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Justin Woodroff thrives on the type of calls that give him an opportunity to use the education and problem-solving abilities he gained while a student at the JIBC Paramedic Academy. Beyond technical skills, his JIBC instructors taught students numerous lessons based on their lengthy experience in the field. (Story by Wanda Chow / Photo by Jimmy Jeong)

The call came in as a biking injury in northern Chilliwack, recalled Justin Woodroff, a 24-year-old paramedic with the BC Ambulance Service. The patient had crashed on one of the jumps at the bike park.

When he and his partner arrived, Justin could see this was no routine injury.

“He was under a blanket but we could tell as soon as we got there that his femur was obviously fractured and angulated up towards his torso.”

Thanks to his education in the primary care paramedic program at Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC), and his work experience since graduating, Justin was able to make the right decisions to care for the patient. They called for an advanced life support unit and a helicopter staffed with critical care paramedics to fly the patient to hospital.

It’s the sort of case he thrives on, the type that gives him the opportunity to use a lot of his education, tools, skills and problem-solving abilities to help someone in need. Paramedicine is a career path Justin started on at age 19 when he began volunteering with the Cultus Lake Fire Department.

“After responding to various emergencies with the fire department I was hooked on emergency medicine,” he said, adding since high school he had always envisioned working in a science or medical-related field so it was a natural fit.

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Matt Anderson is keen to take his JIBC paramedic training home to serve his remote Central BC community. He also hopes to eventually train others to help provide a basic level of medical care for the town’s 800 residents. (Story by Wanda Chow / Photo by Jimmy Jeong)

It’s just a week after Matt Anderson successfully completed his paramedic licensing exam and he’s practically bursting to talk about the possibilities that come with his training at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC).

After all, as the lone certified paramedic in Moricetown, a Wet’suwet’en village in Central BC halfway between Smithers and Hazelton, he and a licenced Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) will be the main regular providers of health care to the approximately 800 residents.

It’ll be yet another role in the community for Matt, who is also a high school teacher for at-risk youth, the town’s driving instructor, one of 12 members of its volunteer fire department, and one of only two certified EMRs.

As a first responder, he said, “It’s 24/7. I have a radio on me and I just go when I’m called.”

The town’s fire chief asked him to become the fire department’s “medical guy” because no one else wanted to do it. In a First Nations community, the close knit nature and location can often result in Aboriginal firefighters and first responders attending to emergencies involving their own families. This can lead to some uncomfortable situations, unique to a small community.  Matt, however, is one of the few non-Aboriginal residents, from a family that’s called Moricetown home for the past 36 years. 

He agreed to the role, was trained in Occupational First Aid Level 1 and enjoyed it so much he started thinking about becoming a paramedic. He attended JIBC to get his EMR certification and then started asking community leaders whether they’d like him to get his paramedic training.

The community leaders agreed and his school supervisor and the fire chief both gave him leaves of absence so he could go through the eight-month process of training for the Primary Care Paramedic Certificate at JIBC’s Chilliwack campus and completing the licensing requirements; the Moricetown Volunteer Fire Department and the Kyah Wiget Education Society he works for helped cover some of the costs; and the Moricetown Band is also behind him.

The JIBC training was everything he’d hoped.

“I just loved it. I ate that program up. I loved the instructors. The instructors in Chilliwack are phenomenal and I hear that from everyone. Really great course.” read more »