Features Commercial EMS
100,000th patient transported by Ornge

All aspects of air ambulance services were divested by the Ministry of
Health and Long-Term Care in January 2006 and since became Ornge. Ornge,
a not-for-profit organization, was created with the mission of
developing a fully integrated, world-class transport medicine system for
Ontario.
 
Since that time, Ornge has transported 100,000 patients more than 33.5
million statute miles (54 million kilometers) – over 1,350 times around
the earth or 6,898 times the length of the Trans-Canada highway — in its
rotor and fixed wing aircraft, along with critical care land units.
 
“This milestone is a testament to how far we’ve come thanks to the hard
work and dedication of every member of the Ornge team,” said Dr.
Christopher Mazza, President and CEO of Ornge. “We are proud to have
provided so many Ontarians with excellence in patient care, and we
remain committed to continually seeking ways to enhance our service.”
 
“In a province the size of Ontario, a quality service like Ornge is
absolutely vital,” said Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario. “Thanks to
the hard work and dedication of everyone at Ornge — from pilots, to
paramedics, to communications officers — 100,000 Ontarians so far have
received the emergency help they needed. I want to congratulate Ornge on
this milestone, and thank the whole team for taking such good care of
Ontario families.”
 
"In just five years, Ornge has transformed patient transport into a
system that is truly world class, and an integral part of providing
quality and timely patient care when it's needed." said Deb Matthews,
Ontario Minister of Health and Long Term Care.
 
”Ornge helped save my life,” said Anthony Lue, who was airlifted by an
Ornge crew after being critically injured in an industrial accident in
2009. “Without the care I received in the air and the quick transport to
the hospital, things could have been a lot worse. I now know that
thousands of others have stories just like mine.”
 
The demand for transport medicine continues to grow across Ontario. In
the last fiscal year alone, the number of patient transports climbed by 5
per cent, including a 2.3 per cent increase in air transports and a 31
per cent increase in land transports.
 
To address this challenge, Ornge has taken steps to ensure a sustainable
provincial transport medicine system for years to come. In September,
Ornge introduced its first AgustaWestland AW139 medically-equipped
helicopter, which will be added to the fleet of aircraft. Several more
AW139’s are scheduled to be introduced in 2011. Ornge has also opened
Canada’s first Centre for Excellence in Transport Medicine in Thunder
Bay, a facility capable of housing all three forms of transport
medicine: fixed wing, rotor wing and critical care land units. A similar
facility will open in Hamilton in 2011.
 
In addition, Ornge will be expanding its paediatric transport team with
the generous assistance of the Rogers Foundation. The newly-renamed Ted
Rogers Paediatric Transport Program will operate from both Ottawa and
Markham for the benefit of sick and injured children across the
province.