This is where it all virtually started! On the very southeast tip of YEG, off runway 30, The EMS AOC shares the same hangar as STARS.
I'd emailed ahead today after spending a few minutes clicking through the org chart. That person got me in touch with a paramedic team lead here who got me in touch with the Interfacility Team Lead. I called before I left downtown but he was amazed at the support.
The fixed-wing ambulance program operates 10 King Air 200/250 and a King Air 350 at 10 bases across Alberta. They're staffed with 24x7 Advanced Care Air Medical Crews and two pilots.
All the planes have the same interior layout so crews know exactly where things are.
The King Air 350 is stationed at YEG and has more cabin space and a wider door to enable transport NICU/PICU, bariatric patients, and family escorts. It'll do the inter-provincial transfers to Yellowknife or Winnipeg. They can transport patients up to 850 lbs.
All planes are equipped with synthetic vision and a sat phone for the medical crew to have direct contact with dispatch or a Transport Physician in flight. They're also upgraded for the AFRRCS province wide radio system for first-responders.
Flights are managed with partnerships with EMS dispatch, STARS, and RAAPID. Prior to the pandemic a regularly scheduled plane out of Peace River took multiple pre-booked stable patients out of northern communities like High Level into Edmonton for access to specialized care.
The YEG Air Ambulance Operations Centre opened at the Edmonton International Airport in 2013 and is the hub for 75 of AB's air ambulance activities. A ground ambulance will drive into the hangar where the patient transfer takes place in a comfortable heated space and features crew sleeping and rest quarters.
The AOC is utilized by not only Alberta but British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
The IFT team lead that took the cards was fascinated with the fundraising effort and had many thanks to give. A crew was watching the Edmonton Oilers game in the common area through the front glass.
It took everything in me not to ask for a tour. 😂
No new donations today, so our total is maintained at $5634.00 from 164 donors. I have 15 depts worth of coffee left with 630 cards ($3150) delivered to 21 depts.
The full #CoffeeforHCWsAB story is here: https://chadohman.ca/coffeeforhcwsab/
Tomorrow I'm back to the U of A Walter C Mackenzie to deliver to 3D3, what is normally a Plastic Surgery Unit, anonymously nominated. It's been converted to a dedicated COVID unit for each of the four waves of the pandemic.
Nominate a dept: https://chadohman.ca/nominate-a-unit/