Medavie HealthEd announced today that it has been awarded a contract with the Department of National Defence (DND) to provide French Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) training for Canadian Armed Forces Medical Technicians. The contract is for an initial three- year period, with the option to extend the term of the contract by up to two additional one-year periods.

The French primary care paramedic training will complement the English primary care paramedic training that Medavie HealthEd has been providing the Department of National Defence since 2013. That contract was extended in 2015 and Medavie HealthEd has been training as many as 32 students during each six-month course.

“We’re very proud of the highly specialized and responsive primary care paramedic training that we provide to Canadian Armed Forces Medical Technicians,” said John Ferguson, President of Medavie HealthEd. “It is training that they may be called upon to use here at home with both military personnel and civilians, as well as around the world when dealing with conflict and natural disasters.”

Medavie HealthEd began training the Department of National Defence students in 2009 through the provision of Advanced Emergent Care programming. Over 1,000 Department of National Defence students completed this training in either English or French.  This relationship then expanded into primary care paramedic training - one of three qualification requirements for Canadian Armed Forces Medical Technicians. Medavie HealthEd’s program meets all of the performance standards of the National Occupational Competency Profile, as outlined by the Paramedic Association of Canada, and includes didactic, clinical and on-ambulance training.   

“We have an excellent track record delivering primary care paramedic training to the Canadian Armed Forces and we’ve developed a deep understanding of what they need and expect,” said Erik Sande, President of Medavie Health Services. “Our school and New Brunswick operating company also have the advantage of being in Canada’s only bilingual province, giving French students a welcoming environment in which to excel at their studies. It is a training experience they simply could not get anywhere else.”

Medavie HealthEd’s first French Department of National Defence primary care pramedic courses are due to start in Moncton in March 2017 and will include a total of 40 students.

About Medavie HealthEd
Medavie HealthEd is part of the group of companies of Medavie Health Services, a primary health care solutions organization that manages a number of subsidiary companies in the fields of pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS), mobile integrated health, telehealth medical communications, public safety delivery and clinical training.

Medavie Health Services is currently contracted to provide EMS services in six Canadian provinces, and in Massachusetts, making it the largest private provider of EMS management services in Canada.

As one of 12 subsidiary organizations under Medavie Health services, Medavie HealthEd has more than two decades of experience delivering Primary Care Paramedic, Advanced Care Paramedic as well as various other healthcare-related training programs at their two main campuses along with additional delivery sites within New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Medavie HealthEd is also the key Primary Care Paramedic training partner of the Department of National Defence for the Canadian Armed Forces.

Together with Medavie Blue Cross, Medavie Health Services is part of Medavie, a not-for-profit company proud to commit an annual social dividend to the Medavie Health Foundation. Since late 2011, the Foundation has partnered with over 60 organizations offering programs in the areas of child and youth mental health, type 2 diabetes, and – new for this year – post-traumatic stress disorder.