Emergency Department staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as well as Island EMS staff are profiled in the upcoming CBC docu-series Keeping Canada Alive airing Sunday, October 4.
“We feel fortunate to have been asked to be part of the groundbreaking Keeping Canada Alive project and jumped at the opportunity to showcase our hospital, our talented staff and the excellent care we provide our patients,” said Dr. Tom Dorran, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Medical Director. “Our hope is that viewers and Islanders alike are able to step inside our world for a little bit and see how passionate we are about our work and our patients.”
A film crew and production team spent eighteen hours at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and with Island EMS to capture health care stories as they unfolded on May 6, 2015. Camera crews followed several health care providers including QEH Medical Director Dr. Tom Dorran, QEH Emergency Department Head Dr. Ron Whalen and Island EMS Paramedics Shawn Westbury and Ted MacPherson.
"Island EMS embraced the opportunity to work closely with Health PEI and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital during the filming of CBC's Keeping Canada Alive docu-series," said Darcy Clinton, General Manager with Island EMS. "We were pleased to have the opportunity to take part in this initiative to showcase the professional care delivered day in and day out by our highly skilled paramedics."
Narrated by Emmy Award-winning Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland, CBC's new factual series Keeping Canada Alive gives viewers an unprecedented look at the health care system and the powerful emotional stories that take place within it. Over a 24-hour period on May 6, 2015, 60 camera crews descended on more than 40 health and home care locations in 24 Canadian cities to capture a six-part, one-hour television series highlighting 36 emotionally charged and highly intimate stories – from a three-month-old baby having a hole in his heart patched to a terminal cancer patient receiving end-of-life care.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Island EMS will be featured in the premiere episode airing on CBC this Sunday, October 4 at 9:00pm. Both are also featured within the online companion experience, found online at www.cbc.ca/keepingcanadaalive, which includes raw footage of medical procedures, interviews and other events filmed that day.
Health care facilities and caregivers featured in Keeping Canada Alive come from British Columbia (Richmond, Vancouver, Kamloops, Haida Gwaii, Comox), Alberta (Edmonton, Calgary), Saskatchewan (Fort Qu'Appelle), Manitoba (Winnipeg, Pine Falls), Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Thunder Bay), Quebec (Montreal, Chisasibi), Nova Scotia (Halifax, Wolfville, Liverpool), Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown), New Brunswick (Minto), Newfoundland (St. John's), Labrador (Nain), and the Northwest Territories (Yellowknife).
For more information about the Keeping Canada Alive docu-series, visit www.cbc.ca/keepingcanadaalive.