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Many city residents benefit from the compassionate care provided by these conscientious medical professionals, but there are also, many residents that don’t know a great deal about the profession of paramedicine, or emergency medical dispatch.

EMS week is your opportunity to find out more about EMS’ role in the community. The public and the media are welcome to attend any of the events scheduled during EMS week as listed below and to follow us on twitter @TorontoEMS throughout the week.

Event: Community Wellness Clinic
Date: Tuesday, May 22
Time: 10 am – 2 pm
Place: Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West

Come out and have your blood pressure checked, try Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and try using and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED)

Tour a new and a vintage ambulance.

Event: Virtual Ride-Out
Date: Wednesday, May 23
Time: 7 am – 7 pm
Place: Twitter: @TorontoEMS

Follow along a day in the life of a Paramedic. Ask questions and get the answers from the source!

Event: Virtual Communications Centre
Date: Thursday, May 24
Time: 7 am – 7 pm
Place: Twitter: @TorontoEMS

Follow along a day in the life of an Emergency Medical Dispatcher. Ask questions and get the answers from the source!

Event: Community Blood Donor Clinic
Date: Thursday, May 24
Time: 10 am – 2 pm
Place: Toronto EMS Headquarters, 4330 Dufferin St. (Parking in the church parking lot off Lodestar Drive)

Toronto EMS challenges all Greater Toronto Area EMS services to join us to give blood.

Call 1-888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283) to make an appointment.

Event: Toronto EMS Annual Award Ceremony
Date: Thursday May 24
Time: 7 pm – 8pm
Place: Toronto EMS Headquarters, 4330 Dufferin St. (Parking in the church parking lot off Lodestar Drive)

See citizens, allied services, paramedics and emergency medical dispatchers recognized for outstanding contributions to the community.

Event: Community Wellness Clinic
Date: Friday, May 25
Time: 10 am – 2 pm
Place: Toronto Eaton Centre Foyer, 220 Yonge Street

Come out and have your blood pressure checked, try Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and try using and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).

From left (top): Andrew Lotto, Manager, Resuscitation Programs, HSF, Howie Cappell, Creator of Hearty-Har-Har, Jim McKay, North District Supervisor City of Toronto, Parks, Forestry & Recreation, Aldona Satterthwaite, Executive Director, Toronto Botanical Gardens, Allison Uher, Regional Marketing Manager MNP LLP. From left (bottom): Sandra Page, AED Specialist, Resuscitation Programs, HSF, Gayle Pollock, Commander, Cardiac Safe City, Toronto EMS

To coincide with the start of Heart Month, the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Heart & Stroke Restart a Heart, a Life Program™, Toronto Emergency Medical Services, and Cardiac Safe City celebrate the installation of two Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) at Toronto Botanical Gardens, one of the city’s most popular and frequented parks. The placement of these AEDs was made possible thanks to Howie Cappell’s 3rd annual Hearty-Har-Har comedy event and title sponsor, MNP LLP.

The inaugural Hearty-Har-Har, a comedy show for a stand-up cause, was organized in memory of Cappell’s late father, Murray Cappell, who died after suffering a stroke in 1997.

“When I first started Hearty-Har-Har, my goal was simple: put my newfound comedic skills to use and raise funds while honouring my parents, Pearl and Murray Cappell,” explains Howie Cappell, creator of the annual Hearty-Har-Har. “For the past three years I have enjoyed bringing together my family and friends around this important cause that has touched so many. Being able to leave a legacy behind in the community with these AEDs is an honour. It is a privilege to see the funds we have contributed make a tangible impact.”

Hearty-Har-Har was conceived in 2009, after Cappell completed a stand-up comedy writing course at Humber College. With help from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Hearty-Har-Har event has raised $60,000 for heart and stroke research. Visit www.heartyharhar.com for more information and this year’s event picture gallery.

Given the size of the grounds, two AEDs were installed, one fixed in Edwards Gardens and one mobile on Sunnybrook Grounds in a roaming supervisor’s vehicle that is manned 16 hours a day, 7 days a week and represents a unique venture for Toronto EMS, Cardiac Safe City and HSF. Partnering with Toronto Parks and Recreation and other city divisions led to the successful placement of two AEDs and training of site staff.

“Toronto EMS emergency medical dispatchers and paramedics know that in a cardiac emergency seconds can make the difference between life and death,” says Gayle Pollock Commander, Toronto EMS, Cardiac Safe City Program. “We are delighted to support the installation of these two new AED units and encourage all Toronto residents to be trained in CPR and AED use.”

Since 2006, The Restart a Heart, a Life Program has worked in partnership with public access defibrillation programs to place AEDs in high traffic, high use facilities across the province. To date, the program has placed over 3,000 AEDs resulting in 35 lives saved. The Heart and Stroke Foundation’s partnership with the Toronto EMS, Cardiac Safe City Public Access Defibrillator Program has helped placed over 350 AEDs in public venues across the City of Toronto.

“Placing AEDs in these areas is of critical importance since cardiac arrests can happen at any moment,” says Andrew Lotto, Manager, Resuscitation Programs, Heart and Stroke Foundation. “With the continued support of the public, community groups and funding partners one day AEDs will become as commonplace as fire extinguishers in Ontario, to save lives.”

When a person is in cardiac arrest, seconds count. When CPR is combined with the use of an AED in those early minutes, an individual’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest increases to up to 75%. Without CPR and defibrillation, fewer than five per cent of people who have a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive.

The new CPR guidelines stress early recognition, urging people to call 911 or their local emergency number if they ever find someone collapsed and unresponsive, and not to delay by “looking, listening and feeling” for breathing or pulse. They also recommend that instead of trying to remember how many compressions and how many breaths, bystanders doing CPR are urged simply to remember to “push hard and push fast” on the centre of the chest. The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a volunteer-based health charity, leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of healthy living, and advocacy.

Rahul Singh with The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

Global Medic, the not-for-profit organization he formed to honour the memory of his friend David McAntony Gibson, has grown significantly since it was formed in 1998. Over the years, Global Medics has led 60 missions to over 30 countries.

Rahul and his team’s work abroad as well as his international leadership have not gone unrecognized. Rahul has received a Canada’s Top 40 under 40 Award and was voted by Time Magazine readers as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2010.

To add to his growing collection of recognitions, Rahul is now a recipient of the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour. He received this recognition at a special ceremony on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at Queen’s Park. He was invested to the Order by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, The Honourable David C. Onley.

Toronto EMS is proud to have Rahul as part of the Toronto EMS team, and we wish him continued success in his work.

left to right: Shamez Kassam, Martin Johnston, Lorne Burns

The Toronto EMS team consisting of paramedics Shamez Kassam, Lorne Burns, Martin Johnston and coordinator Ron Kowalik competed against six teams from Canada, the United States, Japan and Slovenia on October 28. Three scenarios tested patient-care skills. A team from Niagara EMS placed second and last year’s winning team from the United States placed third.

“This victory demonstrates the quality of care that our paramedics provide every day,” said Toronto EMS Chief Paul Raftis. “While every injury is tragic for the people involved, the citizens of Toronto can feel secure knowing that when these events happen, residents will receive world-class care that is second to none.”

Founded in the early 1980s, International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) is a not-for-profit, global organization with its headquarters in Illinois. ITLS is dedicated to preventing death and disability from trauma through education and emergency trauma care. ITLS is credited for establishing the International Trauma Standard and its programs are accepted internationally as the standard training course for pre-hospital trauma care.

Prior to installation of the AEDs, teachers and support staff at each Toronto District Catholic School Board high school received training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the proper use of an AED from Toronto EMS Cardiac Safe City staff. Automated External Defibrillators are safe and easy to operate but can be even more effectively used once school staff is trained in their use and know where they are located.

Prompt action of bystanders and other rescuers trained in CPR and AED use, combined with the sophisticated emergency medical care delivered by paramedics, gives cardiac arrest victims the best chance for survival and a full recovery,” says Gayle Pollock, Commander,Toronto EMS Cardiac Safe City Program. “Toronto EMS paramedics see the benefits of early intervention with an AED during a cardiac arrest. The use of an AED is proven to save lives and placing them in every Toronto Catholic high school is a big step toward our goal to place AEDs in all public spaces.”

Click on the poster for a larger version.

Tickets are $20.00. For online registration, please click here.

Please note that if you are looking at this webpage in from within the City of Toronto network, you may not be able to view the YouTube video.

The City of Toronto’s Emergency Medical Services, Police Service, and Fire Services are collaborating with Canadian Blood Services in the Sirens for Life campaign.

The emergency services’ blood donor challenge is running from July 1st through September 5th, 2011 as the three branches compete to donate the most blood. Although the competition for bragging rights is friendly, every police, fire or EMS worker knows the importance of blood.

For this year’s Sirens for Life, the goal is to collect 1100 units of blood and encourage new registrants to the One Match Stem Cell and Marrow Network (by September 6).

“Fire, police and emergency medical services employees are rolling up their sleeves and going arm-to-arm during this lifesaving effort to donate the most blood for their community,” said Laura Ashton, Community Development Coordinator at Canadian Blood Services. “They are on the frontline every day and know lives can change in an instant. Anyone can need blood at any time.”

The need for blood does not take a summer vacation. Patients treated for cancer or undergoing surgery or experiencing trauma all depend on a stable supply of blood, year-round. Members of the emergency organizations are pitching in to save lives with Sirens for Life.

Please contact Canadian Blood Service at 1 888 2 DONATE
(1-888-236-6283) or visit their website at www.bloodservices.ca

The Ontario Award for Paramedic Bravery is a Provincial Award that will recognize those paramedics whose extraordinary courage brings honour to the paramedic profession and to all of us.

For more information about the announcement and this honourable award, please click here.

On May 26th 2011, Toronto EMS was honoured

Toronto EMS was pleased to nominate Geoff Macbride for the EMS Public Hero award. Geoff was nominated for his involvement with the Sunnybrook Hospital PARTY (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth) program and for his dedication to the EMS profession, through his many other volunteer activities.

We are pleased to acknowledge the other award recipients
From Toronto Fire, Adina Kaufman and from Toronto Police Service, Constable Lance Verdoold.

Receiving a life-time achievement award was retired York Regional Police Chief Armand LaBarge.

To learn more about the IDI visit www.interculturaldialog.com.
To learn about the PARTY program visit www.partyprogram.com

Lance Verdoold, Adina Kaufman, Geoff Macbride, Armand LaBarge

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