The Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the “Ambulances for Ukraine Project” is truly pleased to welcome the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada to Phase 2 of this important initiative designed to assist Ukraine in rebuilding its capacity to care for those impacted by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Your support and participation in the first phase of our project helped the project deliver 4 ambulances to hospitals in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovs’k and Vinnytsia. The ambulances were quickly put into service upon their arrival in September 2016,.They completed over 100 journeys within the first month, transporting and caring for the causalities of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
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It is important to first acknowledge the support and contribution of our partners and ambulance services who contributed to the success of Phase 1 of the project beginning with the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada and Saskatchewan Emergency Medical Association. Ambulance Services and corporate partners included Crestline Coach Ltd, M.D. Ambulance, Parkland Ambulance, Duck Mountain EMS, Associated Ambulance Services (Alberta), AED Advantage Sales, Physio-Control, WPD Ambulance (Saskatchewan), and Winner Imports (Kyiv, Ukraine).
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Building on this success we have initiated the second Phase of the project with a target of sending an additional 16 ambulances to Ukraine. We continue our efforts to support Ukraine in build capacity to transport those directly impacted by the conflict but also to assist in providing medical care and treatment in communities where their medical infrastructure has been destroyed as are result of the war.
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With Phase 2 off to a strong start with 4 ambulances donated from Manitoba and our first ambulance from the Prescott Russell Emergency Services in Ontario it is our hope that we will be able to secure 1-2 ambulances from every province to make it a truly national project, demonstrating Canada’s commitment to supporting those impacted by the conflict.
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The units that were sent in Phase 1 were unique the their design when compared to European sourced ambulances providing the medical personnel the opportunity to transport 2 patients at a time while also providing an efficient working environment to treat the wounded . This was very much appreciated by all that worked with our ambulances.
Based on our experience from Phase 1 we have updated the ambulance selection criteria. Our goal is to send quality vehicles which meet the certification requirements for continued service and operation in the Canadian Province of origin. In addition the following general guidelines and preferences are being suggested to ensure the sustainable deployment and reliable operation of units into Ukraine:
Age (preference)
• Gasoline engine 5-6 year old
• Diesel engine 6-8 years old
Mileage
• Gasoline 200,000-250,000 km target
• Diesel 250,000-350,000 km target
Engine preference (with a history of reliable performance)
• GM diesel
• GM and Ford Gasoline
• Ford 6 or 7.3 liter diesel
Configuration:
• The preferred configuration will be a N.A. type 3 unit configured to carry 2 patient stretchers although other configurations would also be welcomed
As part of the process our Project team would work with the prospective donor emergency service to review maintenance records, annual inspection certificates as well as vehicle registration documentation to facilitate the transfer of ownership and preparation of documentation required to ship the vehicles aboard.
Ambulance and Emergency Services wishing to learn more about the project or donate an ambulance are encouraged to contact:
• John Holuk (Project Manager), jmhbsinc@gmail.com or +1 905 407 3260
• Dave Dutchak, d.dutchak@mdambulance.com or + 1 306 229 1460
Given the proposed timeline we would welcome expressions of interest from various ambulance services by March 7th, 2016 with final vehicles and their availability confirmed by April 6th, 2016. Shipping of the ambulances is planned to coincide with the Paramedic Chiefs Conference in June 2016.
Once again, we welcome the support of the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada and look forward to achieving our goal of an additional 16 Ambulances and participation of every province. It would be most opportune to be able to announce this partnership and project details at the Paramedic Chiefs National Conference in June 2016
Sincerely,
John Holuk
Project Manager- Ambulances for Ukraine
Ukrainian Canadian Congress