Staff Profile: Dana Hamilton – Critical Care Flight Paramedic
October 3, 2024
3 October, 2024
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London
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By: Par: Justyn Aleluia
Meet Dana Hamilton, a Critical Care Flight Paramedic. In our discussion, Dana sheds light on her responsibilities, her experience in serving communities across Northern and Southern Ontario, and Ornge’s importance to Ontario’s healthcare system.
Can you start by introducing yourself, your position at Ornge, and how long you have been with Ornge?
My name is Dana Hamilton, and I am a Critical Care Paramedic at Ornge’s London base. I’ve been with the company since September of 2011.
Can you describe what you do in your role?
As a Critical Care Flight Paramedic, I sit in the back of the helicopter as the two pilots fly to the call. In my role, I try to provide the best possible emergency care. We do interfacility transportation from small hospitals to larger centres and we do scene calls and scene management for all sorts of different accidents.
I understand you have worked at multiple Ornge bases, what are the main differences you’ve noticed between these bases and the calls they receive?
I’ve been all over. I was up in Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay, then I moved down to Ottawa for five years and now I’m in London – hopefully for the rest of my career!
In the north, I was stationed on a fixed-wing aircraft, and there was, and still is, a lot of fly-in First Nations Reserves that rely on us getting in there. There are many different challenges in the north, especially with the unpredictable weather and different geography. Keeping fuel and weather in mind, the timing of the pilots had to be spot on for them to fly in and fly out.
Almost any situation that needs medical attention – whether major or minor – needs to be flown out. Because most communities in the north are isolated, time is a big factor in every transport. The nursing stations and the medical staff in these communities are excellent, but there is only so much they can do limited resources available.
Here in Southern Ontario, we take a lot more scene calls; highway accidents, ATV accidents, snowmobile accidents, etc. We get there very quickly so typically there is more work to be done in preparing and treating the patients.
In your opinion, how does Ornge respond to system and community need?
Ornge does an excellent job with the resources that we have to provide everybody with the level of care that they require. The doctors in the OCC work very well in communicating, triaging, and assisting all the hospitals and ambulance services until we get there.
What does organizational culture mean to you and how do you collaborate in your position?
All the teamwork and collaboration in my role revolves around communication. Everyone in the crew undergoes similar training and that makes communication a lot easier. In the end, we’re not just medics, pilots, or support staff, we are all communication experts, and we have to be to work effectively together as a team.
What is one thing you like the most about working at Ornge?
The one thing I love the most is the autonomy. I love the medicine and the training that we’re given to provide the best care to patients. We have great resources. Having a Transport Medicine Physician to call around the clock to have instant knowledge might also be my favourite part.
There’s also no doubt that the view from my “office” window is pretty awesome too.
Can you speak more about the training you receive and the opportunity you have for growth in the organization?
A big part of why I came to Ornge when I started in 2011 was the training they offered. All training was in-house for primary care paramedicine all the way to the highest level of critical care.
It is a fully immersive in-class program that is known to build the best clinicians and that’s why I came on board with Ornge – I wanted that amazing training. I eventually took part in that training, taking me from Primary Care to Critical Care level and it was an incredible course. I spent eight months learning in class, then had a residency with a bunch of different hospitals which let me gain experience in many different areas. It was all excellent.
What is one thing you would tell aspiring paramedics?
I would say to start young. You’ve gotta want it. You’ve gotta love medicine as well. I think now after having kids and being a bit older, I wonder if I would have the resilience to work and study for long hours. I think I conditioned myself when I was younger which has let me handle these things now.
In your opinion, why is Ornge important to Ontario’s healthcare system?
Ornge isn’t just important to Ontario’s healthcare system, it is VITAL. In the north, we are the primary mode of emergency transportation – our service is a must. Even down in the south, we are essential for different reasons. With staffing shortages in hospitals, they don’t have the staff to transport patients in and out and they don’t have the equipment and the training to do it quickly and efficiently.
There’s plenty of evidence that time to definitive care saves lives, and that’s what we do. Ornge has trained us to provide care rapidly and effectively.
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At Ornge, our staff work every day around the clock to ensure the patients of Ontario receive the best care available. Learn more about the people behind #teamornge.