Ornge’s longstanding partnership with Confederation College continues to grow, with the donation of a decommissioned Ornge ambulance that will give paramedic students another valuable tool to prepare for their future careers.

The ambulance will be used by students in Confederation College’s Primary Care Paramedic program, providing them with the opportunity to train in a realistic environment and gain hands-on experience with equipment like what they may encounter in the field.

For Ornge, the donation is about more than providing a vehicle. It is another way to support paramedic education in Northern Ontario and a partnership that has helped prepare many future paramedics for careers across the province, including Ornge.

“The education that they get at Confederation is really the foundation for everything that they build on from there, and a lot of that education is based around simulation, making that medical training as realistic as it can possibly be so that they can apply that effectively in the field,” said Justin Pyke, Director of Operations Programs and Performance at Ornge. “So, to be able to support that kind of simulation through this donation is really exciting for us at Ornge.”

Having access to a modern ambulance allows students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it in a practical setting. From loading and unloading a stretcher to navigating the vehicle, students can become more familiar with the realities of working in and around an ambulance before entering the workforce.

“It’ll help the program. It’ll help the education. It’ll help the students,” said Wade Durham, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Ornge.

This year alone, approximately 60 to 65 students are expected to benefit from access to the ambulance, with hundreds more potentially using it throughout its next chapter at the College.  

“Having an ambulance like this donated from Ornge to Confederation College celebrates a partnership that we've had with Ornge for a very long time,” said Shane Strickland, Associate Vice President, Academic at Confederation College.

“What it really means for our students is that when we're in our simulation in our practice labs, we're able to bring real world equipment into their learning experiences to help them be better prepared for the experiences they'll have when they graduate and eventually work as either land paramedics sometime in the future or air paramedics.”

Ornge and Confederation College have worked together in several ways over the years, including through bursaries supporting students in aviation and paramedic programs. Confederation College graduates have also gone on to build careers at Ornge, making investments in education and training an important part of building the future paramedic workforce.

By putting equipment directly into the hands of students, the partnership helps create learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom and better reflect the environments graduates will encounter throughout their careers.

For students, it means another opportunity to learn by doing. For Ornge, it is another way to support the people who could one day become colleagues and help provide care to patients across Ontario.

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