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US/Canada Air Med Coverage in Vicinity of Vancouver Olympics

In recent years, multiple requests have been received to consider expanding ADAMS to include the (relatively few) Canadian air medical services.  Most of Canada’s population is clustered near the US-Canadian border; thus it is possible that a Canadian service might be significantly closer to a rural crash scene in the U.S. than a U.S. service (and vice versa).  Although jurisdictional issues would obviously have to be addressed, serious consideration is now being given to cross border cooperation in emergency response. [1] For example, there is currently an organization (NITTEC) established to promote bi-national transportation cooperation in the Western New York-Southern Ontario region. [2] 

Interest in adding Canadian services to ADAMS has also increased more recently in light of contingency planning for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia - which is only about 25 miles from the US border.   The map above provides a view of the air medical service base locations on both sides of the border near Vancouver.   An earlier version of this map was shared with US and Canadian services at the Air Medical Transport Conference in San Jose, CA in October 2009 as a means of raising awareness in the air medical community.  

[1] 2007 Summary Report- Cross Border Public Health Collaboration, Opportunities and Challenges”, British Columbia Ministry of Health and Washington State Department of Health, May 2007 , http://www.borderhealth.org/files/res_1090.pdf

[2] Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition (NITTEC) is an organization of fourteen agencies in Western New York and Southern Ontario (Canada) whose goal is to improve regional and international transportation mobility, promote economic competitiveness and minimize adverse environmental effects related to the regional transportation system. The system includes four international border crossings between Canada and the United States. (See http://www.nittec.org/)