KAWARTHA LAKES: It was recently announced that the municipality has appointed Andrew Rafton to the position of Paramedics Chief.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Ron Taylor, made the announcement at a committee meeting on Tuesday, February 4th, thanking Chief Rafton for his continued dedicated service to Kawartha Lakes Paramedics over the last 18 years, most recently in his role as Acting Chief over the last several months. Mr. Taylor was pleased Mr. Rafton had put his retirement plans on hold to take on the position of Chief.
“I was thrilled he decided to stay with us,” added Mr. Taylor. “Congratulations Andrew, you really did step up.”
Along with new deputy chiefs Sara Johnston and Patricia Bromfield, Mr. Rafton attended the meeting on February 4th, offering an outline of the year ahead for the City’s Paramedic Services. “We have a large number of projects underway that I’d like to see [come] to fruition. Our Ministry of Health accreditation process is one of them. The International Plowing Match will also require many of our resources to support the increase in visitors,” remarked Mr. Rafton. “The timing of this appointment is good in that it will allow the opportunity for a full recruitment of a new Chief as I will retire at the end of this year.”
The Paramedic Service now has two Deputy Chiefs as a result of the promotion of Sara Johnston and the hire of Patricia Bromfield. According to City staff, this change in structure results in less senior management, will allocate more resources to front line staff, and is expected to result in a more efficient model to service the community’s needs.