Ornge, Ontario's provider of air ambulance and critical care transport services, is proud to announce the addition of a new, permanent Critical Care Land Ambulance (CCLA) base in Hamilton. The base of operations for Ornge critical care paramedics and land ambulances, opening later this year, will be a new resource to support the transport of critically ill individuals between hospitals in the Golden Horseshoe.

"This new base represents a significant investment in critical care patient transport services,” says Dr. Homer Tien, president and CEO of Ornge. “We are confident it will strengthen our ability to deliver the highest standard of care to the people of Hamilton and surrounding communities."

The CCLA program relieves pressure on municipal land ambulance services, reduces the need for hospitals to provide escort staff for critical transfers and allows Ornge to increase air ambulance availability for outlying rural and remote areas. The Hamilton base will be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week. This new facility adds to Ornge’s complement of CCLA bases across the province, including Mississauga, Peterborough, Ottawa, and as of fall 2022, Chatham-Kent. Each of these communities and regions has benefitted from having highly skilled paramedics and a dedicated land ambulance available daily.

The Hamilton base will be co-located with CritiCall Ontario, the province’s 24-hour-a-day emergency consultation and referral service for hospital-based physicians, at 1725 Upper James Street. The location offers advantages such as highway access so that Ornge can respond quickly to hospitals throughout the region. 

 “CritiCall Ontario, Hamilton Health Sciences and Ornge have been key partners in ensuring the safe, efficient movement of patients between hospitals, particularly during periods of surge,” says Rob MacIsaac, president and CEO of Hamilton Health Sciences, which is home to a number of regional critical care programs including trauma, burns, and cardiac. “Our experience over the past few years has strengthened the connections between our organizations and inspired increased collaboration around improving access to critical care services in Ontario.”

Construction will soon begin on a three-bay ambulance garage.  The target opening date is this fall. 

About Ornge
Ornge, a not-for-profit organization, co-ordinates all aspects of Ontario’s air ambulance system, the critical care land transport program and the authorisation of air and land ambulance transfers between hospitals.
About CritiCall Ontario

CritiCall Ontario is a healthcare organization dedicated to supporting access to and delivery of urgent and emergent care within Ontario. Funded by the Ministry of Health and administered by Hamilton Health Sciences, CritiCall Ontario provides a variety of services to physicians, hospitals and other healthcare stakeholders with the goal of helping to ensure Ontario patients can access the urgent and emergent care they need as close to home as possible.

For more information, please contact: 
Ornge Media Relations
416-531-7577 
1-888-229-8115
media@ornge.ca


 

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