A team of trauma specialists from Royal University Hospital (RUH) travelled more than 1,000 kilometres north to bring hands-on emergency response training to Stony Rapids, one of the province’s most remote communities.
The training group after arriving at Stony Rapids (from l-r: Alex Wojcichowsky, Terra Dyky, Renee Tetu, Deb Georget, Dr. Niroshan Sothilingam, Dr. James Stempien, Dr. Kavi Chatoorgoon, Frankie Affleck, Jan Hiebert, Dr. Dallas Pearson and Dr. Annalise Kudryk).
Stony Rapids was the thirteenth Saskatchewan community reached by a donor-funded program that brings RUH’s trauma expertise to rural and northern communities, helping first responders and health-care teams build critical emergency response skills.
From June 22 to 24, the 11-member team worked with health care and emergency response teams from Stony Rapids and surrounding communities, teaching them to assess and stabilize patients and prepare them for transport to higher levels of care. In remote communities, the skills delivered through this training stay local long after the team has flown home.
This training is part of RUH Foundation’s Rural Trauma Training Program, supported by donors since 2023. At the heart of it is a simulation manikin, named “Orano” in recognition of a $300,000 gift from Orano Canada. The manikin can bleed, cry and talk to its care team, letting trainees rehearse high-pressure scenarios before a real emergency arrives. Orano Canada’s gift supports both the manikin and trauma training for communities in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan.
“RUH serves patients from every corner of Saskatchewan, and that includes communities like Stony Rapids that are more than a thousand kilometres from our doors. Donor generosity makes this program possible – turning a gift into skills that stay in the community and save lives. We’re grateful to Orano Canada for helping make that possible,” said Jennifer Molloy, CEO, RUH Foundation.
“Many people never have the opportunity to travel this far north, and being welcomed into Stony Rapids is a privilege. We come to share trauma care skills, but just as importantly, we are there to learn about the community, how care is provided here, and the people who sustain it every day. Experiences like this are about building relationships and learning from one another so that, together, we can strengthen health care across Saskatchewan,” said Dr. Niroshan Sothilingam, Trauma Surgeon and Trauma Medical Director, RUH
“Orano Canada’s $300,000 donation helped fund this training event and the purchase of the simulation manikin that is at the heart of RUH Foundation’s Rural Trauma Development Program,” said Tammy Van Lambalgen, Executive Vice President & Chief Corporate Officer, Orano Canada. “It’s rewarding to see that investment helping bring hands-on, life-saving training to communities like Stony Rapids. By supporting advanced simulation training and emergency response education, we are helping build local capacity and strengthen emergency preparedness across the Athabasca Basin and northern Saskatchewan.”
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RUH Foundation supporters who want to help bring this training to more Saskatchewan communities can give online today or by contacting the Foundation.
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