Kristina Voith and Stefan Dums next to one of the County of Renfrew Paramedic Services' vehicles
Two international guests are still beaming after a summer abroad in the Ottawa Valley.
A recent update from the Regensburg Red Cross details a week-long learning experience for Kristina Voith and Stefan Dums, two German paramedics who travelled to the area earlier this year to work and learn alongside their counterparts with the County of Renfrew Paramedic Services.
The trip, which was built on an eight-year-long partnership between the two organizations, was an opportunity for the pair to learn how local paramedics handle everything from community paramedicine visits for remote, high-risk residents who can’t make routine hospital visits to emergency services and to adopt those practices upon returning home.
Voith says her impression of the visit is just as vivid now as on the first day after the trip, noting her experience in Renfrew County was marked by unique professional insights and a warm, relaxed reception.
“You are immediately welcomed everywhere like a family member,” she continues. “Every day we were invited to a different colleague’s house for a barbecue or to the campfire and sat together with a beer.”
Meanwhile, Dums says anyone with the BRK paramedic team who gets this opportunity to visit Renfrew County should definitely do it.
(written by Kasey Egan)
