Ornge, a world leader in transport medicine, is proud to congratulate Dr. Russell MacDonald, Ornge’s Medical Director for Research and Development, on winning the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) Barbara A. Hess Research and Education Award. One of the transport medicine industry’s highest honours, the award was presented to Dr. MacDonald at the Air Medical Transport Conference in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday evening.

“Dr. MacDonald’s passion for transport medicine, vast knowledge and commitment to innovation has contributed to improvements in clinical practice within Ornge, and throughout the field at large,” said Dr. Christopher Mazza, President and CEO of Ornge. “His dedication to education and research make him the ideal recipient for this prestigious award. On behalf of our organization, I offer my congratulations.”

Dr. Russell MacDonald is an internationally-respected expert in the field of transport medicine. Among the many accomplishments during his prolific career, he has written more than 40 scientific/research articles, co-authored a textbook, and has delivered more than 100 lectures at regional, national and international medical conferences. Dr. MacDonald has led and/or participated in research such as adverse events and errors in transport medicine, critical care transport safety, and effects of on-scene trauma guidelines. Recently, he led a collaborative project with Cornell University to improve the efficiency of dispatch and response to transport requests. He also works as a frontline Transport Medicine Physician for Ornge.

The Barbara A. Hess Award is given to an individual who has significantly contributed to the enhancement, development, and promotion of the air medical community through their research and educational efforts. It is presented to medical, aviation or support personnel who have published, conducted research or provided quality education or educational expertise which has contributed to the emergency medical transport community on a local, regional, national or international level.

Aside from his work at Ornge, Dr. MacDonald is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and holds an appointment at the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto, where he established transport medicine as a true academic specialty. Dr. MacDonald also practices emergency medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

ABOUT ORNGE
Ornge is the world’s leading innovator in the emerging field of transport medicine, and operates from a number of bases across the province of Ontario and performs more than 21,000 admissions annually. It coordinates all aspects of Ontario’s aero medical transport system, the critical care land transport program, paediatric transport program and the authorization of air and land ambulance transfers between hospitals. Ornge is dedicated to the provision of high quality patient care through innovative transport medicine.