Latest news with #pilotProject
CBC
2 days ago
- Automotive
- CBC
This ‘unsafe' stretch of a Montreal West street is finally going to see some changes
The town says a pilot project starting later this year will change the flow of vehicle traffic and add some pedestrian safety measures on a section of Westminster Avenue.
CBC
27-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Ambulance N.B. extends rural pilot project, sees early positive results
Ambulance New Brunswick is extending a pilot project that changes the way ambulances are organized in the province, with the goal of improving response times and taking pressure off staff. The initial project ran for 60 days in Port Elgin, Cap-Pelé, and Fords Mills. It will be extended for another 60 days. The three areas saw ambulances stay in their communities instead of covering other regions. Results from the pilot saw an improvement in response times of 6.4 per cent in the area, according to Medavie Health Services, which provides ambulance service. Eric Robichaud, a spokesperson for Medavie Health Services, said in an emailed statement that "local ANB units were not automatically deployed to provide coverage in neighbouring areas, however they did continue to respond to requests for service where required." The statement also said that the project was in response to "challenges posed by increasing call volumes and offload delays, as well as pressure on staff." The areas selected for the pilot have been "experiencing prolonged response times due to system pressures." The pilot, which eliminates covering neighbouring areas, is contrary to the organization's dynamic deployment system they've been using since 2007. Chris Hood, executive director of the Paramedic Association of New Brunswick, welcomes the change. "The way we have done business over the years has to change," said Hood. Early results 'promising' Data is still being analyzed, according to Robichaud, but "early results are promising." The change has improved response times in the south of the province where ambulances would have been expected to cover the eastern region in the dynamic deployment system. Robichaud said the improvement "is based on fewer requests for these units to relocate and cover calls." Hood said that early success "shouldn't be a shock." Will keeping paramedics close to home improve rural response times? 5 hours ago Duration 2:18 Ambulance New Brunswick is extending a pilot project aimed at improving response times in the rural communities of Port Elgin, Fords Mills and Cap-Pelé. "We will absolutely see success if this were to be rolled out." He describes dynamic deployment as a "string theory" — when an ambulance gets pulled from one part of the province, the next-closest ambulance moves closer to the vacant region to fill in. "Consider an ambulance is on string. Every time a string moves, the next closest ambulance moves in a little bit closer," said Hood. He said the problem with dynamic deployment is "ultimately the string ends at some point and that community is the one that's left with nothing." He said that community is usually "rural and remote areas." Hood said the system works great in dense, urban areas like Montreal, but "it doesn't work in a province with the geography such as New Brunswick." "I've heard horror stories of ambulances from Sussex responding to Cap-Pelé for cardiac arrest. That just can't happen." Medavie's contract requires them to respond to 90 per cent of calls within target times of nine minutes in urban areas and 22 minutes in rural areas. Hood said Ambulance New Brunswick employs almost 1,000 paramedics and the province isn't losing any. He also said the change is an improvement for paramedics as well. "It's not unheard of to see three or four hundred kilometres of travel happen by an ambulance and never see a patient," he said. Now, Hood thinks that if paramedics stay in their communities, they will have opportunities to become more "integrated into the health-care system." He said paramedics could check on people in the community that have recently been discharged from hospital and help keep them out of hospital. In the long run, he said it can help prevent constantly "moving patients to health-care facilities only because they haven't had good follow up." Hood would like to see paramedics present in ambulance stations so people can see them for wellness checks, blood pressure checks and blood glucose monitoring.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Could Maine adopt a four-day workweek? One legislator wants to find out
Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) addresses the upper chamber on May 7, 2025. (By Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) A Republican legislator is pushing for the state to lay the groundwork for a four-day work week by establishing a pilot project and a tax credit to encourage participation. Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford presented a resolve, LD 1865, to the Taxation Committee on Thursday that would establish a pilot project administered by the Maine Department of Labor to 'promote, incentivize and support' the use of a four-day work week and study the benefits and effects of the schedule change. 'This proposal is rooted in a simple principle,' Bennett said. 'Maine people work hard and they deserve to thrive, not just survive.' Bennett said his proposal is not about working less but working smarter, but some Republican legislators on the committee were critical of the plan. 'Working five days a week, that's part of being an adult,' said Rep. Tracy Quint of Hodgdon. Bennett pushed back. 'I don't think part of being an adult is to have to work in a given rigor that was handed to us by what worked in 1938,' he said, adding that when former President Franklin D. Roosevelt ushered in the 40-hour work week about 80 years ago, critics feared economic disaster but instead it helped usher in an era of prosperity. 'I do not want our state policy making to be governed by fear,' Bennett said. The pilot project would be voluntary, open to all private and public employers with at least 15 employees, but selection will be up to a process established by the Department of Labor to ensure a wide breadth of participation. Research on four-day work weeks is in its early stages, and not all four-day work weeks look the same. Bennett said he'd like the pilot to involve a reduction in hours per week to 32 hours, eight hours per day, without any loss of pay, employment status or benefits. Other models compress 40 hours into four days. An international trial of more than 200 companies that switched to a reduced hours workweek like Bennett proposed found improved worker well-being, retention and recruitment, with most companies choosing to continue the model. However, other studies identified some negative impacts, including scheduling problems, more intense monitoring measures and a risk of benefits fading over time. Some private Maine businesses have implemented four-day work weeks, using varying methods, as well as a handful of municipalities, including South Portland, Lewiston and Biddeford. In order to encourage participation, the resolve would also establish a tax credit against income taxes owed by that employer. The specifics of that credit are not outlined in the proposal. Currently, it states that it would be determined by the department and the State Tax Assessor, but constitutionally tax changes must go through the Legislature, so ultimately such a decision would have to come back to lawmakers. Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield) questioned why a tax credit is necessary if some municipalities and businesses in Maine have already implemented four-day work weeks, but Bennett said Maine-specific data on effectiveness is lacking. The credit would be an incentive to help the state gather that data, and it is not intended to replace the cost of the additional eight-hour work day. 'I want it to be proven out that the productivity gains and the other possible advancements are achievable and aren't just replaced by state tax dollars,' Bennett said. Pressed on the cost the tax credit could incur the state by legislators of both parties, Bennett said he would return with specifics for the work session but anticipates it to be modest. He is also open to the committee choosing to fund an incentive in another way, noting that he modeled his plan after a similar bill currently being considered in Massachusetts that uses taxpayer dollars. 'I hope that you don't reject it on that basis,' he said. The duration of the pilot project in Maine would be at least two years but no more than four years, which would be determined by the Department of Labor. The resolve specifies that participating employers should be diverse in size, industry location and ownership, including those owned by veterans, women, minorities and people with disabilities. Those participating should also have both employees who are exempt from and subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. No one testified for or against the measure on Thursday, but Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, spoke neither for nor against. Woodcock said, if the resolve does pass, the chamber would want to partner with the Department of Labor to make the pilot as effective as possible, noting that it would be helpful to gather data about how a four-day work week would work for salaried versus hourly employees. 'I think ultimately, for something like this to be successful, you do need the executive buy-in,' Woodcock said. 'If this does have a trend of being utilized as a best practice, I think Maine does need to be at the forefront of consideration of this model.' The department would be required to report annually to the Legislature on the progress and participation levels for the duration of the pilot project and then submit a final report. The report would assess the economic and social effect of a four-day workweek on the participating employers and the effect on the wellbeing of participating employees, as well as include recommendations. However, throughout the pilot, participating employers must provide the department access to employer data and participating employees including through interviews and surveys on a regular basis, though employees can opt out of those inquiries and any data gathered must be anonymized. The State Tax Assessor would also be required to submit an annual report on the tax credit. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
