengthened Sustainability 

Council received a report that provided a high-level overview of the Financial Services department’s key activities, accomplishments, and strategic contributions during 2025. The report demonstrated how the department supported Council priorities and the County of Essex Strategic Plan – through strong financial stewardship, governance, long-term planning and risk management, while positioning the County for continued financial sustainability.

Key outcomes included:

· Strong investment income performance;

· Continued advancement of long-term infrastructure and growth-related funding strategies;

· Strengthened financial governance through policy updates;

· Strategic reserve management;

· Procurement modernization and improved oversight; and

· Enhanced financial analysis to support Council decision-making.

Collectively, these efforts supported Council priorities, strengthened financial sustainability, and aligned financial resources with the County of Essex Strategic Plan.

Read the report!

EWEMS Operational Status Update

Council received the 2026 Annual Operational Status Report from Essex‑Windsor EMS, outlining system performance, ongoing pressures, and the steps being taken to support service stability in a period of rising demand. Essex‑Windsor EMS responded to 68,420 emergency incidents in 2025, a 4.4 per cent increase in call volume that reflects continued population growth and increasing clinical needs in the region.

The report highlights one area of improvement: continued reductions in hospital offload delays. During the first quarter of 2026, offload delays were reduced by more than 1,000 hours compared to the same period in 2025. Total offload delay hours in 2025 also declined to 16,548 hours, down from 17,915 hours in 2024 and 19,319 hours in 2023.

“This reflects the work Windsor Regional Hospital and Erie Shores Healthcare are doing to improve patient flow and support the timely offloading of patients brought in by Paramedics,” said Chief Justin Lammers in a report to Council.

While offload delays have improved, the report notes that the system continues to experience pressure in other areas, including Code Black events, response times, and sudden cardiac arrest performance. Essex‑Windsor EMS saw reductions in Code Yellow and Code Red minutes in 2025, but overall demand and acuity continue to rise.

To support operational performance, the service is preparing for the implementation of the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) in September 2026. MPDS is expected to improve resource allocation and dispatch accuracy. The report also outlines a proposal to introduce two Rapid Response Units to support high‑acuity calls and longer time‑on‑task events such as police incidents and standby requests, helping preserve transport unit availability for emergencies requiring ambulance transport.

The report identifies staffing depth as an ongoing challenge. High leave rates, limited availability of new Paramedic graduates, and the need to draw heavily from the part‑time pool contributed to periods in 2025 and ongoing into 2026 where scheduled units could not be fully staffed.

Infrastructure needs were also highlighted as a key pressure. The County invested $11.48 million early in 2026 for the acquisition of three properties to support a new EMS headquarters and satellite stations in east and west Windsor. These investments address long‑standing facility constraints, including limited space for Paramedics, training, and deployment operations.

“These acquisitions represent important strategic assets aligned with the EMS Master Plan, and a financial plan for their development will be brought forward through the 2027 budget process,” said the report. These investments support the system’s ability to meet rising demand and complement our ongoing investment in the people and resources required to deliver emergency medical services.

The report also highlights ongoing efforts to strengthen Paramedic recruitment and retention, as well as the service’s work to expand public CPR training and increase the number and use of life‑saving automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the region.

“Increasing bystander intervention remains a critical component of improving sudden cardiac arrest outcomes and supports the broader system as demand continues to rise,” the report noted

Learn more about the service’s CPR and AED programs!

Read the 2026 Operational Status Report!

Council Updated on New Ambulance Dispatching System

Essex-Windsor EMS will move to a new Medical Priority Dispatch System in September that is designed to improve how 911 calls are assessed and prioritized, helping to maximize paramedic resources and ensure that the right resources are deployed for the right reasons at the right time.

“MPDS will introduce a more structured and clinically supported approach to triaging emergency calls and deploying paramedic resources. MPDS is an evidence-based medical dispatch system designed to improve the prioritization and management of 911 emergency medical services calls,” said a report to Council by Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Justin Lammers. “Based on the experience of other services that have transitioned to MPDS, we can anticipate improvements such as more precise categorization of calls by patient acuity and a corresponding reduction in unnecessary high-priority responses.”

The rollout of MPDS in Windsor-Essex had originally been slated for 2027 but the County and Essex-Windsor EMS successfully advocated for accelerated implementation based on local system pressures.

While the benefits of the new dispatching system include “improved patient prioritization, enhanced system efficiency, strengthened support for frontline staff, and maintained response performance for life-threatening emergencies,” a common trade-off experienced in other jurisdictions is that “lower-acuity patients may experience longer wait times as resources are more deliberately prioritized for the most urgent cases.”

The new system also brings with it changes in terminology. Code Green, when there are 11 or more ambulances, becomes Code Normal. Code Yellow, when there are between four and 10 ambulances, becomes Code Surge. Code Red, when there are between one and three ambulances, becomes Code Critical. Code Black, when there are zero ambulances, becomes Code Zero.

Read the report!

View the presentation to Council!

Council Approves Advance Ambulance and Rapid Response Vehicle Procurement

County Council approved the advance procurement of nine ambulances and two Rapid Response Units to support fleet renewal, future growth and continued delivery of emergency services across Windsor, Essex County and Pelee Island.

Seven of the ambulances are scheduled for replacement in 2027 under the Asset Management Plan and the report recommends the purchase of two additional ambulances and two Rapid Response Units (RRUs) to accommodate growth and operational demand. Delivery of the vehicles, expected in the second quarter of 2027, would bring the fleet to 46 ambulances, 22 emergency and logistics vehicles, including the new RRUs.

“RRUs are single-paramedic Type II units designed to respond to Obvious Immediate Threat (OIT) calls such as cardiac arrest, choking, not breathing, unconscious patients, and severe respiratory distress, where seconds matter most,” said Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Justin Lammers in a report to Council. “They will also be equipped to support large-scale motor vehicle collisions and other low-frequency, high-risk events, including childbirth, mass-casualty incidents, police standbys during high-profile operations, region-wide fire standbys, and other major incidents. This approach enables rapid response to the most critical emergencies without tying up transport ambulances required to meet ongoing system demand.”

The $2.58-million purchase will be funded through the EMS Equipment and Vehicle Reserve as part of the 2027 Budget process.

Read the report!

Council Approves Agreement with Teamsters

County Council approved a tentative agreement with Teamsters Local 879, which represents workers with the roads division of the County’s Infrastructure Services department. A By-law authorizing the agreement will be brought to a future meeting of Council.