On November of 2008, Ethan Day turned one month old, but it hardly was a time to celebrate.  His mother Lisa rushed him into the ER at Markham Stouffville Hospital with what turned out to be a serious heart problem.  When his paediatrician made the decision to send Ethan to the Hospital for Sick Children, Ornge paramedics arrived by helicopter and safely transported the infant to specialized care.  A 30-40 minute road trip took only eight minutes by air.

“Thank you (Ornge paramedics) for ensuring Ethan arrived at SickKids as quickly as possible and for not allowing him to be scared and alone,” said Lisa.

Ethan made a full recovery and was a special guest as Ornge, the provider of transport medicine services for Ontario, officially launched the new Ted Rogers Paediatric Transport Program at an event at Markham Stouffville Hospital on Thursday.

Ornge’s paediatric transport teams are comprised of paramedics and nurses trained in paediatric critical care, operating 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Although their primary vehicle is a critical care land ambulance, staff members are trained in all three modes of transport – fixed wing aircraft, helicopter and land – any of which may be utilized depending on the location of the patient anywhere in Ontario.

The program was recently named the Ted Rogers Paediatric Transport Program, in honour of a $250,000 donation from the Rogers Foundation.  The proceeds were used to purchase specialized equipment and to provide training for crews.

“Paediatric patients are not simply small adults.  We recognized the need for a specialized service to handle the transport of Ontario’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens,” said Tom Lepine, Chief Operating Officer at Ornge.  “Thanks to the dedication of our frontline staff and the generosity of the Rogers Foundation, we are proud to be able to deliver this important program.”

The program was officially launched at Markham Stouffville Hospital, one of the many facilities which work in collaboration with Ornge to facilitate the transport of critically ill or injured patients.

“In order to maintain high-quality care for our paediatric patients as they move to a new facility, it is crucial to have a specialized, well-trained team in place to handle the transport,” said Janet Beed, Markham Stoufville Hospital CEO.  “Ornge’s expertise in this area is second to none.  We congratulate the organization on this achievement and look forward to working in collaboration for years to come.”

ABOUT ORNGE
Ornge is the world’s leading innovator in the emerging field of transport medicine. The organization operates from a number of bases across the province of Ontario and performs approximately 21,000 admissions annually. It coordinates all aspects of Ontario’s aero medical transport system, the critical care land transport program, and the authorization of air and land ambulance transfers between hospitals.