About Us
Help First Aid BC offers enjoyable and stress-free first aid courses taught by experienced paramedics
Our Approach
We specialize in hands on scenario based instruction with an emphasis on team building exercises. We want to help you to retain skills learned, meet your training goals and be successful. We offer flexible scheduling options for those with busy schedules.
Confidence
Our goal at Help First Aid BC is to provide you with the tools to respond with confidence to a medical emergency.
Experience
All training is taught by licensed paramedics with real-life experience and knowledge.
Meet Our Team
About Ken Gnauck
Ken is the owner/instructor of Help First Aid BC and has the privilege of combining his two passions of being a paramedic and teaching first aid. He has over 30 years of extensive experience in the first-aid/emergency intervention field.
He has worked in heavy industry for 21 of those years in first-aid/plant protection as well as obtaining certification in industrial fire-fighting and heavy industry rescue. Ken has taught first-aid for the past several years and currently works for the British Columbia Ambulance service as a Primary Care Paramedic in the Victoria area.
About Orion Farley
PCP, RN, BScN, ACEN, ACCCN
After graduating high school, I completed my Occupational Level 3 first aid and I was hooked on medicine. I worked as a first aid attendant in the forestry setting including as a tree planter and wildland firefighter. As I looked for more opportunity, I became a Primary Care Paramedic through the Justice Institute of BC. As a paramedic I work in a dynamic, ever changing environment that requires complex problem solving and the ability to manage myriad patient presentations with limited resources.
As I progressed in my career, I entered into the nursing profession achieving my emergency nursing specialty. I then worked for 3 years at the Royal Jubilee Emergency Department as well as some of the small rural hospitals on Vancouver Island. There I was able to further develop my abilities of prioritizing care for multiple complex patients, work within a multidisciplinary team, and provide quality emergency health care. In 2018 completed my Critical Care Nursing Specialty and currently work in the coronary care unit, where I care for people needing advanced cardiac care.
I love to share knowledge, and I continue to work with paramedic students and help them consolidate their paramedic and professional practice.
About Shannon Lysyk
Shannon Lysyk was born and raised in the lower mainland , BC. She started as a part time paramedic for BC Ambulance Service in 2008 working in remote communities all over BC, as well as in northern BC working in the oil patch as a primary care paramedic (PCP). In 2014 she started working full time in Vancouver and the lower mainland eventually making her way to Vancouver island where she currently works in Victoria as a full time paramedic and preceptor. She has also been instructing sessionally for Columbia Paramedic Academy and the JIBC expanding her knowledge and growth as a instructor.
When Shannon is not working, she can be found in the outdoors, whether it be in the mountains hiking with her 2 adorable dogs, surfing locally, snowboarding during winters, or just enjoying the beach on a nice day.
She is extremely mindful of keeping a healthy balance with her work and personal life as she believes this is extremely important to ones wellbeing, especially while working in high stress environments.
To help cope with the stressors of work and personal life, Shannon strives to make yoga a consistent practise in her weekly routine. As well she makes sure to take time to decompress through many dog walks and catching up with friends and family.
Shannon is passionate about the level of care she provides while at work as she understands that her short encounters with her patients have a long lasting impact on them in many ways. She feels her experiences have given her a unique perspective and wealth of knowledge that she hopes she can pass on to future generations as well as health care professionals alike.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn” -Benjamin Franklin