Equipment Loans:

Members can borrow equipment on a short-term (up to three months) loan. The Society has wheel chairs, crutches, walkers, shower seats, canes, reachers, commodes, and raised toilet seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. To be eligible for this benefit, your membership fee must have been paid a minimum of two weeks prior to the request for equipment.

The Society is thrilled to accept donations of equipment to add to our stock.  Unfortunately, we cannot store equipment that is large (such as hospital beds) or that is personal in nature (i.e., that cannot be easily cleaned).

To borrow, return or donate equipment, please make arrangements with the Equipment Manager at 250-755-6576. Please call during the hours of 9 to 1, Monday to Friday unless it is an emergency. People borrowing equipment must sign a loan agreement and ensure that equipment is clean and disinfected upon return..  Please note that we do not deliver equipment unless it is an emergency!

Please do not return equipment to the BC Ambulance Service on Church Street.  The BC Ambulance Service is a separate organization and is not responsible for our equipment.

Ambulance User Fees:

IMPORTANT:  The Gabriola Ambulance Society does not operate the ambulance on Gabriola. Ambulance operations are the sole responsibility of the BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS). Call 911 if you need an ambulance.

Members can have ambulance user fees paid for them, exclusive of ferry fares, for service provided between Gabriola Island and the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital or service provided on Gabriola Island, up to the amount payable by a BC resident who is a holder of a BC CARE card. 

To be eligible for this benefit, your membership fee must have been paid a minimum of two weeks prior to the use of the ambulance for which a subsequent payment or reimbursement is requested. The BC Emergency Health Service (BCEHS) invoice must be forwarded to the Gabriola Ambulance Society within fourteen (14) days of the invoice date to be eligible for payment by the Society.

When someone uses the ambulance in British Columbia, there is a user fee of $50 (if not transported in the ambulance) or $80 (if transported). You will get a bill from the BCEHS for a user fee. Just mail or e-mail the entire, bill to the Gabriola Ambulance Society, Box 162, Gabriola, BC, V0R 1X0. Mail it right away to avoid problems with overdue accounts. The Society will pay your bill if it is received within fourteen (14) days from date of invoice. We prefer to pay the bills directly rather than reimburse members because it is more efficient for administration

First-Aid / CPR Training:

The Society provides a 50% subsidy for registration fees for first aid training offered by the Gabriola Recreation Society.  If you are interested to take a first aid course, please email the Gabriola Recreation Society at gabrec@telus.net or telephone them at 250-247-2014. Their Coordinator keeps a list of people interested in upcoming courses.

Home Support:

Members are entitled to apply to the Society's board of directors for reimbursement for short-term home assistance, up to twenty (20) hours to a maximum of $500 per calendar year, when such assistance is requested in writing by a licensed physician. 

To be eligible for this service, your membership fee must have been paid in full a minimum of two weeks prior to the need for short-term home assistance. Long-term disability recipients may be granted this service once only within the first six months of being designated as needing long-term care, with the required documentation from a licensed physician.

The home assistance service covers help with personal care, meal preparation (including grocery shopping) and light, general housekeeping of the kind normally done in a regular week: e.g., laundry, vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, etc. Heavy or "spring" cleaning such as window washing, oven cleaning, or cleaning behind appliances is not included in this benefit. 

The Society will only reimburse expenses when no government-funded, short-term care is available. For the list of services provided by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), or contact VIHA at 250-739-5749.

To apply for home assistance, please provide the following information to the Administrator in writing (by letter or by email; email preferred to GabriolaAmbulanceSociety@shaw.ca).

1. A description of the circumstances that have/will result in your needing home assistance.

2. The type of home assistance you need.

3. Confirmation that VIHA does not provide the service you are requesting.

4. Confirmation that you have a note from a doctor or nurse practitioner supporting your need for home assistance.

Please allow five working days for the Board of Directors to consider your application. If it is an emergency, please state that in your application; we will get back to you as soon as we can. 

The Ambulance Society does not keep a list of people who do home assistance. It is up to individual members to hire their own person.

If your application is approved, you can submit the invoices you have received all at once or individually, as is convenient for you, but they must be mailed to the Administrator within ninety (90) days of requiring the assistance.  Please include the note from your doctor with your first submission. Mail requests for reimbursement to Box 162, Gabriola, BC, V0R 1X0.

If you have any questions, please contact the Administrator by email to GabriolaAmbulanceSociety@shaw.ca or by phone (250-247-0226).

Scholarships:

The Society also provides a $2,500 scholarship annually to a Gabriola student entering a medical field. Students can get a booklet at school of all the scholarships and bursaries offered in School District 68, and in which the Ambulance Society scholarship is listed.

HELICOPTER PAD
Gabriola Community Health Care Centre:

The Gabriola Ambulance Society donated $10,000 for the construction of the helicopter pad at the newly built Gabriola Community Health Care Centre on Church Street in 2012. In 2018 a further $3,400 was donated to update and install the new lighting controller for the helipad.

STAINLESS STEEL CARTS for
Emergency Trauma Rooms

On December 11, 2015 the Gabriola Ambulance Society presented three stainless steel carts for the emergency treatment rooms at the Gabriola Medical Centre. Gabriola Ambulance Society board members Corinne Haentjens and Sandra Hill made the presentation, and Dr. Tracey Thorne and Chuck Connor (president of the Gabriola Health Care Foundation) accepted the donation.