Meet Jacob Lai, a Flight Communications Officer in Ornge’s Operations Control Centre (OCC). We spoke with Jacob about his role, how the OCC collaborates as a team, and the training he received.

Can you begin by introducing yourself, how long you’ve been at Ornge, and your current role at Ornge?

My name is Jacob, I have been with Ornge for about one year as a Flight Communication Officer/Planner.
 
Can you walk me through what you do in your position? What are the differences between a flight communications officer and a medical communications officer?

A flight communication officer assigns patient transfers to crews and dispatching the right assets for each transfer. Medical COs gather the patient information, and the flight COs oversee planning the logistics of the transfer, from beginning to end. As soon as the crews at the base complete their weather check, we give them the details of the call and send them on their way. The vehicles and crew that we dispatch are chosen mainly based on location and patient requirements. Some patients require a higher level of care crew or special equipment that not every aircraft has.
At the start of the day, we (CO Flight) are given a list of assets that are on duty for the day. Throughout the day, we receive the patient transport requests and assign assets to each request to be completed in a safe and timely manner.
 
Can you explain how the OCC collaborates as a team to complete transports?

Teamwork is the underpinning of all our work in the OCC. All of our staff have to work cohesively to ensure a smooth operation. It begins with the CO Medical taking the patient information, then the transport physician reviews the details to determine the priority and level of care the patient requires. The CO Flight then plans the logistics of the transport including what crew to use and how to transport the patient in the safest and most efficient way.
 
When did you decide you wanted a career in aviation?

I decided I wanted to be in aviation at a young age. I was always fascinated to see such large aircraft flying in the sky to bring people closer to one another while overcoming the challenge of distance and other geographical intricacies.
 
Who or what are some of the biggest inspirations in your career?

Operation wise, seeing all the different parts of the industry working closely with each other to maintain a safe environment for all the crews and passengers involved is a big motivation to be in the aviation industry. It’s a very diverse group of people working together to ensure a safe operation in our skies. My biggest motivation is seeing patients get to the care they need the most and helping the system with capacity. Working with the OCC with all the different people that know each other; not just the staff in the OCC but our paramedic and pilots who all work as one team to deliver patients to the care they need.
 
Why did you choose to work in aviation communications?

I chose to work in aviation communications to gain a different perspective on the industry. I come from a pilot background, and I decided I wanted to experience the operation side of things before pursuing a career in flying and Ornge is a great opportunity to see how aviation works in Ontario.
 
What are the most valuable skills you are developing as a Communications Officer?

The experience is the most valuable thing I am gaining. Seeing the amount of work required for each flight is extremely valuable. There’s a lot of background work done by the entire team to ensure a safe and efficient transfer.
 
How important is timeliness in our operations? How does the OCC assist in improving timeliness in our transports?

Timeliness is extremely important for all our transports. It goes without saying that timeliness is extremely important for high acuity patients who are in critical condition. Getting them to where they need to go can be a matter of life or death. Timeliness is still of highest importance for lower acuity transports though for different reasons. The patients still need to get to the care they need and we want to get them to that care and back to their families as quick as possible. If we can stay on top of these lower acuity transports, we can prevent the patient condition from deteriorating into a higher acuity case and ease the impact that would have on our healthcare system.

We work to get ahead and be proactive with the transport requests that come in. Things as simple as knowing what crews are up in the next few hours so that I can have an idea of how to assign each case. I do my best to predict what is going to happen throughout the day so that I encounter as little surprises as possible. Safety is the top priority for us, so timeliness doesn’t mean doing anything possible to complete a transport, it means doing everything in the safest and fastest way we can. Sometimes a rush of calls come in and its always important to remind myself that not everything is in my control; sometimes a transport can’t be completed because of weather or duty times. In those times, the safest thing to do is remain calm and not pressure myself or our crew.
 
Can you speak on the training you received for your position?

COs start with three weeks of in-class training where we learn about the organization as a whole and the policies and procedures in place for every situation. Then we go into the OCC for two weeks to get the hands-on experience by shadowing other COs. After that, it’s back to the classroom for another three weeks to fine tune our decision-making skills and focus on hands-on training with air transports. Finally, we go back to the OCC to shadow a training officer for around a month until we’re ready to work on our own. Working in the OCC is a constant learning process. There are so many changes happening all the time and policies and procedures are constantly evolving. If I know what to reference and have the guidance from my managers or teammates in the OCC, I’m able to stay on top of the changes.
 
What is the one thing you enjoy the most about working for Ornge?

I enjoy having that background perspective of how the province works together in the healthcare system. I love seeing the behind the scenes of how the patient is being moved around in the province to get to where they need to go.
 

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