Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano (left), Loyalist College chief executive officer and president Ann Marie Vaughn and Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith in front of the full-sized ambulance that was installed during renovations of the Loyalist’s third floor last year. Photo by Robert D. Champagne
By Robert D. Champagne [1]
BELLEVILLE – Local and provincial politicians were put to the test on Tuesday during simulations of a cardiac arrest and an injury at the unveiling of renovations to Loyalist College’s third floor.
Bay of Quinte MPP and Minister of Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Todd Smith was in attendance, along with Sault Ste. Marie MPP and Minister of Colleges and Universities Ross Romano [2].
The third floor of the college houses medical programs such as nursing and paramedic training.
Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk (left) performs CPR on a dummy while Minister Ross Romano (right) is instructed by a student on how to ventilate. Photo by Robert D. Champagne, QNet News
After a brief ceremony, local dignitaries were brought into the new wing to view the upgrades. The first thing they saw was a simulated hospital situation in which a code blue [3] (cardiac arrest) was being called. Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk was the first to take over from nursing students in providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Hastings-Lennox and Addington MPP Daryl Kramp also got in on the action, performing CPR and taking the role of a patient’s father during the second simulation, of an injury caused by someone falling off a ladder.
“It’s not easy,” said Smith about performing CPR. “Doing chest compressions with a tie on as tight as mine is not the easiest thing. It’s physically demanding.
At the end of the simulation, the patient is loaded onto the ambulance that is used to train paramedic students in a practical environment. Photo by Robert D. Champagne, QNet News
“It’s great to have that type of practical experience, and to have that here in a setting where you can be corrected when you’re not doing something entirely the right way.”
Romano called the event “an amazing learning experience,” adding, “To see them being able to learn in that type of environment, sort of a virtual-reality environment if you will – it’s an excellent learning opportunity for the students.”
The renovated third floor includes a full-sized ambulance supplied by Hastings County.
The renovation was funded by the provincial and federal governments to the tune of $3.2 million.