Chevalier takes over position July 1
GLENBURNIE – Gale Chevalier will be the next Chief at Frontenac Paramedics. The news was announced at the Wednesday, April 17 Frontenac County Council meeting. Chevalier will take over the position on July 1.
“I’ve seen Chevalier’s commitment and passion for paramedic leadership in the five years I’ve been on Council and am very confident we made the right choice in selecting her to be our Chief moving forward,” said Frontenac County Warden Ron Higgins. “In her capacity as Deputy Chief of Operations, Chevalier has demonstrated advanced knowledge of the legislation, regulations and practices involved in operating a paramedic service in Ontario,” Higgins said.
Chevalier was the unanimous selection of the recruitment panel in a highly competitive field of candidates. She takes over from Paul Charbonneau who has been Chief Paramedic since September 2004.
Chevalier has 25 years of experience in all areas of paramedicine. She began her career as a Primary Care Paramedic at Hotel Dieu Hospital Regional EMS in Kingston in 1994 and progressed to Advanced Care Paramedic in 1997. In 2004, she became the Operations Supervisor at Frontenac Paramedic Services and advanced to Supervisor of Quality Assurance and Training in 2009. She was Deputy Chief of Performance Standards since November 2010 and became Deputy Chief of Operations in April last year.
“I’m very excited and honoured to become the next Chief at Frontenac Paramedics, and I’m looking forward to leading a great team of professionals and an organization where I’ve spent my entire career,” said Chevalier. “I want to make sure we remain an employer of choice and continue to be leaders in the industry, and I’m looking forward to implementing our new strategic plan and continuing with the rollout of our recently approved branding,” Chevalier said.
In her capacity as Deputy Chief of Operations at Frontenac Paramedics, Chevalier was responsible for oversight of all aspects of daily operations and logistics, ensured quality control and compliance with operational policies and regulations and managed the service’s 19.2 million dollar budget. She also, established the Peer Support Team, led the development of County of Frontenac Mental Wellness Task Force and authored the Frontenac Paramedics PTSD Prevention Plan.
“I’ve worked with Chevalier during my five years at the County and in that period she’s been a dedicated, knowledgeable and passionate leader,” said Frontenac County CAO Kelly Pender. “Her budgetary skills and senior management team experience made her the perfect candidate to lead Frontenac Paramedics into the future in the fast paced and ever changing world of pre-hospital care,” Pender said.
About Frontenac Paramedics
Frontenac Paramedics operates seven paramedic stations to service a population of nearly 150,000 people in the Townships of North, Central, South Frontenac and the Frontenac Islands and the City of Kingston. Frontenac Paramedics responds to approximately 22,000 calls for service each year.
For more information:
Marco Smits,
Communications Officer, County of Frontenac – Corporate Services,
Tel: 613-548-9400 ext. 305 Fax: 613-548-8460 msmits@frontenaccounty.ca