Media Advisory - Crash victim reunites with critical care flight paramedics
to help mark 10-year anniversary of Ornge's transport medicine base in Ottawa

TORONTO , Sept. 29 /CNW/ - Ornge, Ontario's transport medicine service, is marking the 10th anniversary of its Ottawa air base. Media are invited to join us as we bring together for the first time since her cycling accident in July, patient Hilary McNamee and the Ornge critical care flight paramedics who cared for her during her transport by helicopter to the hospital. Since opening the doors to its dedicated base in Ottawa in September 1999 , Ornge has transported more than 5,600 patients, or approximately 565 every year, from across Eastern Ontario.

Media are invited to Ornge's air base in Ottawa on Wednesday, September 30 to hear this remarkable story and attend a Q&A with the participants.

    
    Who:      Hilary McNamee, Carleton University student and Ornge patient
              Patrick Auger, critical care paramedic, Ornge
              Marcie Beaudoin, critical care paramedic, Ornge

    When:     Wednesday, September 30 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

    Where:    Ornge Ottawa air base, 2094 Alert Rd., Ottawa
    

Hilary's Story

An idyllic morning cycling trip abruptly turned into a nightmare for Ottawa's Hilary McNamee and her four friends. The 27-year old Carleton University social work student remembers laughing with her fellow cyclists as they rode their bicycles down March Road on a clear sunny day. Then the world turned black, and the next thing she remembers is waking up in hospital in excruciating pain, immobilized by a neck brace and in leg traction. Struck from behind by a minivan, the group suffered injuries that left Ms. McNamee in a body brace and using a walker.

Arriving at the crash, Ornge critical care paramedics Patrick Auger and Marcie Beaudoin were confronted by a chaotic scene of crushed bicycles and seriously injured riders. "Our calls primarily involve transporting people from outside the city limits, so when we received this one it seemed unusual at first," Ms. Beaudoin said. "When we saw the devastation from this accident, however, it made sense that we were there."

Airlifted to The Ottawa Hospital by Ornge, Ms. McNamee says accounts of the crash from eyewitnesses have caused her to believe the paramedics who cared for her, Patrick Auger and Marcie Beaudoin , deserve to be given medals. "While I don't remember any of the crash itself, people who were present at the scene that day have reported to me personally how amazed they were by the calmness and competence exhibited by these paramedics. I'm so grateful to them for transporting me to the hospital so quickly and I look forward to being able to meet them in person to show my gratitude."

For further information: To register for this event, and for more information on Ornge, please contact: Lori McLeod, Ornge media relations, [phone] or [phone]