They don't have big bar fights in the Colinton Tavern... unless the community of 250 people is training new paramedics.
For the last several years, the north-central Alberta village, located in the pristine setting of an Athabasca County valley, has been the backdrop for simulated emergency exercises that help to train Portage College students in the Advanced Care Paramedic program. Each year, the training moves into the village for a week. The community recently wrapped up the most recent training session that included a bar fight, a multi-person emergency, and a drowning. This year's scenarios also included an AHS air ambulance flight simulator that spent part of the week in the parking lot of the Colinton Community Hall.
Village members and students from a local high school drama class take part in the scenarios.
As the new school year begins at Portage College, the community is looking forward to the return of the training week, which is a unique learning experience for students and a unique partnership between Portage College and the region.
