Summer Season is "Trauma Season"

Ornge works with partner organizations to launch blog focusing on summer safety

MISSISSAUGA, ON, June 30 /CNW/ - With the school year over and classes dismissed, families across Ontario are looking forward to kicking off their summer vacation. Ornge paramedics, however, have another name for it "trauma season."

Trauma season begins the long weekend of May and continues through the Labour Day weekend in September. Ornge, the transport medicine provider for the Province of Ontario, handled more than 6,600 trauma-related transports during this period in 2009, up nearly 500 from the same timeframe in 2008.

As people become more active with summertime leisure activities, there is a sharp increase in the number of calls for traumatic injuries - on the road, on the water, and on ATV trails. The arrival of the Ornge helicopter at an accident scene becomes an all-too-familiar sight.

"Ornge is well-prepared for trauma season," said Tom Lepine, Chief Operating Officer for Ornge. "However, with the right knowledge and a measure of common sense, you can take control of your own safety and reduce your chances of ending up in an emergency room."

To drive this message home, Ornge, the transport medicine provider for the Province of Ontario, is working in collaboration with Ontario Power Generation, Arrive Alive and J-Smarts to kick off an online campaign with the goal of reducing the number of traumatic injuries.

Traumaseason.ca features articles, blog entries, and relevant links to detailed information. Some of the topics include ATV's, camping, hiking, water safety and emergency preparedness. The frequently-updated site will offer practical tips and insight into injury prevention. With new partners scheduled to come online shortly, other organizations and individuals committed to spreading the message of summer safety are invited to contribute content to the blog.

Visit us at www.traumaseason.ca.

ABOUT ORNGE

Ornge is Canada's leading innovator in the emerging field of transport medicine, and operates from a number ofbases across the province of Ontario and performs approximately 20,000 admissions annually. It coordinates all aspects of Ontario's aero medical transport system, the new critical care land transport program, and the authorization of air and land ambulance transfers between hospitals. Ornge is dedicated to the provision of high quality patient care through innovative transport medicine.

For further information: James MacDonald, Media Relations Officer, Ornge, [phone]