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Ontario’s Emergency Medical Assistance Team will use Ottawa’s race weekend to practise for the Pan Am Games.

Every May, staff across The Ottawa Hospital volunteer at the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, along the race routes and downtown at a satellite field hospital set up for the weekend in the Cartier Drill Hall near City Hall.

This year, they’ll have extra support.

Ontario’s Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT) has partnered with the hospital, paramedics and firefighters to practise for this summer’s Pan Am Games.

EMAT is a mobile medical field hospital that can be deployed on short notice to medical emergencies anywhere in Ontario. The team has 160 members from all over the province (including some from The Ottawa Hospital) and 30 will be at race weekend, May 23 and 24.

Marcie Beaudoin, who will lead the EMAT group, said the partnership gives her team a unique opportunity.

“For us it’s a great exercise. We get to work in real time at a real event and build our relationship with the hospital,” said Beaudoin. “The lessons learned will help us with the Pan Am Games.”

For the hospital, having EMAT there for race weekend means a chance to learn from emergency-response specialists.

“There are limited opportunities for hospitals in the province to participate with EMAT on an exercise,” said John Trickett, Director of Surgery and Trauma Services. “We learn a lot from them, and they learn a lot from us. It’s really useful.”

John Trickett, Director of Surgery and Trauma Services, said The Ottawa Hospital can learn a lot from the partnership with EMAT for race weekend.

EMAT’s major role for the weekend will be helping to reunite injured runners with their families in the hospital’s medical area. They’ll be integrated with the hospital’s team for the weekend.

“It lets our psychosocial health team do focused training in reunification,” said Beaudoin. “It helps the clinicians onsite when they don’t have to worry about helping families find runners.”

EMAT has also helped the hospital create education modules for the event. They’re designed to teach volunteers and partner organizations about common marathon problems like dehydration and overheating.

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