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by Bowen Osoko
Whether it’s supporting players and fans at Canucks games during the race to the Stanley cup, hosting soldier athletes from across the globe at the Invictus Games, supporting 4,500 people gathering in a small town in Northern BC for the return of an important piece of Indigenous history or providing emergency medical support for the capstone event of the largest musical tour in the world, BCEHS’ Planned Events team is a vital part of ensuring large-scale events come with exceptional out of hospital emergency patient care – 500 times a year or more.
Initially founded in 1992, Planned Events, formerly known as Special Ops, supports and mitigates the impact of events on the hospital system. Part of that work is done by providing paramedic and ambulance support for specific events. The other part of that work requires skillfully managing the logistics of supporting care for people in crowded areas and the impacts of changes to traffic patterns during those events.
While Planned Events supports events across the province, much of its work takes place in busier urban areas like the Lower Mainland, Victoria, and Kelowna. This is specialized, secondary work as staff take on Planned Events shifts in addition to their regular shifts, with Planned Events drawing from a pool of paramedics and communicators who go through specific training tailored to the complex nature of supporting events.
Staffing professional sports games is part of Planned Events’ bread and butter: a pair of ambulances is at every Canucks game of the year – one for the visiting team and one for the hometown squad – should an on-ice incident necessitate a trip to the emergency room.
“We have two ambulances [at games] with the goal of always being advanced life support through a de-paired model – the ambulance will have a PCP and an ACP per game,” says Planned Events Manager Haddon Rabb. “Our crew works with the onsite medical team – the Canucks medical team – to ensure that if there is an on-ice emergency, we can work harmoniously together, so that our practices are in sync.”
But when the stakes are higher, as they are in playoff season, there’s a bit of extra planning involved.
“As we monitor and follow the playoffs, the associated risks per game will also guide a regional response and help guide service upstaffing in accordance with the risk level if required,” Haddon says.
“We work with the Canucks, local fire, police, emergency management, City of Vancouver, and other municipalities across the Lower Mainland, as well as TransLink,” he continues. “We have regular touchpoints with those stakeholders so there’s alignment as the playoffs continue and as plans and updates change as we go. [For instance] Fan Zones and the great atmosphere around Rogers Arena, those are all aspects we connect on.”
Sporting events like the Invictus Games, which draws athletes from around the world, takes that level of planning to the next level.
“The challenges with events are often associated with the complexity of them,” Haddon says. “Very specific ingress and egress, very specific staging locations, timelines where you have to move staging locations –the actual event logistics really play a role.”
Logistics and staging for the events with 534 Invictus athletes from 23 nations attending Vancouver and Whistler for the games were part of the response. BCEHS also had to support high-profile attendees as well.
“When someone meets the criteria for an Internationally Protected Person, we work to ensure that contracted medical services are provided to them,” Haddon says.
BCEHS’ support for the 2025 Vancouver Whistler Invictus Games was part of the event’s success.
“From start to finish, there was a special kind of hospitality and energy about the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 and Canada absolutely delivered once again,” said Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Founder and Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation.
Not all Planned Events assignments support large, multinational urban events. In fact, one of the most memorable events BCEHS supported was in one of the smallest communities in BC –Atlin, regular population: 300.
In 2023, the return of a Chilkat robe to the Taku River Tlingit First Nation gave Planned Events an opportunity to put BCEHS’ dedication to reconciliation into action. These robes are worn during ceremonies and dances and this particular one was likely made for a Hereditary Chief in the 1880s. It was listed for auction at Waddington’s Auction house in Toronto, and through extraordinary fundraising efforts, purchased to be returned home.
To celebrate the return of the Chilkat robe, the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, Carcross Tagish First Nation and Teslin Tlingit Council provided a celebration of dance, food and cultural knowledge over a three-day period. About 4,500 people attended the festivities.
The massive population increase wasn’t the only challenge. The return of the Chilkat robe could not help but surface the history of anti-Indigenous racism, and the ongoing fight against anti-Indigenous racism within the health care system. Planned Events responded with a custom deployment strategy – and an integrated team.
Two BCEHS Indigenous Cultural Advisors and 11 paramedics were on-site to attend to the medical, cultural and spiritual needs of those attending the 3-day event.
“It was a very beautiful ceremony,” says Indigenous Cultural Advisor Lorna Paul. “The emotions were varied. I could feel joy, hurt, and anger. The people were extremely happy to have a piece of their history returned to its homelands. Personally, I felt very emotional.”
As with many events, the BCEHS presence provides a sense of safety that allows participants to focus fully on why they are there. For the Atlin event, that presence was helpful.
“The BCEHS tent was well-received,” says Lorna.. “No major incidents occurred – just some minor cuts and blisters. Some community members came and gave their thanks to the team that were there to assist.”
Events like this don’t just bring together community members in a meaningful way. These events also bring together paramedics and staff from across BC. Then BCEHS Clinical Operations Manager Jonathan Brnjas recognized how Planned Events like this draw staff from across the entire organization.
“Members came from across the province, and everyone worked hard to collaborate with the local First Nations and represent BCEHS to the highest standard,” Jonathan remembers. “I was humbled and honoured that BCEHS was asked to participate and be invited into this truly sacred space.”
Last December, three Vancouver shows marked the close of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour – one of the largest concert tours in history. Not only was Vancouver’s population increased by the Swifties attending the concert itself, but Swifties who did not have tickets often gathered outside venues, creating large, fabulously dressed impromptu communities.
Planned Events was called upon not just to manage and respond to the emergency medical needs within the venues, but also in Vancouver’s downtown to mitigate the potential impact on the wider BC health system.
While Swifties tend to be a positive group, responding to emergencies in large crowds comes with unique challenges and takes both a unique skillset and temperament.
“We draw from a pool of paramedics who go through the Planned Events qualified training,” says Haddon. It’s training that’s specific to crowd management, medical learning, and some operational details.”
Utilizing bike paramedics and the early “meet and greet” strategy so that event participants know BCEHS is there when they need help were key parts of the crowd management approach – high visibility, responsiveness and adaptability help make our responses a success.
During the Taylor Swift ERAs Tour events meet and greet often meant exchanging friendship bracelets with Swifties on their way to and from the events. That inclusion – being part of the event itself – is part of what keeps those who sign up for Planned Events deployments coming back.
Brian Jensen, Unit Chief and Coastal North Supervisor out of 248, has been part of the Planned Events pool for nearly a decade. He cites the learning, and being part of the event itself, as key draws.
“You’re always learning in the planned events role, no matter what position you’re in,” Brian says. “If you’re in a paramedic role, you’re constantly developing your situational awareness. You’re constantly assessing what everything around you looks like. You’re looking to make sure you’re in a safe position. You’re always thinking, you’re always on your feet. When you’re in that planned events environment, you’re always switched on…. It’s super dynamic, and a super engaging environment to be part of.”
