Who we are

We provide trusted medical direction and advice, patient safety and quality programming, and continuing education to paramedics from nine paramedic services across Eastern Ontario. The RPPEO is a program of The Ottawa Hospital.

The communities served by the Regional Paramedic Program for Eastern Ontario are Prescott-Russell, Cornwall, Ottawa, The County of Renfrew, Lanark County, Leeds and Grenville, Lennox and Addington, Hastings County, Prince Edward County and Frontenac County. Combined, this includes more than 1300 paramedics at both the Primary Care (PCP) and Advanced Care (ACP) levels of practice.

We are a member of the Ontario Base Hospitals Group working closely with other base hospitals in the province. Our Medical Director sits on the Ontario Medical Advisory Committee.

Want to know more? Read about our history, see who is  leading the team or look at the values and principles that underpin our work.

History

Regions of Eastern Ontario

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  Renfrew

  Population: 88,512 (2016)

  Area: 7,419 kmsq

  Service Website

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  Lennox & Addington

  Population: 41,824 (2011)

  Area: 2,841 km²

  Service Website

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  Hastings Quinte Paramedic Service

  Population: 39,888 (2011)

  Area: 5978 km2

  Service Website

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  Lanark County

  Population: 56,689 (2011)

  Area: 2,979 km²

  Service Website

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  Frontenac County

  Population: 26,375 (2011)

  Area: 3673 km²

  Service Website

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  Ottawa Paramedic Service

  Population: 883,391 (2011)

  Area: 8996 km²

  Service Website

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  Leeds & Grenville

  Population: 67,9589 (2011)

  Area: 3,384 km²

  Service Website

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  Prescott & Russell

  Population: 85,381 (2011)

  Area: 2004 km²

  Service Website

• 

  Cornwall EMS

  Population: 64,824 (2011)

  Area: 3,297 km²

  Service Website

Accommodations

New July 7 2024: Hotel rooms at the Andaz are fully booked!

We invite guests who were unable to reserve a room to stay at the Andaz before July 7 to join AGM Week delegates at our secondary hotel site, the lovely Courtyard Marriott, right across the street from the Andaz meeting venue. You will be close to the action and Courtyard Marriott is providing AGM Week guests with a 15% discount if you book asap. This is a limited offer based on hotel occupancy volume, so don't delay!

Explore downtown Ottawa's famed ByWard Market, a coveted urban location in the nation’s capital, steps away from the historic Parliament Buildings and the National Gallery of Canada, while staying in Canadian-designed rooms at Andaz Ottawa. This luxury boutique hotel is home to Ottawa’s highest rooftop lounge where we'll congregate to collaborate during OBHG24.

OBHG_AGM_Transportation_20240912.pdf

Visit site

Travel and booking information

• 

  Driving/Parking at OBHG24 and AGM

  For guests staying at the Andaz hotel who need parking, please be aware that the Andaz Hotel has recently informed us that their designated parking lot is no longer available due to rezoning for construction. As an alternative, valet parking is available at the hotel for $48 per day. Vehicles using the valet service will be securely parked a couple of blocks away in an underground facility.

  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

  Additional Public Parking Options:
  The hotel has provided several nearby public parking options for your convenience:

  Indigo Parking – Outdoor Open Lot

  Location: 101 George Street

  Rate: Daily $41

  IN & OUT permitted

  ByWard Market Garage – Parking Garage

  Location: 70 Clarence Street

  Rate: Mon-Sat $14

  Rate: Sun-Holidays $8

  Rate: Mon-Sat Evening $7

  Rate: Sun-Holidays Evening $6

  NO IN & OUT

  Indigo Parking – Parking Garage

  Location: 41 George Street

  Rate: Daily $19

  Rate: Evening $15

  IN & OUT permitted

  Intrix ParkMe – Parking Garage

  Location: 24 York Street

  Rate: Daily $18

  Rate: Evening $10

  NO IN & OUT

  Dalhousie Parking Garage – Parking Garage

  Location: 141 Clarence Street

  Rate: Daily $15

  Rate: Weekend $10

  NO IN & OUT

• Booking your Courtyard Marriott Room

  Limited accomodations are available to AGM Week participants at a 15% discount. You must act fast to get this rate: as the Marriott fills up, the discount will disappear!

  To book your room at the Courtyard Marriott, follow this reservation link and use the code "COR" to apply your OBHG AGM Week discount.

• Andaz Meeting Venue Location

  Andaz is located in the heart of Ottawa in the Byward Market district:

  325 Dalhousie Street, Ottawa, ON K1N 7G1, Canada

  The local telephone number for Andaz is 613 321 1234. 

• Working Group Meeting Venue Location

  Delegates to OBHG Annual Meeting Week working groups are invited to meet during your scheduled time at the spacious and comfortable RPPEO offices.

  RPPEO offices are located at RPPEO, 2475 Don Reid Dr, Ottawa, ON K1H 1E2. From the Andaz, plan for a 20-25 drive to the RPPEO office meeting site.

• Flying

  Arriving at Ottawa's MacDonald-Cartier International Airport you'll have a a 25-minute, 17 km drive to the Andaz Hotel if you choose taxi, ridesharing, or car rental.

  Taxis can be found at the airport's Level 1 (Arrivals) area. The taxi queue forms outside the centre door.

  Ridesharing services are at the airport's Level 1 near Pillars 12 and 13 (outer curb).

  OC Transpo is the public transit provider in Ottawa. Bus Route 97 serves the airport using low-floor, fully accessible buses that can accommodate mobility devices. Transit fares can be purchased from the ticket machine located on Level 1, or paid in cash or Presto card onboard the bus.

  To take OC Transpo Bus 97 from the airport's Level 1, head to Pillars 13-16 (outer curb).

  Here is the Route Schedule for the airport OC Transpo bus.

  You will need to switch buses to go all the way to Andaz. Consult the OC Transpo Trip Planner for route options from the airport to Andaz.

  Bus service from the airport is outside in the pick-up zone at Pillars 13-16 (outer curb).

• Taking the Train

  For guests arriving by VIA Rail, the station is located at 200 Tremblay Road, Ottawa, ON, K1G 3H5. The VIA train station is 5 km from Andaz. You may use taxi or ridesharing for the 10 minute ride, or opt for public transport. An OC Transpo light rail train is conveniently located at the VIA Rail station. Use train route 1 in the direction of Tunney's Pasture for an 11 minute ride to the Byward Market and Andaz. The bus line to use should you prefer a bus is Line 1.

• 45.428705300000004,-75.69068873819396

  AMG24: Venue

  Andaz Byward Market Ottawa

  Read more

• 45.41644825,-75.65171978813035

  Ottawa Train Station

• 45.32203645,-75.66726438915012

  Ottawa's MacDonald-Cartier International Airport

Directions

Ambulance Call Report Review

The Ambulance Call Report continues to be among the paramedics' core responsibilities in patient care. As such an important element of the patient's chart, the RPPEO's quality management team is continually examining the ACRs that paramedics in Eastern Ontario prepare. We do this as one way to measure the quality of care for patients. All of our quality measurement helps the RPPEO improve care quality for patients and build better education tools for paramedics.

In the great majority of cases, paramedics do indeed apply the current patient care standards.

The Ottawa Hospital formally adopted Just Culture as an underpinning concept to the improvement of patient care quality. As we work toward a Just Culture, the RPPEO acknowledges that the terminology used in Just Culture may be at odds with the language used in some certification, education or quality documents. However, our intent is always to improve future patient care through a collaborative learning experience.

The RPPEO regularly reviews our own processes using continuous quality improvement methods. We work toward making peer review, ACR reviews and all the other quality management processes fairer, more transparent and better tools for patient safety and quality. You can learn more about the RPPEO Quality Program policies by clicking here.

Read on to find out more about how the RPPEO currently reviews ACRs.

• Ambulance Call Report Review Basics

  The RPPEO reviews care provided by certified paramedics, including that documented in the ACRs, according to the most recent Patient Care Standards. The authoritative documents describing standards of care are available here.

  The RPPEO examines ALS care that does not appear to follow current standards or has some type of clinically relevant variance. During ACR review, the RPPEO sends our questions or concerns with ALS care to the paramedic, their Clinical Performance Coordinator (CPC) and a member designated by their service. The tool we use for this is the Paramedic Call Review form.

  Paramedic peers are the eyes of ACR review at the RPPEO. They are constantly poring over ACRs to see if their peers have applied the current standards of care.  And, in the great majority cases, peer reviewers find the evidence that paramedics do indeed apply the current patient care standards.

  When a peer reviewer can't be certain that the standards have been well applied, the reviewer flags that ACR for further review. The RPPEO lets the ambulance services know about any potential issues in Basic Life Support (BLS) care standards.  The escalation of potential Advanced Life Support (ALS issues) takes the ACR to the RPPEO's quality coordinators, whose job it is to make sure that any potential issues noted with paramedic ALS care are resolved.  

• Paramedic Call Review

  During the ACR Review process, questions can arise that only the paramedics who provided patient care can answer. The RPPEO uses a standard procedure called Paramedic Call Review to ask these questions.

  The Paramedic Call Review (PCR) form is a standardized way for the RPPEO to follow up on potential ALS issues identified in quality management processes like Ambulance Call Report review. While most ACR reviews are closed without the need to follow up with the paramedics who provided care, the RPPEO does occassionally require more information. As a paramedic, you may receive a request to complete a PCR form for one or more of these reasons

  • to clarify what you did or didn't do during an intervention
  • to justify your actions or inactions during care
  • to clarify documentation such as the ACR, biometrics, patch recordings or others

  The RPPEO provides a response period to paramedics who receive a request to complete a PCR form. In the case that the paramedic does not respond before the deadline, the RPPEO will then contact the paramedic's ambulance service. The RPPEO may occassionally extend the response period in the case of extenuating circumstances such as a paramedic's leave of absence, extended illness or vacation period. It is, however, important that the paramedic who receives a request for information from the RPPEO responds by the deadline: the RPPEO may deactivate a paramedic's certification if we do not receive a response within the allotted time. See the footer at the bottom of the page for information on how to contact the RPPEO.

• Outcomes following Paramedic Call Review

  Once the RPPEO receives and examines responses to PCR requests, the RPPEO may

  • close the ACR review. In this case, the RPPEO and its quality management team determine that care met the standards.
  • request further information. The RPPEO once again requires more details to make further decisions.
  • escalate the ACR review to the associate medical director for quality, who may in turn close the ACR review, request further information in writing, call an in-person meeting with the paramedic, or call a Clinical Review Committee meeting to review the case.

  In any of these cases, the paramedics who provided care in the ACR under review may receive a letter outlining the details found during the review and recommendations or requirements for follow-up.

Triggers for the Ambulance Call Report Review Process

• ACR Auditing

  It's impractical and unnecessary to review every ACR for every aspect of care. Instead, the RPPEO quality management team conducts ongoing sampling of ACRs for review. The methods we use for sampling vary depending on the reason for the audit. For example, following certification with the RPPEO, new paramedics are subject to a 100% review of their ACRs. The RPPEO does other ACR audits for ongoing quality assurance, targeted review of care like medication administration, or validation of quality improvement strategies. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care also provides guidelines for sampling and the ratio of ACR audits required. ACR audits are one entry-point into the ACR Review process.

• Self Reporting

  Sometimes, paramedics note errors or problems that they suspect may have affected the standard of care. The Patient Safety Incident Report Form is the method that paramedics themselves can use for flagging potential issues that may negatively affect the standard of care that a paramedic provides while providing care. Managers may also use self reporting to raise concerns or issues. Self reporting is another entry point into the ACR Review process.

• Complaints

  When the RPPEO receives a written complaint, the nature of the complaint helps us determine our course of action. Complaints that appear to indicate clinical care issues will see the quality management team begin an ACR review, whereas the RPPEO asks the ambulance services to respond to complaints related to comportment or operational issues.

  The Ambulance Call Report Review process is one of the many processes the RPPEO uses to monitor and improve the quality of paramedic care in Eastern Ontario. If you have questions about this process, you may contact the Quality Team.

Professional Development for Base Hospital Staff

Welcome to OBHG24: 15 Years in the Making, the essential Ontario Base Hospital Group professional development event for base hospital staff and collaborators happening from Tuesday evening, September 24 until noon on Thursday, September 26, 2024, at Andaz in Ottawa's historic Byward Market.

OBHG24 is presented as part of OBHG's AGM Week programming from Monday, September 23 until noon on Thursday, September 26, 2024.

The Annual Meeting is on September 23 & 24 and includes meetings for G8, G16, MAC, and sub-committees.

On this site, you'll find more information about both the Annual Meeting and OBHG24 events. If you plan to attend both events, please register for both OBHG24 and the Annual Meeting: you will need to complete two separate registrations.

About OBHG24

OBHG24 is a milestone event for invited participants to mark 15 years since the inception of the regional base hospital system in Ontario. A celebratory event, OBHG24 is a time to reflect on our journeys and achievements in shaping emergency healthcare in the province. With a curated array of experts and voices uniting Base Hospitals, healthcare professionals, and specialists from various disciplines, OBHG24 serves as a crossroads in our continued journey, bringing base hospital staff together for collaborative discussions amidst a healthcare landscape facing unprecedented challenges.

Emphasizing collaboration, this platform provides many opportunities to meet colleagues and potential collaborators, and to learn about the work we all do across this province. We've chosen a wonderful venue to support getting to know one another, and the OBHG24 Program focuses on working together.

OBHG24 invites experts in adult learning, quality management, risk assessment, emergency healthcare, research, technology, and partner engagement to animate discussions that can help our work. Acknowledging the ever-evolving nature of Ontario's emergency healthcare system, OBHG24 provides a space for dialogue and exploration of innovative strategies.

OBHG24 applauds the invaluable contributions of Base Hospitals in shaping emergency paramedic practice over the past 15 years. As we reflect on this journey, we recognize the uncertainty and anticipation surrounding the future of healthcare. Attendees will engage in dialogues that underscore the vital role of varied fields in recalibrating emergency responses for today and tomorrow while steadfastly maintaining person-centered care. It's an environment where diverse perspectives converge, fostering insightful exchanges and collective exploration.

Join us at OBHG24 as we celebrate the progress made in the last 15 years and chart the course for the future of emergency healthcare in Ontario. This is an opportunity to be part of a dynamic gathering where experts, professionals, and visionaries come together to shape the trajectory of paramedic care for the years to come.

Become a Sponsor

Sponsors

• 

  Zoll

• 

  OMS

• 

  PreHos

2025 Fall CME Case Studies / Skill Stations

Emergency Childbirth Skill Stations

• Uncomplicated Delivery Skill Station
• Uncomplicated Delivery with Nuchal Cord Skill Station
• Shoulder Dystocia Skill Station
• Cord Prolapse Skill Station
• Multiple Gestation Skill Station
• Breech Delivery Skill Station
• Postpartum Hemorrhage Skill Station

Newborn Resuscitation Case Studies

• Newborn Epinephrine Skill Station
• Newborn Ventilation Skill Station
• 1 Intro to NRP Case Study
• 2 Premature Birth Case Study
• 3 Stimulation Case Study
• 4 Multiple Births Case Study
• 5 Short Scenario Case Study

The CEC Team

Continuing Education and Certifications staff are available Monday - Friday from 8:00AM - 5:00PM.

To reach a coordinator you may call our MedicLINE 1-877-587-7736 Option 1