Within the Jerry Coughlan Health & Wellness Centre resides the Central East Pre-Hospital Care Program (CEPCP), also known as Base Hospital, which is one of eight Base Hospital programs across the province of Ontario.
On January 9, 2024, Base Hospital staff excitedly moved their headquarters and education space from Oshawa to the newly built Jerry Coughlan Health & Wellness Centre in Pickering. And, just a week later, on January 16, staff welcomed the first set of paramedics for “return to practice” training.
Thanks to a generous $250,000 investment from the City of Pickering, Base Hospital’s brand new training classrooms and simulation rooms have been installed with state-of-the-art AV and media technology that allows for high-tech training and instruction scenarios.
“This investment reflects Council’s commitment to supporting timely, accessible, and high-quality health care services for the growing population of Pickering and the greater Durham Region. As part of our strategic focus on improving quality of life for our residents, it is our priority to advocate for, and work with partners, to increase access to health care facilities and medical practitioners. We are thrilled to support such a significant investment in the health and well-being of our community, funded by revenues received from hosting Pickering Casino Resort, and look forward to our continued relationship with Lakeridge Health.” – Mayor Kevin Ashe
The City of Pickering recognizes the importance of Base Hospital, and that all of its residents are unknowingly impacted by its work.
When anyone calls 911, the emergency first responders must be at the top of their game to quickly and accurately triage the situation and provide immediate care. Any delays could have medical repercussions. This is why Pickering Fire trains with Base Hospital 32 days a year, and hundreds of days are dedicated to different areas of paramedic training.
If anyone has a cardiac episode at a City of Pickering site, while waiting for the emergency medical services to arrive, the publicly-accessible defibrillators are available for early defibrillation, helping to increase patient survival or decrease long-lasting effects. This is why City of Pickering staff are trained by Base Hospital staff to use the devices so that visitors are in safe and competent hands until the professionals arrive on scene.
The CEPCP is comprised of two programs: the Emergency Medical Services program and the Community Programs.
Emergency Medical Services Program:
- Provides medical oversight, medical delegation, continuing education and quality assurance for six paramedic services across a broad geographic region.
- Responsible for the ongoing education and practice oversight for 1,750 paramedics in six municipalities: Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, York, Durham and Northumberland.
- Delivers more than 200 continuing education sessions each year for primary and advanced care paramedics.
Three branches of the Community Program:
- Fire Services
- Provides medical oversight, continuing education and quality assurance monitoring for 16 municipal fire halls across the Durham, York and Northumberland, Peterborough, and Kawartha municipalities as well as for Ontario Power Generation emergency first responders at the Darlington and Pickering nuclear power generating plants.
- Cardiac Safe Community Public Access Defibrillator
- Provides Basic Life Support instruction and quality assurance maintenance for over 100 public access defibrillators in the Durham region.
- Provides debriefing for the staff involved when a public access defibrillator is activated in the community using one of their devices.
- Basic Life Support (BLS) instruction
- Certifies approximately 1,200 Lakeridge Health employees annually.
2024 Training Statistics (up to Oct. 30, 2024):
- Certified over 150 newly-hired paramedics, over 15 instructional days.
- Re-certified over 100 return-to-practice paramedics, over 60 instructional days
- Trained over 60 paramedics in IV management.
- By December 2024, approximately 200 firefighters will have attended 209 Continuing Medical Education (CME) days.
- By December 2024, approximately 1,700 paramedics will have attended 178 CME days.
- In December 2024, anticipating to provide Academic Certification Training to approximately 15 paramedic students.
For more information about the Jerry Coughlan Health & Wellness Centre, please visit Lakeridge Health’s website at www.lakeridgehealth.on.ca.
In the photo: L-R: Jennifer Shanley (Base Hospital); Councilor David Pickles; Tracy Paterson (CEO, Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation); Victor Sgro (Board Chair, Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation); Mayor Kevin Ashe; Councilor Linda Cook; Councilor Shaheen Butt; Councilor Mara Nagy; and CAO Marisa Carpino
