Air ambulance expansion improving wait times, serving more northern communities
Ornge air ambulance has only been in its new hangar at the Sudbury airport since February, but the addition of a plane has already improved wait times.
'In the past, Sudbury only had a helicopter. And so, basically, it responded to critical care level calls in the area ... with the limited radius,' said Homer Tien, Ornge CEO.
'Now, with the proposed two new fixed-wing aircraft, we'll be able to respond up along the James Bay coast and provide more timely service for all residents, particularly in northeast Ontario, but, for, really, all of northern Ontario.'
Expansion means more jobs
Two years ago, Ontario's Health Minister, Sylvia Jones, was in Sudbury, announcing $108 million for Ornge's expansion, which included four additional aircraft, two new crews, two 24/7 aircraft and a new hangar.
Following some minor renovations, Ornge relocated to the new space in February and launched its fixed-wing operations in April.
'The helicopter has been in Sudbury here since the 80s,' said Wade Durham, COO of Ornge.
'Fixed-wing plane operations provide a different mission, but it transports patients across the province of Ontario.'
Based in Sudbury, the first aircraft was brought into service and is staffed 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Later this summer, the staffing will be ramped up to 24 hours a day.
Durham said a second dedicated fixed-wing aircraft will be added to the fleet next year.
Ornge unveiled its new hangar at the Greater Sudbury Airport on Monday.
The 35,000-square-foot facility was built in 2015 and was leased to another contractor until Ornge purchased the facility in November 2024.
'We're very pleased about the space, as not only is it helping northern Ontarians, but, from the local economy point of view, there's more people, it's more jobs,' Tien said.
Previously, the dedicated fixed-wing plane was in Timmins and the rest were in northwestern Ontario.
'So, by adding another dedicated one in kind of the northeast part of the province, we're actually seeing some improved response times across the system, which is great news again, for the province of Ontario and the people of Ontario,' he said.
Plan to triple staffing levels
Louca Sekulich, an advanced care paramedic, previously worked in Timmins but relocated to Sudbury a year and a half ago to be closer to home.
'It's a beautiful hangar,' he said.
'There's a lot of space here that allows us to bring the new aircraft here, that help with the rest of the province.'
Over the next few years, Durham said the plan is to increase staff from 30 to more than 100.
'We have about 13 rotary wing pilots, helicopter pilots,' he said.
'Because we operate at 12 hours a day right now, we have six fixed-wing pilots, but, essentially, we're going to get up to 36 fixed-wing pilots and 14 rotating pilots by summer of next year.'
Job fair at new hangar
Ornge is hosting a job fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the base located at 8555 Aviation Road in Garson.
It will be looking to hire paramedics, pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.
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