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Saturday, May 22, 2010

Air Medical Today Episode 19 - EPNetwork

Episode 19 of the Air Medical Today Podcast has been published.  In this episode I interview Mike Biasatti, the Founder and Webmaster of EMS Flight Crew - a New Web Portal Serving the Air Medical Community.

Mike is from Hayward, California and has his degree in Professional Aeronautics from the Emory-Riddle Aeronautical University.  He started flight training at Helicopters Unlimited in 1989 and completed work at the Sierra Academy in 1994.  Mike has over 4,000 flight hours in a helicopter which include the Bell 412, Bell 212, MD-900, B0-105, Bell 206, Hughs 500, Robinson22, and the Enstron F28A.

Since 2003 Mike has been an IFR Captain with Air Methods Corporation, flying for San Antonio AIRLIFE, where he pilots their Bell 430.  He had previously flown for PHI, Economy Rotor Aid, and Keystone and then was hired by Air Methods on the contract with Miami Children’s Hospital in 2002.

Mike has been a board member of the National EMS Pilots Association since 2009 and has been the author of a several articles published in the Rotorcraft Professional and HeliOps Magazines.


He started EMS Flight Crew in May 2009.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Kansas Cyclist Podcast Episode 20 - KansasCyclist.com and EPNetwork

Episode 20 of the Kansas Cyclist Podcast includes an interview of David Williams who is the sponsor and faculty adviser for the Newton High School Student and Faculty Bike Club and who uses cycling as a means to better health and well being.

We also check in with Brent Hugh, the Executive Director of the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation, regarding the efforts to have the State of Missouri continue to fund the Tour of Missouri Professional Bicycle Race.

David “Mr. Bill” Williams is a speech and debate teacher at Newton High School in Newton, Kansas. David has a really interesting and compelling personal story — he had been morbidly obese since elementary school, maxing out at weighing 370 pounds, and eventually it began to catch up with him with diabetes, alcoholism, liver disease.

At this point, David made a decision to take control of his life. He stopped drinking and began to watch what he ate, the pounds began to come off, and when he added cycling on a stationary bike, he began to see real improvements. When he got bored with pedaling indoors, David took to his son’s mountain bike and began riding outdoors, and found he loved it. Eventually, David dropped more than 130 pounds and greatly improved his health.

In September of 2008 he started the Newton High School Student and Faculty Bike Club, which is the only high school cycling club in the state. David teaches his students about bicycle safety and bicycle maintenance, and leads group rides on trails and streets in Newton. The bike club only officially meets once a month for rides during the last hour of the day, but there are many more rides that take place outside of school among students and faculty.

It’s great to see a program like this launch in Kansas, and we’re hoping it proves to be a model for other schools — getting kids out on their bikes and promoting a safe, healthy, and active lifestyle.
You can follow David on his blog, Cycling & CX, or contact him on Facebook or Twitter.

In the “On The Scene” segment of the podcast, we get an update on the Tour of Missouri from Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation Executive Director, Brent Hugh. Brent’s been part of the Tour since the beginning, and no one is more knowledgeable about the race, or is a bigger fan.

You can show your support for the Tour of Missouri by following it on Facebook, signing the petition, or, especially, by contacting Governor Nixon at 573-751-3222 or http://governor.mo.gov/contact, and the Division of Tourism at 573-751-4133 or tourism@ded.mo.gov.

This post is copied and adopted from Randy Rasa's Show Notes for Episode 20 of the Kansas Cyclist Podcast. 

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Air Medical Today Episode 18 - EPNetwork

Episode 18 of the Air Medical Today Podcast has been published.  In this episode I interview Dustin Duncan, Chairperson of the Family Grant Fund and Children’s Scholarship Program Committees for the MedEvac Foundation International.

Dustin H. Duncan, RN, CEN, CMTE began his career in EMS as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician while attending high school in south eastern South Dakota.  As an EMT, he was exposed to air medical transport which ultimately played a large part in his pursuit of becoming a flight nurse.

After three years of working in the Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Department and in a Burn Unit as an RN, Dustin became a flight nurse with Mercy Flight in north central Montana.  Since Mercy, he has worked as a chief flight nurse, flight program manager, and interim roles as an Emergency Department Director in Montana and western Colorado.  In January 2010, Dustin became the Clinical Services Manager with AirLink Critical Care Transport in Bend, Oregon.

He currently serves on the board of directors for the MedEvac Foundation International and serves as the Chairperson of the Family Grant Fund and Children’s Scholarship Program Committees.  Dustin previously served on the board of directors for the Association of Air Medical Services and the Colorado Organization of Nurse Leaders.

Outside of work, Dustin’s free time is spent with his family and enjoying a passion for unique classic cars.  This includes his fully restored 1956 Cadillac Ambulance that frequents many parades and car shows.   I have not seen this gem in person but in viewing many pictures that he posts it is in mint condition.

Dustin’s wife and two boys, 9 & 11, will be making the move to Bend later in May after school is out.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Air Medical Today Episode 17 - EPNetwork

Episode 17 of the Air Medical Today Podcast has been published.  In this episode I interview Krista Haugen, Megan Hamilton, and Teresa Pearson who are the co-founders of the Survivor's Network for Air & Surface Medical Transport.

Krista Haugen, has 20 years of nursing experience from working as an Emergency Room nurse at the Tacoma General Hospital in Tacoma, Washington and the Harborview Medical Center Level I Trauma Center in Seattle, Washington, and as an Intensive Care Unit nurse with the Harborview Burn Center and Pediatric ICU.

She worked as a flight nurse with Airlift Northwest for six years from 2000 to 2006 where she was involved in a crash off the roof of St. Peter’s Hospital in Olympia, Washington in 2005.

Krista is a 1991 graduate of the Pacific Lutheran University with a Bachelors of Science in nursing and the University of Washington - Tacoma in 1998 with a masters in nursing.

She served as the Chair of AirLift Northwest Safety Committee, post crash, and is a recipient of the peer-nominated Airlift Northwest Fleetwood-Riebe Award in 2007, which recognizes the outstanding nurse of the year.

Presently Krista is a traveling ER nurse splitting time between Hawaii and Seattle.

Megan Hamilton has worked in the EMS field since 1993 as a first responder, Emergency Medical Technician, and as a Paramedic.  She has worked with Baldwin, Kansas EMS; the Emergency Department at Stormont Vail Regional Medical Center in Topeka, Kansas; the Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Shawnee Mission, Kansas; American Medical Response in Topeka, Kansas; Yellowstone Park Medical Services in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming; and St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming.

Megan completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1997 from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas and has worked as a flight nurse with StarCare Air Ambulance in Lincoln, Nebraska; ALERT Air Ambulance in Kalispell, Montana where she was a member of the Safety Committee; and REACH Air Medical Services in Corvallis, Oregon.

Teresa Pearson is trained as an RN and Paramedic and became a flight nurse with EagleMed based in Hayes, Kansas in 2001.  In 2003 she started at LifeTeam based in Great Bend, Kansas where she was a Base Manager for three years and Program Development Manager for an additional three years until August 2007 when she was involved in a crash.

Teresa now flies part time with LifeTeam and is the Emergency Room Coordinator at the Clay County Medical Center in Clay Center, Kansas.  She will be graduating from Tabor College with her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in May 2010 and will be starting in an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner program in the Spring of 2011.

Teresa lives in Longford, Kansas with her husband Shane, who is a retired flight paramedic and is currently a Fire Fighter and a Mobile Intensive Care Technician with the Salina Fire Department.  They have a blended family of 5 sons and 2 daughters between the ages of 23 and 8.