Holland College | Alumni accompany President Bush on Ottawa trip
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Alumni accompany President Bush on Ottawa trip

When Andrew Dixon and Matthew Hogan graduated from Holland College's Advanced Care Paramedic program in 2002, they never imagined that the skills they had acquired would lead them into a high profile assignment working in partnership with the United States Secret Service; but just two years after graduation, that?s exactly what happened.

Matthew and Andrew, who are paramedics with the City of Ottawa?s Paramedic Service, and two of their coworkers were selected by their supervisors for the International Protected Person (IPP) medic detail for President Bush?s visit to Ottawa late last year.

"The week before the president?s visit, our supervisor told us that we had been selected to be part of the president?s motorcade as the IPP medic detail," Matthew explains. It may not have been a turn they had anticipated for their careers, but it?s a challenge to which both men rose readily.

The logistics surrounding a visit by President Bush were understandably complex. Security was extremely tight. The president?s security staff included a doctor, Secret Service agents, and Secret Service emergency medical technicians. When the entourage arrived in Ottawa, they were joined by the RCMP and the IPP medic detail.

The IPP medic detail was responsible for ensuring that the president and any of the other International Protected Persons traveling with him, which included First Lady Laura Bush, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State - Designate Condoleezza Rice, and outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell, received appropriate emergency medical treatment and were safely transported to hospital in the event of a medical emergency.

Antidotes to poisonous gas were added to the supplies in the ambulance, and all of the paramedics were fit-tested for gas masks to ensure that they would be properly protected in the event of an attack. They were also supplied with bulletproof vests to wear under their uniforms.

Matthew?s day started with a briefing with the RCMP. The ambulance that was used for the president?s visit had been delivered to the RCMP the day before so that it could be carefully inspected and scanned prior to the president?s arrival. After the briefing, the RCMP and the IPP medic detail headed for the airport.

"We traveled at the back of the motorcade to the airport to meet Air Force One, and followed the president around for the rest of the day," Matthew said in a recent interview. At each stop, the paramedics stayed in the ambulance, and were told that they would be contacted should their services be required.

Early in the evening, while parked outside the Museum of Civilization, where the president was attending a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Paul Martin, the paramedics changed shifts. Andrew and his partner were on duty until the following morning, when the president left Ottawa.

"We came on duty at 7:30 in the evening," Andrew explained, "and proceeded to the American Embassy with the motorcade following the dinner. We parked on the grounds of the embassy, where the president spent the night."

Andrew says that working the night shift gave him the opportunity to talk with some of the president?s secret service officers and the American emergency medical technicians who travel with him. He said the EMTs were appreciative of the Canadian paramedics, and all members of the president?s security staff were polite and accommodating.

The following morning, Andrew and his partner joined the motorcade to the airport, and waited there until Air Force One was de-iced and safely in the air enroute to Halifax. Within seven days, all four paramedics received certificates from the White House acknowledging their contribution to the president?s visit.

The paramedics selected for the IPP medic detail had to have sound clinical skills, and had to be able think quickly and conduct themselves in a professional manner in a potentially very high-stress environment. The two agreed that wearing the bulletproof vests and being fit-tested for gas masks emphasized the importance of the assignment and the risks it entailed.

Both Andrew and Matthew say that they feel very lucky to have been selected for the detail, and feel that the training they received at Holland College stood them in good stead for the assignment.

Both men graduated from the 10-month Primary Care Paramedic program at Holland College in 2001, and returned after gaining work experience in Nova Scotia to take the 13-month Advanced Care Paramedic program in 2002. After completing their second course, they wanted to gain more experience in a busier environment, and moved with their wives to Ottawa.

Andrew said the certifications they acquired at Holland College are invaluable.

"Our Canadian Medical Association certification is nationally recognized, so we can work anywhere in Canada," he explained.

For now, though, both men are enjoying their work in Ottawa. There have been suggestions that an International Protected Person medic detail should be permanently established, given the increased security concerns and the number of high-profile dignitaries that visit Ottawa every year. If that should happen, Andrew and Matthew say that they would definitely volunteer to train to be part of the team.

The training Matthew and Andrew received at Holland College enabled them to begin careers that have exceeded their expectations and opened the door to amazing new opportunities.

For more information about this release, please contact:
Sara Underwood, Media and Communications Officer
Tel: 902-566-9695
Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2005