2008 in Review

PROFESSIONAL PARAMEDIC ASSOCIATION OF OTTAWA

2007 & 2008 IN REVIEW

non silba, sed anthar (not for self, but for others)

2007-2008 IN REVIEW

PREFACE

Welcome to the Professional Paramedic Association of Ottawa’s “2007—2008 In Review”! As this is our first ever “In Review”, it is long overdue (which is why we included the last 2 years of highlights in one publication). Quite a bit of volunteer work has gone into the writing, editing, publishing, print and finance process. Our hope is to showcase some of the talent, commitment and generosity that our paramedics display throughout the year. Most of this giving is channeled through one of the biggest volunteer organizations in the City of Ottawa — the “Paramedic Association”. In the following pages you will find stories and pictures featuring several events that Ottawa Paramedics participated in during 2007 and 2008. Most of these activities were initiated by members who first booked their individual projects in the Special Events Booking area of OttawaParamedics.ca. From there, we collected stories, pictures and other information in an effort to archive the great events that paramedics volunteer for throughout the year. To tie it all in, we also submit semi-annual reports to Ottawa Paramedic Service so volunteer time can be tracked and tallied in public reports. In the coming years, this journal will be essential to a number of Provincial and Federal initiatives the PPAO is working on, including many projects that benefit the community at large. Thank you to everyone who participated in events ranging from school visits to car seat clinics to paramedic week activities. Without your selfless volunteerism, there would be nothing to feature in a yearbook! Keep up the great work! Sue Noel, Advanced Care Paramedic Director of Print Media Professional Paramedic Association of Ottawa 300 March Road (4th Floor) Ottawa, ON K2K 2E2 613-244-0333 [email protected] www.OttawaParamedics.ca

Cover photo provided by: www.EricGagnon.com

2007 ST. PATRICK’S PARADE

Despite the cold wind and treated to a display of freezing rain, four dedi- emergency lights, a PTL cated volunteers braved vehicle and an ambulance the elements to represent decked out in green strip- Ottawa paramedics in the ing, shamrocks and bal- annual St. Patrick’s Day loons. parade. In their yellow raincoats, Rob Wilson, his daughter Bob and Rob were easily Alyssa, Bob Davidson and visible waving to the Rob and Bob show Irish spirit his wife Sue took their crowds of people under the Irish spirit through the very grey skies. streets of downtown Ot- A very big thank you to tawa from City Hall to Rob, Bob, Alyssa and Sue Lansdowne Park. for their time spent at the Parade viewers were St. Patty’s Day parade!

Hitching a Ride

DID YOU KNOW... • Saint Patrick's real name was Maewyn Succat The proud volunteers • This was the tenth annual St Patty’s parade in Ottawa • The world’s biggest clover contained 14 leaves • 40 pounds of dye are used to turn the Chicago River green every St Patrick’s Day • Saint Patrick was originally from Britain • Many Pubs in Ireland are actually closed on March 17

The light show 2007 HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

On February 21st and 22nd This year’s tournament town teams who made the 2007 the University of Ot- was the most successful trip for the two days – tawa arena played host to yet, with $4500 being Sudbury, Timmons, Coch- 12 teams participating in raised and donated be- rane, Peterborough, Sher- the 4th annual PPAO tween the Sebastien Sav- brooke, Durham and Hal- Hockey Tournament. age Fund and our local ton. Helping Every Local Para- After two days of great Last but not least, thanks medic (HELP) fund. hockey, the semi finals to tournament organizers came down to Sherbrooke A special thank you goes Denis Gagnon, Ian Cour- (last year’s champions), out to all the tournament ville, John Shail, Cory Van and three Ottawa teams. sponsors: Molson, Ballistik Delst and Paul Seguin for Hockey, Ontario Medical putting together a success- Like last year, the semi- Supplies, Houle Sports, the ful event yet again. finals were close and Ot- Heart and Crown and sev- tawa required a shootout eral NHL players, including to eliminate Sherbrooke Denis Hamel, Martin St. from the finals by a 3-2 Pierre and Derek Roy. score. The other game saw Corrections beat the Ot- The PPAO would also like tawa Hazards 3-0. to thank volunteers Lisa Shail, Kelly Lacharity, In the exciting final game Sarah Eddy, Shannon Tur- between local rivals, Ot- cotte, Janet O’Keefe, tawa was eventually de- Esther Crawley and Julie feated by Corrections by a Belanger and all the out of World’s Largest Hockey Stick score of 3-2. Eveleth, Minnesota

The Winning Corrections team poses with the mini Stanley Cup PARAMEDIC H.E.L.P FUND

The end of 2006 saw two fund that would be con- Several Ottawa paramedics of Ottawa’s paramedics tinuously subsidized by have already been recipi- suffer some very serious medics to ensure donations ents of HELP fund dona- injuries in two separate existed for future events. tions. events. This new Helping Every Lo- If you would like your In order to show support cal Paramedic (HELP) fund name added to the list of for our colleagues and their was extremely well re- HELP Fund contributors, families, staff rallied to- ceived by medics. Dona- please fill in a form (found gether and donated funds tions aid in rehabilitation by the PPAO box near the to assist in their treatment and home care, specialized computers at HQ) and this and recuperation. equipment purchases, fam- amount will automatically ily travel expenses, ergo- be deducted concurrently In light of these events, nomic home renovations with the PPAO monthly ACP Steve Hallam decided and many other services dues. to create a permanent do- deemed necessary in the nation fund to help Ottawa The suggested donation is care and treatment of our medics and their families $2 - $5 a month but any own. suffering from a severe ill- amount can be selected. ness or injury in the future. Help Fund Coordinator By committing to this fund, Steve Hallam, Treasurer Previously, seriously in- paramedics & their families Robert Mallett, and Presi- jured medics were sup- will be able to tap into dent Darryl Wilton worked ported on an “as needed” readily available financial together to set up a dona- basis through a wooden help provided by their own tion system to ensure a donation box at headquar- coworkers & friends. continuously funded ac- ters. Each time something count, thus avoiding the For more information about happened, we basically usual inefficient and disor- the HELP Fund, please con- passed a hat around. ganized last minute collec- tact Steve Hallam. Steve decided to create a tion action. [email protected] 2007 VOLUNTEERS

If you have ever thought about donating a If you are tired of being referred to as an few hours of your time to your community, “ambulance driver” or being mistaken to the PPAO has many opportunities for you to have the same training as fire fighters, do just that at your convenience. these events are your chance to give the public the correct information about what skills Paramedics provide. You would be surprised at the amount of interest and numerous questions people have when you park your ambulance and display your equipment on a table at a local fair. People ask anything from “can you check my blood pressure” to “what does atropine do”. I haven’t done one event where someone hasn’t come over to say “thanks” to paramedics in general because another medic provided such excellent care to a family member.

Sue Noël assesses Councillor Doug Thompson One of the best things about volunteering is dealing with the very inquisitive children. The excitement they have while trying on a The OttawaParamedics.ca website receives Tyvek suit or uniform item is amazing. numerous requests on a daily basis from groups wanting Paramedics to display an ambulance and provide information on a career in Paramedicine. The requests come from many sources, including elementary schools, high schools, Girl Guides and organizers of community events such as local fairs. Our best efforts are done to accommodate all requests but we need to build a bigger volunteer list to keep up with the growing demand for Paramedics who volunteer their time in the community.

These events are extremely important for Catherine Du Puy shows the oxygen kit increasing community awareness of exactly what skills paramedics provide. It is not They love to see what it feels like to be im- uncommon to have local Councillors attend mobilized on a spinal board or have their these events and ask medics several ques- arm bandaged in cling to ‘fake’ a cast. Most tions about our skill set, medications or kids quickly learn how to attach ECG elec- equipment. trodes to their parents just buy figuring out what RA, LA, LL and RL stand for. notice a yellow box in Telestaff for those hours. The PPAO can arrange for more than just a stocked ambulance to ensure your presen- The cumulative volunteer time Ottawa tation is exciting and educational. We have Paramedics put in throughout the commu- an entire multimedia system available for nity has always been very impressive! our paramedics that comes complete with a To add your name to the volunteer list laptop computer, video projector, sound please contact the PPAO today!

Code chills out at Sugarfest 2007 system and even has some awesome vid- eos of medics in action as well as TV inter- views featuring paramedics explaining different aspects of our job. We also have a large canopy for outdoor events, brochures, display boards of medications and DID YOU KNOW, DURING 2007... Child Find ID cards.

Do you want to attend your child’s school to talk about your job for a few hours? We 28 School presentations were made have made it easy for you to organize your own community event at a place of your choosing. All you have to do is fill out our 66 different medics volunteered Special Events Request Form in the Mem- ber area on the OttawaParamedics.ca website. Just enter your name, the date, place Medics provided over 500 hours of and time of the event and select any equip- volunteer time for community events ment you want to use and it will be ready for you to come and pick up on your event day. You will even be supplied with a digital 74 events had volunteer medics in camera to take photos. attendance The PPAO diligently tracks volunteer hours from each of our members and submits every volunteer hour to Telestaff. If you All hours were reported in Telestaff donated volunteer time year, you should Pat Lamoureux inspects car seats at a clinic Warren Brown educates about diabetes

Children teach Darryl Wilton ECG application Chantale Dumas & Catherine Du Puy show O2

Rob Wilson talks about the wonders of Tyvek Hans Oberholzer monitors a heart rhythm 2007 GOLF TOURNAMENT

ously played the tournament when he was just beginning to golf and since then, he has taken on the responsibility of making sure the tournament is an enormous success every year. At the same time, medics raise a little money for various worthwhile causes. Thanks to the perfect weather for golfing, 2007’s Tournament was a great success! Among the excitement Joanne McGregor tries for par and anticipation of some 2005-2007 great and not-so-great Organizer Rod Hamberger Paramedics who worked in golf rounds, the new tour- the Ottawa area about 20 nament raised over $1400 The PPAO would like to years ago all remem- for Ottawa Paramedic extend a big thank you to ber the late Clyde Flinn. HELP Fund. 2005-2007 tournament Clyde was diagnosed with organizer Rodney Ham- throat cancer back in the berger as well as volun- late 1980’s and unfortu- teers Yannick Roussel, nately lost his battle a Mike Martins and Kasia short time afterwards. In Hamberger. his honour, Paramedic Gerry Lyon started an an- Thanks also goes out to nual Golf tournament with the tournament sponsors proceeds originally going - Artisan Golf, Stereo Plus to the Children’s Wish & Design, Grace O'Mal- Foundation. ley’s Pub East & West, Boston Pizza on Coventry Two years ago, golf en- Road, Absolute Comedy, thusiast Rodney Hamber- the Ottawa Senators (go ger took on the enormous Sens go), Live 88.5fm Ra- task of running the Clyde dio, and the Barley Mow Flinn Memorial Golf Toura- Restaurant in Barrhaven. ment and he made sure it was bigger and better More Info: than ever! Rodney previ- “I wasn’t even close!” [email protected] 2007 ANAPHYLAXIS ALLIANCE

ANAPHYLAXIS IN SONG tions to the group about what Paramedics do, and how they help in anaphylactic reac- Paramedic Headquarters hosted a group of tions. The children get to interact with the over 40 anaphylactic children and their medics and the equipment, and the families parents during an entertaining day all have a chance to have any questions an- about allergies. swered. Kyle Dine and band mate Andrew Cook The success of these events has been entertained the crowd for an hour with amazing! great acoustic performances of songs like “Epi Man”, “Tingle on My Tongue” and “That’s a Peanut (I Don’t Eat It)”. It was Kyle’s own experience with food allergies that inspired him to write several songs for kids all on the subject of allergies. All of the children in attendance were thrilled to take home a copy of his CD “You Must Be Nuts”. Also in attendance was Code the Dog (Ottawa Paramedic Service Mascot), and Epi-Man, superhero to all of those with severe allergies. This concert was just another event in a series of projects that have been coordi- Kyle & Andrew perform “Tingle on my Tongue” nated between the PPAO and the Ottawa Anaphylactic Support Group (OASG) in the past few years. Many children in the city have severe allergies to numerous foods and their likeli- hood of requiring Paramedic assistance during a reaction is quite high. The PPAO and support group leader Karen Eck decided it would be a great idea to have these kids become familiar with the role of Paramedics. That way, when an emergency situation does arise, these children and their families will be well aware of the help medics provide, ideally helping reduce some fear and anxiety. Paramedics have made several presenta- Epi Man and Code become friends

gest taking patients to the ER even if epi- ADULT INFO SESSION nephrine had relieved the symptoms? Wil- ton explained the significance of biphasic Following the “kids concert”, the Ottawa anaphylactic reactions and the importance Anaphylaxis Support Group (OASG) and the of continuity of care. PPAO continued their ongoing collaboration with an information session for parents of Following this, the group was taken on a anaphylactic children. tour of headquarters and shown everything from a fully stocked ambulance to the De- Darryl Wilton spoke to the group at Para- contamination bay. medic Headquarters on the roles Paramed- ics play during anaphylactic reactions. During the question and answer session, CAN A MEDIC’S President Wilton had his work cut out for PEANUT BUTTER him, answering some very interesting and SANDWICH HARM A thought-provoking questions from the audience. For example, have you ever thought CHILD WITH A about what could happen if you had just PEANUT ALLERGY? eaten a peanut butter sandwich and had to attend a call for a child having a peanut allergy? Those in attendance were so interested in Parents also wanted information on what to all they were seeing and hearing that the do if they needed paramedics while out on session even ran over an hour late to fit in a boat in the middle of a lake. Wilton ex- all the questions. If Karen Eck from the Ot- plained that it is very important to know tawa Anaphylaxis Support didn’t call it the address of the marina you are depart- quits, we were sure these parents were ing from or returning to because that would ready to stay at HQ all night! be the most logical address for paramedics The PPAO would like to thank the OASG for to respond to in the event of an emergency their ongoing efforts to enhance the rela- (seeing as the middle of a lake has no ad- tionship between medics and anaphylactic dress). families, and for their generous donation of Parents even asked why paramedics sug- $300 to the H.E.L.P Fund!

INSPIRE CONFERENCE

In the Fall of 2007, the PPAO attended the to children and families National Allergy and Asthma Information of all ages. Association’s Inspire Conference. The Medics were a huge Held at La Cité Collégiale on October 21, hit with everyone in at- this one day workshop brought together tendance and families everyone from kids with allergies to medi- appreciated the wealth cal professionals. Among the many dis- of information provided plays, paramedics Hans Oberholzer, Natalie about the paramedics’ Labelle and Yannick Roussel (Code the role in treating anaphy- Dog) coordinated our participation in the laxis and acute allergic event and showcased Paramedic equipment reactions. Natalie and Yannick evalu- ate Hans’ BVM skills.

Hans shows children that paramedic needles really aren’t so bad.

Epi-Man learns the treatments for anaphylaxis from Hans and Yannick. PARAMEDIC WEEK 2007

Take a city that is growing at an astonish- medications and participating in an equip- ing rate. Add in an enormous baby boomer ment demonstration. This was followed by segment that is aging every day. Faster a tour of the building, a look inside vehicles cars. More aggressive sports. Hundreds of like the ambulance, PTL cars, the gator and thousands of tourists and top it all off with a visit to the decontamination bay. Out of a new strain of highly contagious diseases all the visitors we were very lucky and ex- with no known cures. You have only begun perienced only one casualty who acciden- to discover some of the ingredients that are tally stepped in front of the automatic fuelling the need for “Paramedics of the Fu- showers in the decon area – haha! ture”. We actually had a sunny and warm long This is exactly how we sold National Para- weekend and were able to bring our display medic Week 2007 to the media and it back to the Byward Market (Ottawa’s hot- turned out to be an enormous success. test tourist trap) to get ourselves out in the public eye. A tent, ambulance and equip- We chose to focus on the younger mem- ment were set up for people to try and bers of our community during our many medics answered questions all afternoon. “Paramedics of the Future” events. It was perfect timing for the event as thou- Thanks to a terrific response from local sands of people were down in the market groups we actually extended Paramedic anticipating the Ottawa Senators win in Week into another 7 days in order to Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference schedule everyone interested in learning finals. Several hockey fans stopped by for a about Paramedics. peek at our gear before game time. During the week of May 14 – May 20, over Local schools were also recipients of Para- 400 local brownies, scouts, sparks, girl medic visitors over the week. Volunteers guides and pathfinders visited Paramedic visited schools each day of the week with Headquarters ambulances, equipment and video presen- The groups started off learning about our tations, which were thoroughly enjoyed by

“You have to wear this for how long??” The Spine board - strangely appealing all in attendance. In order to accommodate rotating shift patterns, we held two staff appreciation meals. MMMMM! FOOD... A & C platoons were treated to a lavish breakfast buffet cooked up by John Rathier and Stephanie Mills at the beginning of the week. John and Stephanie are veterans at preparing meals for large groups as they regularly do so for a local scout camp. B & D platoons didn’t get the experienced chefs cooking for them, but three dedicated medics took their turns on the huge BBQ at headquarters grill- ing burgers and hot dogs for over 8 hours straight! I think the three medics went home with heat stroke from cooking all day on the hottest day of the year – haha! THANK YOU…. This could not have been pulled off without the help of all our volunteers so a very big thank-you goes out to Rob Ashfield, Bob Davidson, Lindsey Dejong, Chantale Dumas, Darrell Drew, Giuseppe Federico, Amanda Hagmann, Natalie Labelle, Steve Leu, Stephanie Mills, Jeff Nelson, Sue Noël, Hans Oberholzer, Mary Ann O’Neill, Tim O’Neill, John Rathier, Yannick Roussel, Deanna Schofield, Dan Shugar, Matt Smith, Mathieu Tanguay, Cassie Willard, Rob Wilson, Darryl Wilton, Jan Woods and everyone else who helped out! Thank you to all the Equipment Supply Techni- cians and Equipment Controllers for ensuring our equipment was ready and even bigger thanks for putting it all back together for us at the end of each night! Operations Coordinator Bob Davidson also de- serves a special thank-you for his assistance lead- ing up to EMS week and for helping us to ensure everything would run smooth over two very stressful weeks. We are always looking for volunteers so please put your name in to help us put together an even bigger EMS week!

ANGEL HAIR DONATIONS

One male and several female employees of Although some of the donators grew their Ottawa Paramedic Service were sporting hair for months in order to prepare for much shorter hairstyles April 02, 2007, this event, it took only mere minutes to thanks to the speedy scissors of stylists snip all the braids and even shear the en- from Riccioli Salon on Rideau Street. tire head of Martin Massé, the lone male donator. Annik Allard coordinated an extremely suc- Following the hair cutting, all who donated were treated to refreshments courtesy of Rideau Street Loblaws. We were also provided with the best sandwiches in the city thanks to Paul Di Rienzo from Di Rienzo Grocery on Beech Street (a paramedic favourite). Third Avenue Spa donated a spa treatment won by Annie Lord-Stephens Spe- cial thanks to Danny Gerges - the owner of the Riccioli Salon, hairstylists Tanya Gauthier, Dawna Harris, and Deborah THE BEFORE …. Last but not least, thanks to everyone who donated hair: Amanda Hagmann, Karine Kettler, Karen Gervais, Krista cessful hair donation event for the Angel Shipman, Annik Lagassé, Trina Bazinet, Hair Foundation, a charity providing real hair wigs for children suffering hair loss due to illness and disease. With the demand steadily increasing, the Angel Hair Foundation is constantly in need of both hair and monetary donations to make these wigs for many deserving children. In order to make one wig, 12-15 braids of hair are required as well as $800- $1000 for manufacturing costs.

....AND THE AFTER

Christine Samson, Paula Palazzo, Annie Lord-Stephens, Yvonne Malbasha, Eliza- Due to the generosity of several volunteers, beth Graham, Isabelle Dumas, Marianne this event was a tremendous success, col- Hoad, Nadine Leduc, Martin Massé, Talia lecting 18 braids and $1762 to help create Roseshter and our one anonymous walk- new wigs. in public hair donor. Annik Allard measures Yvonne Malbasha Amanda Hagmann likes her new haircut

Marianne Hoad gets trimmed Annie Lord-Stephens speaks to the media

Martin Massé learns a new hair care routine Annik Allard displays her donation HENRI VANZANDVOORT RETIRES

Henri grew up in Ayl- tients, once Henri mer, Quebec with his graduated school his parents (who immi- stress subsided and grated from Holland), he was able to keep two brothers and one the vomiting in check sister. Henri didn’t on calls! start out as a medic, his first career was as He also brought along a chef on a ship in the some of his cooking Beaufort Sea. His job skills to the Para- allowed travel which medic world and has led him to other Chef been known to in- struct family mem- Henri shows Paul Morneau how to BBQ positions in Bermuda and then at Ottawa’s bers of hypoglycemic great burgers Westin hotel. patients how to properly layer a peanut Although Henri en- butter sandwich. joyed being a Chef, in 1990 he decided on a Henri is an extremely career change and en- friendly medic who rolled in the Ambu- always had a smile lance and Emergency and hello for everyone Care program at Al- at work. Even when gonquin College. Ru- he was mad, he was mour has it that Henri still smiling! He was a had a little stress each fixture at every para- time a practical exam medic get together, came up and he came especially on trips to The Celebration Cake close to vomiting every the Caribbean. exam day. Henri loves the warm His first medic job was weather and it wasn’t with St Lawrence and unusual to see him District Ambulance sporting a sweater in Services until the City June and August. In of Ottawa amalga- July he lightened up mated in 2001. and wore only a long sleeved shirt :) Henri loved his new job and worked all the Henri is now living a time to help maximize life of luxury in the his RRSP’s. Muskokas, enjoying Bob Davidson presents Henri with a his well earned retire- plaque of service crests Good thing for the pa- ment.

CAR SEAT TECHNICIAN TRAINING

In response to new "Children who are not Ontario Highway Traf- secured properly can fic Act laws regarding be ejected from vehi- child seats, boosters cles during collisions and maximum number and are at very high of occupants in motor risk of suffering serious vehicles, a combined injury or death". group of 60 local Para- medics and PCP Stu- dents all came to- Patrick Lamoureux also gether to earn Car became a certified In- Seat Technician certifi- spector Trainer and is cations in 2007. now able to train In- Pat ensures the stand-in baby is secured spectors in-house.

Beginning in 2004, the Each year, the PPAO PPAO embarked on a will train more techni- volunteer initiative that cians who will be able included the City of Ot- to volunteer their time tawa Public Health De- to provide hundreds of partment, Transport free car seat inspec- Canada, Plan-It-Safe tions throughout the and the Children's Hos- year in the City of Ot- pital of Eastern Ontario tawa. in an effort to ensure that Car Seat Inspec- tions would continue to "All paramedic and be available to the community Certified Student Mike Voos checks the belts public at large. Car Seat Technicians will be learning much

more about cars, re- “It is important to pro- straints, children and vide this valuable pub- collisions than you lic service because might imagine. Secur- paramedics see first ing your child properly hand the devastating has been proven to re- consequences when duce the risk of injury people don't secure and death dramatically their children prop- in serious motor vehi- erly", said Patrick cle collisions", says Lamoureux, Director of Lamoureux. Community Services. Patrick Lamoureux and Eric Bartleman 2007 STUDENT CPR/AED

Thanks to giving up a medics or physicians. Saturday morning of Advanced Public Edu- their own time, 54 stu- cation Officer Alexan- dents in the first year dra Hopkin coordi- of the Primary Care nated a very success- Paramedic Program at ful day which also in- Algonquin College were cluded a multimedia fully certified in Auto- presentation by Presi- mated External Defi- dent Darryl Wilton brillation (AED) for the and a tour of the Ot- 2007 school year. tawa Paramedic Ser- Each fall, the first year vice Headquarters. class learned the im- This training course portance of AED certifi- was the second of cation for themselves many to be coordi- and the community. nated by the PPAO. The 4-hour training The idea began in course ensures they 2005 when the PPAO can play a part in the realized there was a 4-step chain of sur- misconception in the vival. community regarding Calling 9-1-1, starting the level of training CPR and applying a de- paramedics possess. fibrillator are the first Many people assumed three steps in the that paramedics, fire- chain of survival. With fighters and police of- these skills, on the first ficers all possessed day of school, the stu- the same level of dents have equal medical training. medical qualifications Thanks to tiered re- as a fully trained police sponse systems, it is officer or firefighter. not hard to under- stand how this mis- Once the students conception originated. graduate from the Paramedic program When a serious medi- they will be able to cal call occurs, the provide the final step, patient and bystand- Advanced Cardiac Life ers see all three Support, which can emergency services only be provided by arrive to provide care. highly trained para- Police Officers and

Firefighters are highly weekend, Students and Ci- Current Municipal Cost? trained in their areas of ex- vilians can get the exact Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. pertise but they do not same First Aid, CPR and have any formal medical Defib training as Firefight- Municipalities throughout training. ers or Police officers. Ontario are extremely for- tunate that paramedics ar- Firefighters: Paramedic Training: rive on their doorstep, fully When it comes to prevent- In order to become a para- educated, completely certi- ing the spread of a house medic, you must acquire fied and ready for employ- fire, providing swift water First Aid, CPR, a special- ment. rescue, performing high ized drivers license and a The Future: angle rescues, assessing number of other education, HAZMAT situations and physical and health prereq- Due to the aging baby successfully extricating a uisites before you are even boomer population, the fu- patient from a crumpled eligible to apply for a Para- ture will without a doubt car, there is no question medic Program. see a need for more that firefighters are very highly trained Paramedics Then, you have to compete specialized for those jobs who specialize in providing to gain entrance into a Ca- but they do not have any excellent medicine in un- nadian Medical Association formal medical training. stable environments. Accredited College or Uni- Police Officers: versity 2 year (PCP) or 3 When it comes to dialing year (ACP) or 4 year (CCP) 9-1-1, paramedics are the Highly trained police offi- Paramedic Program. This only providers who can cers are the people you means you must beat ap- skillfully assess complex want in situations involving proximately 1000 appli- cases, offer a rapid diagno- violence and crime but cants for 1 of 50 seats. sis, perform an unprece- they do not have any for- dented number of Dele- mal medical training. You must pay your own gated Medical Acts as well tuition and all other associ- First Aid, CPR and Defib: as administer sophisticated ated educational expenses medications and treat- First Aid, CPR and Defib that can amount to over ments that are otherwise training is proven to be of $40,000 by the time you only available in an Emer- limited use in less than 1% complete Advanced Care gency Department. of the entire Paramedic Paramedic training. Service call volume. From, there, you may be Where true medical skills one of 65% who pass the make a huge difference is Paramedic Program and on the other 99% of the Provincial Exams to be- paramedic call volume. come eligible for employ- Civilian Training: ment as a Paramedic. Thanks to changes in In- This training provides ternational CPR Guidelines, paramedics with a unique it is no longer uncommon set of very sophisticated for civilians to be the pri- medical skills that would mary providers of First Aid, otherwise only be available CPR and Defib before para- in hospital from Emergency medics arrive. In just one Physicians. 2007 VOLUNTEER LISTING

NOTE: Every volunteer initiative Community Presentations: was facilitated by John Rathier. Sue Noël, Darryl Wilton, Norm February: Robillard, Patrick Lamoureux Community Presentations: Blair Charters, Phil Hasek May: Hockey Tournament: EMS Week: Kelly Lacharity, Sarah Eddy, Rob Wilson, Jan Woods, Natalie Esther Crawley, Julie Belanger, Labelle, Hans Oberholzer, Dan Denis Gagnon, Ian Courville, John Shugar, Sue Noël, Rob Ashfield, Shail, Cory Van Delst, Paul Seguin Cassie Willard, Robert Davidson, Matt Smith, Jeff Nelson, Chantale

Dumas, Amanda Hagmann, March: Mathieu Tanguay, Deanna St Patricks Day Parade: Schofield, Lindsey Dejong, Tim O’Neill, Mary Ann O’Neill, Darrell Robert Wilson, Robert Davidson, Drew, Yannick Roussel, Beth Sue Noël, Darryl Wilton Stanistreet, Darryl Wilton School Presentations: School Presentations: Warren Brown, Colin Stiff Marc Sincennes, Darryl Wilton, Community Presentations: Sue Noël, Natalie Labelle, Hans Oberholzer, Patrick Lefaivre, Natalie Labelle, Hans Oberholzer Patrick Lamoureux Yannick Roussel, John Rathier, Sue Noël, Patrick Lamoureux Community Presentations: Patrick Lamoureux, Tammy Dupuis, Joanne Lee, Paul Morneau April:

Hair Donation Fundraiser: June: Annik Allard, Lysa Gubbles, Sue Noël, Amanda Hagmann, School Presentations: Julie Belanger, Krista Shipman, Rob Wilson, Jeremy Doherty, Tim Trina Bazinet, Yvonne Malbasha, O’Neill, Stephanie Doré, Darrell Marianne Hoad, Nadine Leduc, Drew, Eric Robert, Catherine Martin Massé Du Puy, Chantale Dumas School Presentations: Community Presentations: Warren Brown, Colin Stiff, Martin Patrick Lamoureux, France Tessier, Luka Rathier Lavergne, Rob Wilson, Sue Noël, Patrick Lefaivre

July: Student AED Training: School Presentations: Alexandra Hopkin, Sue Noël, Darryl Wilton Paul Morneau, Lise Laporte, Catherine DuPuy, Chantale Christmas Parades: Dumas Chris Bugelli, MC Graham, Maggie Community Presentations: Labelle, Breanne Lessard, Steve Calkins, Lori Mohring, Ghislain Patrick Lamoureux Bercier, Kane Newell, Gerry Lyon

August: December: School Presentations: School Presentations: Robert Wilson, Fiona Slater John Rathier, Stephanie Mills, Kris Community Presentations: Kurs Eric Bartleman, Pat Lamoureux Community Presentations: Sue Noël Patrick Lamoureux Golf Tournament: NOTE: We would also like to thank all other Yannick Roussel, Mike Martins, 2007 volunteers who may not be listed. Rod Hamberger

October: School Presentations: Claude Desaulniers, Beth Stanistreet Community Presentations: Hans Oberholzer, Natalie Labelle, Yannick Roussel, Stephanie Mills Simon Downham, John Rathier, Kris Kurs

November: School Presentations: Patrick Lefaivre, Chris Bugelli, Simon Downham, Bruno Harvey, Ghislain Bercier Community Events: Kris Kurs, John Rathier, Dave Perras, Elizabeth Anderson, Chantale Dumas and Catherine Du Puy make Darren Anderson a day in the park educational and fun

2007 PEER AWARDS

At the end of 2007, the PPAO decided to vation, Leadership, Teamwork or Interactive Communica- tion. start an annual awards nomination process. In 2007, the following people received The City of Ottawa has several peer nomi- peer awards based on PPAO nominations: nated awards that can be presented to Ot- tawa Employees. Health, Safety & Wellness: The Peer Recognition Program gives all employees the opportunity to nominate Alexandra Hopkin - for coordinating and co-workers who go above and beyond in instructing first year Paramedic student the performance of their duties, efforts to CPR/AED training improve our workplace or contributions to a better community. Community Service:

The PPAO decided to nominate it’s mem- Natalie Labelle, Hans Oberholzer & Yan- bers who have been active in several com- nick Roussel - for multiple collaborative munity events or in a large scale project events with the Ottawa Anaphylactic Sup- of their own design. port Group

It is important to note that these para- Normand Robillard—for coordination of a medics were nominated for the great fundraising marathon for KidSport Ottawa things they accomplished while off-duty, not for just doing their job. Annik Allard—for coordination of a hair donation fundraiser benefiting Angel Hair for This year’s winners received their award in Kids one of the three following categories: Robert Wilson, Sue Noël, Jan Woods & Community Service: Patrick Lamoureux - for participation in Recognizes an employee who has made an outstanding multiple community events, public rela- contribution of time and effort while off duty to a project benefiting the community by working with organizations tions and paramedic promotion activities. serving local needs. Teamwork & Collaboration: Health, Safety and Wellness: Recognizes an employee who consistently demonstrates and encourages safe work practices, and/or promotes Steve Hallam - for creation of the Helping health and wellness either by supporting corporate initia- Every Local Paramedic (H.E.L.P) Fund tives or personal accomplishments. Teamwork and Collaboration: Francois Cote - for organization of Global Recognizes an employee who has demonstrated a commitment to improving the work environment and/or taken Medic Training actions that respect the needs and contributions of others, seeking and accepting consensus; and/or put aside own objectives for the benefit of the organization or team. Michel Verdon - for coordinating and ensuring paramedic involvement in Health Nominees must demonstrate one or more of the City of Ottawa’s core values of Client Service Commitment, Inno- Emergency Response Training 2007-2008 IN REVIEW

2008

2008 CHARITY HOCKEY

In February 2008, Ottawa from breaking down fats an experimental medica- Paramedics once again dis- and protein. tion that was imported played the spirit of giving from Britain. The drug Due to the lack of fat in by participating in a charity had not been approved in her body, Renée has also hockey game. Canada so it was not cov- developed Leukodystro- ered by insurance. This Held on Hockey Day in phy, which is causing the medication alone cost Canada, the Paramedics deterioration of some more that $70,000 a year. were able to defeat the brain functions. Eventu- Fire Fighters 6-5. Now a 6- ally this disease will pro- The Stocks family is not 5 win may not seem like gress to decreases in mo- the type of family that will that much of a big deal, tor skills, hearing diffi- ask for help and have but you have to remember culty, vision problems and been overwhelmed by the that the exhausted and difficulty swallowing. success of several recent overworked medic players fundraising events to help Brenda Stocks stays home hung tough against the in the cost of Renée’s to take care of Renée, well-rested and well-fed treatment. who is too fragile to at- players on the FD bench tend school and must be If you would like to make (haha). The game was fed every four hours, a donation to Renée such a hit that the score around the clock. Stocks through the HELP was even mentioned on Fund, please visit the the Ottawa Senators In hopes of prolonging “Donations” page at Hockey Night in Canada Renée’s life expectancy, OttawaParamedics.ca. broadcast, live from Scotia the Stocks’ family found Bank Place as a “freak win by Ottawa paramedics”! This emergency services pick-up game was just one part of a community charity day to assist Ottawa medic Andrew Stocks. An- drew, his wife, Brenda and his children Renée and Zach were the beneficiaries of $6000 raised during the day’s events. Four year old Renée Stocks has been diagnosed with a very rare metabolic disease known as Glutaric Acidemia Type II – a genetic disor- der that prevents the body Renee “Moose” Stocks at 4 years old

ST PATRICK’S DAY 2008

Just like last year, the Thanks to our three 2008 St Patty’s Day Paramedic volunteers parade was held in and an extra thanks less than ideal condi- to Equipment and tions. Supply Technician Rob Cousley, who’s

appearance marked Our brave volunteers the first collaborative Paul Morneau, Rob venture between Lo- Cousley, Chantale Du- gistics and Operations mas, and John Keylor at a PPAO event! wore their Paramedic Paul, Chantale, Rob and John green with pride in the cold, wet weather.

The group rode along in an ambulance, an impala and even the ESU.

The group was visited by Mayor Larry O’Brien who stopped by to say hello and view the vehicles. The Dollar Store decorations work great!

Mayor Larry O’Brien (centre) models the Code looking great in his shiny collar new issue St Patrick’s Day hats

MEDIC ALERT

As you have probably no- Most don't take this addi- tion list and even phone ticed, Darryl Wilton and tional step but it is highly numbers of next-of-kin. Sue Noël work on a num- recommended by MedicA- This information is usually ber of projects with Ana- lert as the info can be very current as it is updated on phylaxis Canada and the valuable and they would an annual basis. Although Ottawa Anaphylaxis Sup- like paramedics to become MedicAlert now offers very port Group. more acquainted with their comprehensive information phone system so we can to front line paramedics,

help teach ED staff. Chantale Dumas was able Through some national to identify that in true life- round table meetings, we threatening load & go have recently become ac- Chantale Dumas, our Di- situations, the process was quainted with Illeana Ci- rector of Education was not rapid enough. urea who is the Chief Offi- tasked with reviewing the cer of Medical Affairs for phone system for the PPAO MedicAlert. Medic Alert has and providing some feed- Please feel free to use the just launched a profes- back to our members. She MedicAlert phone system sional education section on discovered that calling the while on duty and share their website that could be hotline could provide great info about how it all works very useful for paramedics information for patients and whether or not you http://www.medicalert.ca/ with language barriers, de- find it works well. en/professionals/how- mentia, post-ictal periods emergency.asp. or other situations where time is on the medic’s side. DID YOU KNOW...

Most paramedics read MedicAlert tags but there is Once calling the hotline much more information you are asked to identify Canada has over 1 that can be readily avail- the patient and confirm million MedicAlert able by phone. All the your identity. After this has members. medic needs to do is place been completed, the op- a collect call by dialing "0" erator can provide you with and then the 10-digit information such as medi- Provided by: MedicAlert phone number on the tag. cal history, a full medica-

“ACCIDENTS” DON’T EXIST

Is your job dangerous? and fatalities at roadsides scenes. Try ranking the following in order of danger: Through this initiative, we aim to eliminate the me- • Carrying a loaded gun dia’s use of the word • Standing unbelted in “accident” and replace it the back of a vehicle mov- with words like “crash”, ing at high speeds, multi- “collision” or “incident”. ple times per day, while The reasoning behind this Ottawa actually has 6 you deliver life saving is that the word accident signs posted along main medications and treat- implies that an incident is roadways that advertise ments non-preventable. this law, but many peo- • Having your back We are also continuing to ple drive by these signs turned to distracted, multi- educate community driv- every day and fail to no- tasking, rubber-necking ers about the dangers tice them. they can cause to Para- drivers who pass at high The Move Over Law is medics working at road- speeds unique because it does side. One of the new goals of not just require motor- the PPAO during 2008 was We will admit some Para- ists to get out of our to educate the community medics were not even way while on route to a on the importance of safe aware that Ontario had a call but also requires driving and its role in pre- “Move Over Law” de- motorists to reduce their venting paramedic injuries signed to protect them. speed and move over an entire lane while they drive past any emer-

DID YOU KNOW... gency vehicle stopped at • Paramedics have almost twice as many occupa- the side of the roadway. tional fatalities as police or fire We must all educate the • 74% of Paramedic occupational deaths are traffic public about this law related and the dangers paramedics face. • 70% of fatal injuries involve use of warning systems There is still work to be done as medics must • Paramedics are 2.7 times more likely to die in the contend with traffic haz- patient compartment than in the front cab ards and inattentive • 82% of patient compartment fatalities involve un- drivers on a daily basis. restrained occupants Our efforts will be con- • 64% of fatal Paramedic injuries involve head tinuing well into 2009 trauma with a campaign during EMS Week in May.

DISASTER

2008 presented the PPAO with a very Sarah Finn also received real-life expo- unique collaboration opportunity that fell sure to our world through dozens of right in line with our goal to increase coaching sessions where she learned to public awareness of driving safety. accurately simulate paramedic skills. Let us tell you, this girl could pull off

some very convincing ‘sharp-less’ IV’s. Thanks to the New Theatre of Ottawa Sarah also joined paramedics on ride- and local Playwright David O’Meara, outs where she participated in every- Darryl Wilton and Sue Noël provided thing from treating severe trauma pa- technical advice in a new play titled tients to vital signs absent calls. “Disaster”.

The posters that were developed help For 8 months, Darryl and Sue worked aid in the hype of the production by pro- with writer/playwright David O’Meara, claiming “This new level of ingenuity Director John Koensgen and actor Sarah and partnership brought a fresh ap- Finn (playing a paramedic in her mid- proach to how the arts community is 20’s) so we could ensure our profession able to move audiences while helping was presented and showcased properly. paramedics deliver powerful messaging”. We weren’t kidding. The story was phenomenal and the audience was In coordination with Ottawa Paramedic left stunned by this incredible play. Med- Service and the City of Ottawa, we pro- ics and other audience members were vided the cast and crew with technical moved to tears by the talented cast. advice, in order for their performance to have a more authentic appeal to the paramedic community, allied agencies SO WHAT HAPPENED? and of course, civilians at large.

The play opened with a paramedic at the scene of a collision who was treating a male and female patient. The dy- namic metaphorical script evolved like a crazy dream while each character spilled out tales of their imperfect pasts. The play churned out intriguing but confus- ing stories until the audience was abruptly blind-sided at the end of the 90 minute production.

With heart pounding silence, it suddenly became clear that another force was at

play and things were not as they Congratulations to all involved including seemed. The dreamy clutter and confu- the very talented cast and crew! sion came to a shocking end when the audience discovered the two patients were actually communicating with their The PPAO and the cast and crew of Dis- paramedic daughter in a dream as she aster would also like to extend our sin- guided them through a means to under- cere appreciation to Chief Anthony Di stand how she had suffered a Line of Monte, Deputy Chief Kevin Newell, Dep- Duty Death at a roadside scene. uty Chief Pierre Poirier, Coordinator Pe- ter Kelly and Special Operations Liaison

John Rathier from Ottawa Paramedic We also took great care in the develop- Service. Their support through lending ment of our secret post cards that were of uniforms and equipment, N95 fit test- handed out after the play. Even though ing and authorization for ride-outs gave the cards contain the title of the play, actor Sarah Finn enormous insight into the message was designed to be very the accurate portrayal of paramedics. basic and very generic so long after the play was over, paramedics could continue to deliver public messaging about the number one hazard we face: civilian drivers.

The play received excellent reviews from medics to theatre critics and will be re- appearing at larger venues within the next couple of years.

The PPAO has been asked to continue working on the production in the future as the writer would like to further develop the characters and enhance the play for larger venues that have ex- pressed interest in running “Disaster”.

Several months after the play closed, it was still in the news. “Disaster” won two awards at Ottawa’s annual Golden Cherry Awards Ceremony.

David O’Meara won for Playwright of the Year and “Disaster” won the award for New/Original Work of the Year as cho- sen by members of Ottawa’s arts community. The doubled-sided informative postcard

2008 PARAMEDIC WEEK

The Professional Paramedic Association Indicating a wide variety of skills and of Ottawa combined forces with Algon- abilities, each member was nominated quin College Class of 2008 paramedic for a different position so the board was students to kick off EMS Week with a 3- filled quite easily. The following are the day BBQ. The event was coordinated by PPAO executive for the next term. recent grad and new Ottawa Paramedic OFFICERS Service recruit PCP Micah Rietschlin. President: Darryl Wilton Micah orchestrated a 50:50 draw, dona- Vice-President: Jennifer Biskup tion box for the HELP Fund and lined up Secretary/Treasurer: Robert Mallett a number of paramedic students during this 3 day event while PPAO sponsors DIRECTORS fronted funds for burgers, hot dogs and Corporate Development: Bruno Gendron drinks. Jim Whittle, Paramedic Program Academic Provisions: Micah Rietschlin Coordinator from Algonquin College also Public Information: Rob Wilson sponsored this event which raised over Print Media: Sue Noël $400 for the HELP Fund and fed over Community Services: Patrick Lamoureux 300 paramedic service staff. Team Events: Kane Newell Equipment Controller Brian Bernard won Education: Chantale Dumas the $40 Tim Horton’s coupon while PCP Special Projects: Amanda Hagmann Pino Federico won the $110 from the Professional Development: Jeremiah 50:50 draw. Soucie NEW MEMBERS ELECTED At the Annual General Meeting, a new BYWARD MARKET DISPLAY PPAO executive was elected, consisting The PPAO combined forces with both Al- of 5 new executive members and 6 re- gonquin College and La Cité Collégiale turning executive members. Class of 2009 paramedic students to host displays in the Byward Market. Thanks to the National Capital Marathon being in town, our paramedic booth was inundated with tourists and curious kids. We distributed tons of our Scope of Practice brochures and Child Find ID Kits to parents and thousands of paramedic balloons to kids. A very inquisitive public were given answers to questions regarding first aid kits, deployment, scope of practice, education, safety, injuries and ailments. Numerous sets of vital Micah and his classmates—apparently signs and both 3 and 12 lead ECG’s “home-ec” is now core training for PCP’s! were taken.

ROADSIDE CAR SEAT INSPECTIONS eage in local newpapers, radio and television ads. Thanks to some help from the Ontario Provincial Police, Certified Car Seat In- Darryl Wilton and Amanda Hagmann spector Patrick Lamoreux was able to even appeared in a segment on Roger’s help conduct roadside spot checks for Daytime Television to help promote both seatbelts and child car seats. blood donations. Out of 169 infant/child and booster The PPAO would like to thank the follow- seats inspected at four different road- ing people for ensuring paramedics side stops, 75% of the seats were not could promote the profession without installed correctly. Only 2 drivers had too many hiccups. JP Trottier for pro- perfect installations. viding enlarged photos for our Byward Market Display, helping with set-up and Some of these seats were installed so for orchestrating the Canadian Blood loosely that they could move back and Services media launch. Bob Davidson forth over 12 inches, rather than the for facilitating the PPAO as well as pro- maximum of 1 inch. Some harnesses viding guidance and assistance for plan- holding the child into the seat were so ning all events. Sean Cook for providing loose that the child could have been re- administrative assistance and sup- moved from the seat without even un- port. Joe Micucci for sharing CME rooms doing the harness. Parents were re- and providing a large display minded to adjust the harness properly board. Tom Dunn for providing admin- and inspect the entire restraint system istrative assistance and support. John each time the child is seated. Rathier for helping coordinate equip- Patrick walked each parent through the ment for special events. Equipment proper installation process, sending all Controller Brian Bernard and his team parties away safe and happy. for assisting with vehicles and equipment. Last, but not least, thanks to all the paramedics and paramedic students SIRENS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN who volunteered to help promote their Our partnership with the Canadian Blood great profession in the City of Ottawa! Service’s “Sirens For Life” campaign concluded it’s fourth year on May 30. This national blood drive was a resound- ing success and resulted in hundreds of pints of civilian blood being collected on behalf of emergency service workers. Director of Community Services Patrick Lamoureux coordinated the entire kick- off and conclusion for this national annual blood drive at Ottawa Paramedic Service Headquarters. The event included Ottawa Paramedics, Ottawa Po- lice, Ottawa Fire Fighters, RCMP, OPP, media and other agencies. Manning the Byward Market display for This campaign received media cover- hundreds of interested civilians

ANAPHYLAXIS AGAIN

Although anaphylaxis is a life-threatening medical setting for the diagnosis and medical emergency, fatalities are rare management of anaphylaxis. Overall, and usually preventable, especially if an epinephrine is underused and underpre- individual receives proper treatment, pre- scribed by ED MD’s. Only 24% of patients scriptions and referrals as quickly as pos- received epinephrine in the ED, 16% sible. All medical professionals are inter- were given an epi prescription, and only ested in determining ways to improve pa- 12% of patients were referred to an al- tient outcomes especially in Paramedic lergist. land and emergency departments. The group identified that there are many Darryl Wilton and Sue Noël represented international definitions of anaphylaxis the Paramedic Association of Canada at a with many of them being outdated. In roundtable meeting on anaphylaxis with an effort to encourage people to identify ER physicians, researchers, allergists and the need for aggressive treatment of other medical professionals. anaphylaxis, we developed a preliminary simplified national definition: Anaphy- The group worked to find gaps in ana- laxis is a serious reaction that is rapid in phylaxis management, develop a national onset, involves one or more organ sys- definition for allergic reactions and de- tem(s) and may cause death. velop a research study in order to help standardize treatment for allergies and Darryl Wilton lobbied hard, successfully, anaphylaxis. for paramedic involvement in the study. Darryl identified a higher incidence of Gaps were identified in the Emergency both allergic and anaphylactic reactions Department (ED) - the most common treated by paramedics than MD’s or RN’s with many of these cases being resolved DID YOU KNOW… by the time the patient arrives at the ED. In an effort to maintain data integrity, it

was suggested that information be col- • 22% of Canadians suffer from a lected from the professional who admin- non-food allergy istered treatment. A study by Salter et • 6.8% of Canadians suffer from a al, 2000, demonstrated that paramedics food allergy have the highest rate of epi-treatment of acute anaphylactic life-threatening emer- • 1 out of 50 students has a peanut gencies with 66% of patients receiving allergy epi from a paramedic, 16% from self, • 80% of parents support having 13% from a friend, parent, caregiver or allergy policies in schools coworker and only 6% from an MD or RN.

• Costco is the cheapest place to The study is still in its design stages but purchase an Epi-Pen hopefully will be unveiled in the near future. The PPAO will be involved in all up- Provided by: Anaphylaxis Canada coming decisions. GIFT IDEAS

Looking for an original gift for that hard- our PPAO embroidery design with Mark’s to-buy-for person? Work Wearhouse so you can have the PPAO logo embroidered on most Mark’s Why not browse our website for Para- gear purchased in store. medic gift ideas. From pens to hats to model ambulances you can order online If you have suggestions for merchan- and have your gift delivered by mail in a dise, please contact Suzanne Noël at matter of days. [email protected]. We also worked with the OPA to finalize Thanks

Die cast ambulance Beige ball cap

Lanyard TEMS, PTL, and medic toques

SURVIVORMAN

Every week, Discovery Channel’s Survi- in serious need of paramedic. vorman Les Stroud battles the extremes Going in a completely different direction from temperature to lack of water to for a moment, being the largest local predatory animals in an effort to teach Paramedic Association chapter in Can- survival skills. ada has enabled the PPAO to become Putting himself at risk, sometimes well-known in many circles. Recognizing stranded alone, miles from civilization, the need for improved communication can end up taking a toll on his body and between ourselves and the outside health. So what does Survivorman do world, the PPAO developed it’s interac- when he needs immediate medical at- tive website, OttawaParamedics.ca. This tention and the closest hospital is 5 days website is so popular it receives over away? The answer is simple, he picks up 3700 hits per day, processes over 1000 his Iridium Satellite phone and calls Ot- emails each week and generates the tawa Paramedic Barry Clark. highest traffic volume and bandwidth of any Paramedic specific website in Can- Now, you’re probably wondering “how ada. does an Ottawa medic end up treating the ultimate survival expert on a regular This is where the story starts to come basis”? Well let me explain just how this together…. happened…. Looking for some medical assistance, In 2006, after Crocodile Hunter Steve Discovery Channel came across the Irwin died as a result of a lethal pene- OttawaParamedics.ca website and sent trating injury from a stingray, Discovery us an email asking if getting an Ottawa Channel was mandated to have medical Paramedic to travel with the show would professionals on site for all high-risk be feasible. Darryl Wilton posted the shows. Survivorman was one show now email request in the “Think Tank” (located in the password protected members area) where it caught the attention of PCP Barry Clark. Barry was extremely interested in this unique opportunity but wondered what his chances were to be selected for the position among a group that included such applicants as GP’s, ED physicians, ICU physicians and neurologists. Despite Barry’s hesitancy, President Darryl Wilton strongly encouraged him to apply for the position and focus on the elements that separated him from the other applicants. Barry was the only Survivorman Les Stroud and Paramedic applicant who had real Military training, Barry Clark in the Cook Islands the only applicant who had been sub-

jected to extremely unstable environments for extended periods of time and the only applicant who had already experienced many of the same environments that Survivorman subjects himself to. If anything, Barry has not only fine tuned his ability to adapt, improvise and overcome, but more important, he had first hand experience providing good medicine in bad places. It was just the thing he would need to survive in conditions such as the Arctic, the Ama- zon and the lion infested plains of Africa. Ultimately, it was being a paramedic Barry in Africa and not a doctor that won Barry the po- This is just one example of the kind of sition of being Survivorman’s personal work a Paramedic Association can pull onsite medic. off with a consolidated voice and effec- Barry has done a number of Survivor- tive promotion of the profession. Thanks man shows since being hired. You can to hours of work educating, promoting see his name in the end credits of each and pushing for inclusion into activities show and he can be seen in person on the paramedic profession has come a the Survivorman DVD under “Making of long way. We lobby for not only en- Survivorman”. hancements but opportunity and the work has paid off. Who would have What is important to note is that some- thought just a few years ago that med- times the excursions take the crew to ics could hold research positions in locations many days from the closest groups such as the OHRI or OPALS, or hospital. While Survivorman is alone in have the Discovery channel requesting the wilderness, so is Barry, usually wait- skills? Many of these opportunities ing a few hours away from Survivorman started with OttawaParamedics.ca. by plane, boat or dogsled. Barry’s new position is the ultimate example of The best thing is, there will be more to bringing the emergency room to the pa- come! tient. The main difference: Barry has some great camping gear, clothing, medical equipment and excellent food. Survivorman gets nothing. During the fall of 2008, the PPAO lined up Survivorman himself, Les Stroud, to write an article for Canadian Emergency News Magazine detailing his experiences and the benefit of having a Paramedic nearby. For those in Ottawa, video clips of Barry Clark and Survivorman in action were provided to Ottawa Paramedic Service and shown in shift-start briefings. A great view in Alaska A VIEW FROM SURVIVORMAN

risk assessment done for tries around the world and the show. The whole con- I am left alone to survive cept was a tough one for without food, with very me to swallow, because little, if any, gear or water giving risk assessments is and no camera crew. I exactly what I do! So I have been able to travel found myself sending infor- down this path and make mation off to some agency these kinds of films be- in New Zealand, so that cause my background is Les Stroud in the Cook Islands they could tell me whether filled with many years of or not I would be safe in learning and teaching wil- Article courtesy of Survi- Colorado or South Africa. derness survival, along vorman Les Stroud All the answers for each with working in film and and every location came television. I knocked off As the production team back as I had expected. So eleven of these shows for Survivorman arrives at my production team and I pretty much alone with no the airport, preparing to ignored them all, because safety back up, which produce another show, they were ignorant of the would have been a big the scene is often the fol- realities and mostly para- problem if I had ever truly lowing: I’m edgy, the noid. There run into trou- stills photographer is busy was how- ble. trying to get us a better ever, one deal, the camera man is Finding a recommen- excited, but trying to deal paramedic for dation for with a ton of equipment in this kind of the series pelican cases, and then show wasn’t overall that there’s Barry, the para- going to be I was happy medic (nicknamed Bara- easy. The to receive medic). Calm, cool, col- person had to and it gave lected and well organized be willing to me the op- Preparing to be airlifted off due to his fanatical obses- unstable arctic ice travel long dis- portunity to sion with getting to every tances and be have the network approve airport five hours early for away from home for three of putting it in the budget - any flight. weeks at a time. Once on bring along a paramedic. location, they had to be At some point along the We couldn’t afford it be- personable enough to be way, the networks that fore, but now the insur- in close quarters with the broadcast Survivorman ance companies were forc- rest of the team for long were convinced by the in- ing the issue and I was stretches of time. I may surance companies and glad to see it. If you have- be off in the jungle trying lawyers, after the ex- n’t seen the show it goes to survive alone but my tremely unfortunate death something like this: I ven- field producer, stills pho- of Steve Irwin, that I ture out to some remote tographer, 2nd unit cam- needed to have an official location in various coun-

era person and paramedic one important parameter. I packing his rain gear. He would all be huddled to- had to be left alone. So needs to know what all gether in a lodge, hotel, safety checks would be the potential dangers are cabin or tent, depending verbal and by radio - which to me and my team’s on where we were. only frustrates his better health and safety while on sense of safety to no end. location. Diseases like yel- A number of organizations Barry has all of what I low fever and malaria were contacted while we needed to be the para- have to be considered. searched for paramedics, medic on a shoot like Sur- Anti-venom for numerous including the Professional vivorman. Common sense. different snake species Paramedic Association of He doesn’t stress out or needs to be found. Are we Ottawa. We poured over get flustered easily. And dealing with neurotoxins resumes although his or hemotoxins? Are we all looking for big size does going to suffer from foot someone make him fungus due to the six with the right stick out like hours of daily rain or are qualifications a sore thumb we going to be fried to a and experi- he still some- crisp in the desert sun? ence. As we how manages Once on location, Barry were getting to assimilate kicks into gear discover- closer to the easily and in ing what infrastructure is first shoot (I a wonderfully available to us in the mid- was already Hot air balloon trip in Africa non-intrusive dle of the jungle, which is on the way way with the essentially none. When to the air- local culture. The best part there is safety backup port) we still hadn’t cho- is that he gives me exactly available in a given loca- sen our paramedic. One what I need and want in a tion, Barry lines up all the individual, an Ottawa paramedic: an unyielding dominoes so that should Paramedic named Barry dedication to my personal the worst happen, he can Clark seemed to come out safety. When my job as start the process of hope- of nowhere on the last host and pro- fully saving day. We had communi- ducer of the my life. He is cated with him a week or show has me quite literally two earlier but had been sleeping on the only caught up in sifting the ground in team mem- through all the other re- the Amazon ber I don’t sumes. Then, with my jungle, Kala- have to give bags already packed, hari Desert, information Barry called up without on the top of to in order to having any indication a mountain or make the from us that we would in the middle Barry Clark fishing in Alaska shoot hap- hire him and proceeded to of Pau Pa pen. He fill us in on everything we New Guinea, this is a good knows what he needs to would need to know to be thing! know or he finds it out. safe in the Amazon jungle Then Barry tells me (my first location). We Preparing for the shoot whether or not he is or hired him on the spot. doesn’t just mean grabbing isn’t comfortable with his big red medic bag and Barry had to be clear on what will happen should we have an emergency. survived my seven days, I gency department. was told of how a small For me the fun part is giv- Perhaps the closest I have plane had tried to land on ing him a run for his come to calling in Barry the tiny grass airstrip in money. Of course the for an emergency was in the middle of the jungle. truth is that I don’t ever the Kalahari. The tem- It had crashed and Barry want to lose life or limb peratures reached 141F in was there to provide basic for the sake the sun and 101F in the life support of a TV show shade. The only water I to the pilot but the was able to drink was as who suffered smartass in hot as coffee. At night, bilateral arm me likes to huddled in the front seat fractures, a try to make of the jeep, I noticed that chip fracture Barry nerv- I was not cooling down. In of T1 and T2 ous. In real- fact I seemed to be get- and a closed ity of course, ting hotter. Everything head injury. if all is going about my condition was On the very well and indicating heat stroke. I Enduring the cold in Alaska next shoot I Barry is on was nauseated, volume spent a the job, he should essen- depleted, extremely hot spooky night in the mid- tially be bored. I always and dizzy with a pounding dle of lion territory listen- say if I can bore Barry headache and had trouble ing to them growl while I’ve had a safe shoot. concentrating. I pulled out they took down and ate A very unexpected and the two way radio and an antelope. I would learn welcomed side benefit to hung it beside me vowing later that on that day a having Barry along has to call him in land rover been experienced by out- right away if with six peo- siders. For some reason, I started to ple flipped shoot after shoot, we feel like I over and it would all be fine. But then was going to was Barry some accident would hap- lose con- who was first pen within the vicinity. sciousness. on location Take the Amazon jungle, It took me to look after for example. It was some- five long the multiple where around day four hours of (some criti- and I was hunkered down dabbing a cal) injuries. Barry’s living area in Africa in the pouring rain trying damp ban- In that instance Barry to sift tiny crustaceans dana on my carotid arter- showed another side of out of the mud in a little ies and wrists to slowly his skills that has come in jungle stream. Huge spi- bring my temperature handy over the last couple ders loomed inches above down. The only assurance of years of shooting Sur- my head while I kept an I had that I would make it vivorman. The part of him eye out for more poison- through this potentially that is the caregiver. He is ous creatures than I care deadly situation, was a great listener and is to remember. Suddenly I knowing that I had a able to defuse a poten- heard a loud boom. I had paramedic standing by, tially volatile or panicky no idea what it was. A few sleeping with his radio by situation that would likely days later, after I had his head. Knowing Barry, exacerbate the emer- he was snoring loudly. COMMUNITY COMMENDATION

This past fall, Paramedics dation award. After all, Pat and Krista volunteered Pat Lefaivre and Krista many adults would fall to to take an ambulance to Shipman responded to call pieces given similar cir- Jordan’s home and sur- for a patient in seizure. cumstances. prise him with the certifi- When they arrived on cate presentation in front After exploring several scene, they were greeted of his family and friends. options at getting Jordan by 9-year-old Jordan Even the Ottawa Sun was recognized, the medics Mbayo, who led them to a on hand to print the story were unsuccessful so Pat car where his mother was of Jordan’s actions. and Krista were led to the unconscious and post-ictal. PPAO by Paramedic Team Jordan and his family were As the story goes, while Leader Paul Morneau. very appreciative of the driving to the dentist, Jor- award and the fact that All Pat and Krista needed dan’s mom began to “feel the medics came back on to do was log into the funny” and pulled over into their own time. Jordan’s OttawaParamedics.ca a nearby parking lot. mother wrote the follow- members area to book an Shortly after stopping, she ing letter of thanks: began convulsing A very special due to an allergic thank you to reaction to a new Krista Shipman pain medication and Pat Lefaivre she was pre- from the Ottawa scribed following Paramedics for recent surgery. everything! I am Realizing his truly thankful for mother was seiz- all of your help on ing, Jordan man- August 29, 2008 aged to remain and I really ap- calm and alerted a preciate how you bystander to call have recognized 9-1-1. When the my Son for his medics arrived, Krista, Jordan and Pat bravery. Thank Jordan was able to you again for vol- provide them with informa- Ambulance and every- unteering your time on tion on what had happened thing else they needed your day off to present the and his mother’s recent with our Special Event certificate to Jordan. He medical history. He re- Booking tool. will remember this experi- mained calm, helpful and ence for the rest of his life Within 24 hours, PPAO or- very mature given the and hopefully he will share ganized the equipment situation. Jordan set an ex- his story with some of his needs and provided Krista ample of true professional- friends so they too will and Pat with a personal- ism and the medics felt he learn. ized, framed Certificate of was worthy of a commen- Appreciation for Jordan.

2008 GOLF TOURNAMENT

The annual Ottawa Paramedic Golf Tour- be added to the auction. Giuseppe nament which took place Wednesday “Speedo Pino” Federico, the winner of September 03, 2008 at the Meadows the 50/50 draw, even returned his en- Golf and Country Club on Hawthorne tire cash winnings of $375 so the total Road raised $10,725 for Renee "Moose" raised through the draw was $750. This Stocks. was the second time this year Pino won the 50/50 and returned his winnings (he In his first year as Director of Corporate won back during Paramedic Week). That Development with the PPAO, Bruno guy should buy more lottery tickets. Gendron jumped right in and took over the role of Golf Tournament Coordina- Darryl Wilton put himself back on the tor. Bruno did an absolutely out- microphone and helped raise $1,360 standing job in pulling off the most suc- through an open auction. cessful local paramedic tournament in We would like to thank our volunteers history. The best part was when people Brenda Stocks, Zach Stocks, Mike Mar- found out the Ottawa Paramedic Golf tins, Esther Crawley, Nadine Filion, Hugo Tournament was put together by a Nadeau, Cory Van Delst, Dulka handful of very dedicated volunteers! McLellan, Frank Lalonde, Andrew Or- Thanks to some fantastic donations from chard, Joe Micucci and Mike Rice. our sponsors that included over $50,000 We would also like to thank all corporate in prizes, every golfer was able to take sponsors, golfers, non-golfers, City of home something special. Other golfers Ottawa Councillors (Diane Deans, Eli El- participated in our open auction and Chantiry, Gord Hunter, Peggy Feltmate took home items such as an LCD TV, and Rainer Bloess) and other VIP’s in Blu-Ray DVD player, Digital Camera and attendance including paramedic chiefs even 1st class accommodations at the from across Eastern Ontario and West- Fairmont Chateau Montebello. ern Quebec with a special mention to The spirit of generosity was obvious Manitoulin-Sudbury Paramedics and throughout the night as several golfers Prescott-Russell Paramedics. You all donated their prizes back so they could helped make this day a huge success!

Reid Purdy, Micah Rietschlin, Fergus Graham Frank Lalonde indicates how his and Candace Brandauer teammate’s golf game has been

Renee Stocks congratulates Keith Buchanan Bruno displays the cheque for the most on a well played tournament funds ever raised in a PPAO golf tournament

Councillors Diane Deans, Eli El-Chantiry, Pino and Adam Whiteford practice the Peggy Feltmate and Gord Hunter “trust forming” exercise

H.E.L.P. FUND IN ACTION

Even though the HELP vided an oversized card paramedics who were in- Fund has only been in exis- signed by Paramedics and jured in a head-on collision tence for two years, it has donated a flower arrange- with an 18 wheeler trans- had quite the impact. ment to her co-workers at port truck on the 401. the General. The nurses Originally designed to help All recipients of these cards were overwhelmed by the every local paramedic, this and flowers were ex- caring and compassion. privately established trust tremely appreciative of the has unexpectedly touched After firefighters sustained gestures. firefighters, nurses, co- significant injuries from All external activities are workers, their families, and diving out windows during attainable thanks to com- paramedics across Ontario the Forward Avenue fire, munity donations while all and Québec. we provided large over- paramedic endowments sized cards to each fire- We’re sure everyone is are 100% funded by para- fighter. The OPFFA presi- aware the HELP Fund was medic contributions. dent sent the PPAO an first created to provide as- email detailing how classy Signing up for monthly sistance to one of our and professional this ges- HELP Fund donations takes paramedics who suffered a ture was. 5 seconds and is as easy severe stroke. as signing your name and We also provided cards to What you may not be selecting an amount. aware of are some of the so called “little” things the HELP fund has been able to DURING 2008, THE HELP FUND... do along the way. For example, in 2008, La • received individual monthly donations ranging Coopérative des Pa- between $1 and $50 ramédics de l’Outaouais experienced the loss of Pa- • has automatically paid out individual $1500 ramédic Marie-Lou Dubois endowments for the death of a paramedic, in a hit and run motor ve- spouse or child hicle collision while on her • has sent flowers on behalf of all paramedics way to work. The HELP upon the death of a paramedic, spouse or child Fund and PPAO provided oversized cards, national • distributed 73 Life Event cards for births, information updates on the deaths, sickness as well as paramedics who OttawaParamedics.ca web- have left the profession to pursue new adven- site, flowers and Paramedic tures or careers Benevolent pins. • raised $7500 in paramedic donations When we heard that an ER • raised $3500 in community donations nurse at the General had died of a stroke, we pro- • raised $10750 at the Golf Tournament

OPA AWARDS

This summer, the PPAO executive nominated several Ottawa Paramedic Service employees for the annual Ontario Para- medic Association awards which were presented at the Paramedicine 2008 conference in Peel. We are happy to an- nounce that everyone who was nominated was accepted to receive an award! Congratulations to the following award recipients:

OPA President Mary Osinga, Norm Robillard and OPA Vice President Greg Furlong 21 OPA Long Service Awards (with more to come next year as we complete research on over 350 members): André Gignac, Blake Rankin, Donna Duff, Doug Ryan, Ed Ousten, Frank McGregor, Garth Tourangeau, Hilton Radford, Jean Lauzon, John Palma, Ken Fowke, Michel Verdon, Michael Henry, Mike Cross, Robert Page, William Ben- nett, Robert Davidson, Robert Brunet, Steve Hallam, Robert Ashfield and Paul Seguin. Mary Osinga, Annik Allard and Deputy Chief Pierre Poirier 5 OPA Appreciation Awards: Annik Allard, Rob Wilson, François Côté, Steve Hallam and Norm Robillard.

2 OPA Exemplary Service Awards: Michel Verdon and Suzanne Noël.

1 OPA Amanda Finch Memorial Award for student contribution:

Alexandra Hopkin. André Gignac, Mary Osigna, Robert Brunet, Mike Cross and Michel Verdon

THE BIG PULL

We received the challenge to participate from X-Paramedic Jenny Campbell (who is now an Ottawa Police Officer). Our team showed up to the event eager to battle but were a little surprised when they “sized” up the competition. Unfortunately, the medic team was dwarfed by the competition and beaten in both their pulls. The paramedic team still made everyone proud with an outstanding effort from the only co-ed team in the competition! The PPAO’s Big Pull Team So we have come up with a strategy for 2009: The current paramedic team is Thanks to the coordination efforts of strong but we need a human anchor at rookie Paramedics Micah Rietschlin and the back end of the line. Reid Purdy, Ottawa medics showed their strength in a tug-of-war battle known as At the end of the day $43,000 was The Big Pull. raised for the Ottawa Mission. These funds will be used to help the less fortu- This annual event, held by the Ottawa nate obtain a General Equivalency Di- Police in collaboration with the Ottawa ploma (G.E.D), thus increasing their Mission and other high profile groups self-confidence and gaining the skill sets throughout the community, pits team necessary for lifelong success. against team in a battle of strength and weight to raise funds for the Mission. Thanks to all of our participants!

The team tries to figure out what to do. Do The team getting dragged to defeat by a they not cover Tug-Of-War on M Platoon? group of gigantic cops

STUDENT CPR

The PPAO held it’s third annual CPR/AED The chain of survival worked perfectly training for first year Paramedic stu- that day with bystanders calling 9-1-1 dents this past September. Advanced and administering CPR to Marianne until Public Education Officer Alexandra Hop- Paramedics arrived to perform a full re- kin instructed two full classes of stu- suscitation. dents from Algonquin College, delivering Marianne and Anna were able to speak over 60 new certified CPR/AED providers to the students about the events of that to the community. day, explaining that without the help of This year, the students were able to bystanders, medics and hospital staff, gain some first hand knowledge of the life would have been extremely different importance of community CPR providers for many people from that moment on. and Paramedic intervention thanks to an The PPAO would like to extend our sin- appearance by cardiac arrest survivor cere thanks to all students as well as Marianne Cuhaci. Anna McCorriston, Marianne Cuhaci and Marianne suffered a sudden cardiac ar- to our Paramedic volunteers Alexandra rest while driving her car with her Hopkin, Micah Rietschlin, Andrew Whyte daughter, Anna McCorriston. and Dan Archambault.

Who knew CPR training was so much fun?

2008 VOLUNTEER LISTING

NOTE: Every volunteer initiative May: was facilitated by John Rathier. EMS Week: January: Sue Noël, Darryl Wilton, Patrick Community Presentations: Lamoureux, Kane Newell, Micah Rietschlin, Amanda Hagmann, John Rathier, Patrick Lamoureux, Katherine Tar Bob Davidson, Beth Stanistreet School Presentations:

Jeremy Doherty, Ben Jolicoeur, February: Krista Shipman, Dan Shugar, Community Presentations: John Keylor, Chantale Dumas, Patrick Lamoureux, Steve Leu, Chris Cowan, Beth Stanistreet Patrick Lefaivre Community Presentations: Rob Wilson, Jan Woods, Tammy March: Dupuis, Patrick Lamoureux, John Rathier, Stephanie Mills, Kris St Patricks Day Parade: Kurs, Patrick Lefaivre, Sue Noël, Chantale Dumas, Robert Cousley, Darryl Wilton Paul Morneau, John Keylor June: School Presentations: School Presentations: Rob Wilson, Julie Hall, Dave Ennis, Tom Capyk Dave Ennis, Rob Wilson, Greg Forsyth, Guy Beauchemin, Steve Community Presentations: Dodge, Norm Robillard Darryl Wilton, Sue Noël, Patrick Community Presentations: Lamoureux Darryl Wilton, Sue Noël, Patrick

Lamoureux, Renée Deault April:

School Presentations: July: Dave Ennis, Marc Sincennes, Community Presentations: Mary-Ellen Harrison Dan Archambault, Andrew Whyte,

Andrea Thompson, Kris Kurs, Community Presentations: Simon Downham, Micah Patrick Lamoureux, Rob Wilson, Rietschlin, Bob Davidson, Claude Jan Woods, Darryl Wilton, Sue Desaulniers Noël, Kris Kurs, John Rathier

2008 VOLUNTEERS LISTING

August: Community Presentations: Community Presentations: John Rathier, Micah Rietschlin, Patrick Lamoureux, Stephanie Patrick Lamoureux, Rob Cousley Mills, Kris Kurs, Guy Beauchemin, Rob Wilson, Jan Woods, Paul September: Morneau Golf Tournament: Bruno Gendron, Esther Crawley, December: Hugo Nadeau, Mike Martins Community Presentations: Community Presentations: Guy Beauchemin, Patrick Patrick Lamoureux, Rob Cousley, Lamoureux, Alex Kazaniwsky, Alexandra Hopkin, Andrew Whyte, Lynea Finn, Sarah Kazaniwsky Sue Noël, Darryl Wilton, Micah Delicious baked goods and fundraising Rietschlin, Martin Marion, Dan for Renee Stocks: Archambault, Greg Furlong, Logan Martin & Renée Deault Fergus Graham, Jill Naprestek, Candace Brandauer, Reid Purdy

October: Community Presentations: Krista Shipman, Patrick Lefaivre, Annie Guindon de Hoog, Guy Beauchemin, Maxim Nadeau, Patrick Lamoureux

November: Christmas Parades: Paul Morneau, Garth Tourangeau, John Keylor, Micah Rietschlin, Natalie Labelle, Chris Bugelli, Blake Rankin, Dwayne Gidney, Maggie Labelle, Ann-Marie Paquet, Stephane Perras

NOTE: We would also like to thank all other Ben Jolicoeur watches Code try to find 2008 volunteers who may not be listed. the child lost in the uniform

We have left you this space to collect comments from your friends.

The Professional Paramedic Association of Ottawa is not a labour union or employer. We are part of a national association of over 16,000 paramedics from across Canada. These paramedics volunteer to pay a yearly membership fee that is utilized to fund projects for patient care enhancements, professional development and community activities.