About - Paramedic Association of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Paramedic Association of Newfoundland and Labrador was formed on April 18th, 2005. Since its inception, PANL has stressed the need for an association to represent Emergency Medical Service (EMS) professionals in the province. There are many issues and challenges facing EMS personnel in Newfoundland and Labrador today, and we hope to aid the profession with a united voice.

Speaking on behalf of its members, the PANL strives to have its mission statement realized: “To improve prehospital patient care in Newfoundland and Labrador”. PANL’s goal is to act as a public advocate for the profession.

As the official provincial chapter of the Paramedic Association of Canada (PAC), we can now add our voice to issues confronting EMS on a national basis. In addition, we have access to national resources, never before at the disposal of Newfoundland and Labrador EMS personnel. We hope that the PANL will act as a bridge between the provinces individual practitioners, the general public, the government and the health care system. It is time for us to come together, with a new sense of energy to achieve our mandates and provide the best care we can for our patients.

In closing, we feel that this is a very exciting time for EMS in Newfoundland and Labrador. Please join us in taking the next steps forward; realizing that the field of Emergency Medical Services is going to continue to evolve, and from now on, we refuse to be left behind.

The Executive Team

Rodney Gaudet, ACP, MFSPresident

Rodney Gaudet grew up in rural P.E.I. His father was a volunteer firefighter for 25 years so Rodney was always around the Fire hall. When he turned 20, he joined the Volunteer fire department. Quickly he realized he knew he wanted to help people in need. He got interested in the medical side of the fire department and applied to the Primary Care Paramedicine program at Holland College and started his studies in 2006. He started working for Island EMS upon graduation and applied to do his Advanced Care Paramedicine program, which he graduated in 2008. In the summer of 2010, personal reasons took him to St. John’s, NL, where he worked with Eastern Health. Then in 2013, he got a job on the Flight team in St. John’s, where he currently works. He is also a Lieutenant with the Torbay Volunteer Fire Department.

Josh Fisher, ACP, MFSVice President

Josh Fisher began his career in Paramedicine in 2004. He received a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Medical Services through Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. His first job was with an ambulance company specializing in long distance road transfers from rural areas to tertiary hospitals. He also spent time in the Sun Coast of Florida as an ALS and Critical Care Paramedic. He also served as a Medical Communications Officer and Quality Assurance Officer during his time in Florida.

Josh moved to St. John’s for family reasons in 2010 and began working with Eastern Health. He has held positions as Advanced Care Paramedic, Medical Flight Specialist, Quality & Learning Facilitator with Provincial Medical Oversight, and an educator for various industry training and certification programs. Josh also serves on several national committees including the COPR National Exam Item Development Group and the National Occupational Competency Profile (NOCP) Review EMR Working Group. He looks forward to pushing for positive change to the Paramedicine landscape of Newfoundland & Labrador.

Zack Parrell, ACPSecretary

Zack Parrell is an Advanced Care Paramedic from St. John’s, NL. Prior to beginning a career in Paramedicine he completed a Fire Rescue program from the Marine Institute Safety and Emergency Response Training Centre in Stephenville, NL. Zack then completed his Primary Care Paramedic at College of the North Atlantic in 2009. In 2013, he continued his education and graduated the Advanced Care Paramedic program from Holland College, PEI. He has a varied background and has worked for industrial, private and hospital based ambulance services around NL. He is currently working as an Advanced Care Paramedic and Emergency Medical Dispatcher with Eastern Health in St. John’s, NL.

Zack also spends a large amount of time volunteering for various organizations. He is currently the Divisional Superintendent for the St. John’s Medical First Responder Division of St. John Ambulance and serves as a volunteer firefighter in the Town of Portugal Cove – St. Philip’s. He has a keen interest in education and is an instructor in various courses such as First Aid, Emergency Medical Responder – Ambulance, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support and Basic Life Support. He currently also plays a role in his services Peer Support Team and Honour Guard. Since 2016, he has also had a seat on the Paramedicine Advisory Committee for the College of the North Atlantic. Zack is looking forward to serving as Secretary of the PANL Executive, and believes we have a tremendous opportunity for positive change in EMS in NL and is dedicated to working hard to make things better not only for ourselves, but also the people who depend on us each and every day.

Donovan Hann, PCP, EMDTreasurer

Donovan Hann grew up in Central Newfoundland in a small community. He started his career in Paramedicine as an Emergency Medical Responder in 2003 with the private sector in rural Newfoundland. In 2004 he attended the Primary Care Paramedic Program in St. John’s. In 2005, he left for Alberta to work in the Oil and Gas Sands. Shortly after He spent 3 years in the mines in the Great White North before moving home. For the past 9 years, he has worked with Eastern Health as a Primary Care Paramedic and currently works full time as Medical Communication Officer in the Medical Communication Center St. John’s.
In his free time, he enjoys camping, making wine, skiing, and hiking with his two dogs. Donovan plays a big part in the social club at Eastern Health Paramedicine and Medical Transport Department and looks forward to working with everyone though PANL.

Rob Kielly, ACP/MFSEastern Representative

Rob Kielly grew up in rural Newfoundland. He started his career in 2003 through Programs in Paramedicine in St. John’s. After completing the PCP program, he began working at a private ambulance service in the eastern region. After about 3 years, he moved to central and worked for both a private service and an industrial service. In 2010, he moved back east and began working as a PCP at Eastern Health and 2 years later, completed the ACP program at Holland Collage. Rob continued at Eastern Health as an ACP on ambulance until 2018 when he joined the Medical Flight Team.
Rob spends a lot of his time off instructing various courses such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support, International Trauma Life Support, and Basic Life Support as well as the Rescue Specialist program at the Canadian Coast Guard, and Paramedic refresher courses for Cougar SAR. He looks forward to working with PANL to strive toward positive change for NL EMS.

Adam Fisher, ACPCentral Representative

Adam started his career in 2003 through Programs in Paramedicine in St. John’s. Upon completion, he began his passion in Central Newfoundland with a private ambulance service. Four years later, he relocated and began a new adventure with Central Health in Grand Falls-Windsor.
After starting a family and working as a PCP for almost 10 years, he decided to continue his education with Medavie HealthEd in Nova Scotia. After patiently waiting for the expansion of ACPs, he finally began working in that capacity with Central Health in September of 2018. Adam is thoroughly involved in EMS QI and MCI readiness for Central Health helping improve pre-hospital medicine in Central Newfoundland. He is very excited to be a part of the growing change of Paramedicine in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Megan Michaud, PCPWestern Representative

Megan moved to Newfoundland from rural New Brunswick to follow her dream of becoming a Paramedic. She enrolled in the College of the North Atlantic’s Primary Care Paramedic program in 2013 and found her calling. Upon finishing the program, she first registered in New Brunswick as a PCP, but when she couldn’t find employment, Newfoundland again called her name, and she began her PCP career in rural eastern Newfoundland in March 2014. First working for a private service in St. Bride’s, then moving to Cape St. George on the west coast to work for a community-based service, Megan has enjoyed everything that this beautiful province has to offer, and has put down roots on the Port au Port Peninsula. Passionate about her work, she believes that Paramedicine should be a progressive career, and is interested in trying to expand the scope of practice for PCP’s, implementing community Paramedicine in a way to best benefit the patient and practitioner, and is keen on becoming an advanced care paramedic so she can offer the best possible care to her patients during long transport times. Megan is looking forward to serving all practitioners on the west coast of the island as PANL continues to serve its mandate in the province.

Jordan Turnbull, PCPLabrador Representative

Jordan Turnbull completed his Primary Care Paramedic training at College of the North Atlantic in St. John’s, NL in 2014. He worked in the industrial setting when he began his paramedicine career in 2015 and then worked in rural Newfoundland until 2017. He then worked a short contract with an industrial company and went back to working with another private operator for about 2 years. In 2019 he wanted to return to his roots in Labrador and obtained employment with Labrador Grenfell-Health out of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, where he currently works.

Jordan is originally from St. Anthony but grew up in parts of Labrador. In his spare time he enjoys a variety of outdoor activities including ATVing, snowmobiling and fishing. He is also an avid guitar player. He hopes that his experience as a PCP will be a valuable asset to the Paramedic Association and to the advancement of Emergency Medical Services as a whole, and welcomes the opportunity to work alongside other experienced practitioners in Newfoundland and Labrador.