Loyalist College Paramedic students join emergency service fleets to support COVID-19 efforts

Belleville, Ontario, April 17, 2020 – More than 20 Loyalist College Paramedic students in their final semester will have the opportunity to put their skills to work by immediately joining emergency health services teams as “student paramedics” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A province-wide framework for program completion led by Loyalist College was created in collaboration with the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Colleges and Universities; Colleges Ontario; the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs; and Ontario Base Hospitals. This initiative enables emergency services to hire student paramedics as third members of two-person ambulance teams and positions students to complete the remainder of their in-ambulance experience to meet academic competency requirements.

“COVID-19 is putting a tremendous stress on frontline paramedicine personnel who are working tirelessly to support our community,” said Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan, Loyalist College President & CEO. “Our close relationship with Ministry and industry partners enables us to move quickly to mobilize the province’s career-ready Paramedic students for workforce integration while meeting the immediate needs of emergency services in our region and beyond.”

June MacDonald-Jenkins, Dean of Health, Human and Justice Studies at Loyalist, is the Paramedic Dean liaison for the province’s Heads of Health committee. She presented this program completion model to the Ministries on behalf of all Paramedic programs in Ontario.

“Students who are able to engage in this unique student paramedic role will still be eligible to write the Advanced Emergency Medical Care Assistants (AEMCA) exam,” said MacDonald-Jenkins. “This solution shows the Ministry of Health’s commitment to workforce mobilization through creative completion strategies.”

Student paramedics will continue to be supervised and mentored by their colleges once hired by an emergency service department.

“We are confident they are ready,” said Chief Ben Addley, Director for the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs. “The province’s Paramedic programs are designed in such a way that these students are prepared for the workforce before graduation. We’re in a unique situation where we have students who are weeks away from finishing their programs. At this stage in their journey, they’re ready to join paramedic and emergency medical services across Ontario.”

About Loyalist College
Loyalist is Ontario’s Destination College, empowering students, faculty, staff, and partners through experiential, industry cluster-based education, training and applied research programs. The College provides job-ready graduates for, and knowledge transfer to, industry and the community. Of 2017-18 Loyalist graduates, 88.5 percent were employed within six months after graduation. Located on more than 200 acres in the beautiful Bay of Quinte region, the College is perfectly positioned between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Loyalist offers more than 70 full-time diploma, certificate and apprenticeship programs in biosciences, building sciences, business, community service, health and wellness, media studies, public safety, and skilled trades. Continuing education options are available through LoyalistFocus.com, including hundreds of online, distance and in-class courses, and through the College’s 100+ university transfer agreements. Loyalist is a key driver of social and economic health in eastern Ontario. It contributes 5.8 percent of the Gross Regional Product, representing $465 million annually to the regional economy – based on an October 2018 report by Emsi. For more information on Loyalist’s Belleville and Bancroft campuses and Port Hope satellite location, visit YoureGoingPlaces.com.

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Contact: Kerry Lorimer, Director, Marketing, Communications and Recruitment
Loyalist College, klorimer@loyalistcollege.com, 613-969-1913, ext. 2536