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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Air Medical Today - Episode 6

The Air Medical Today Podcast - Episode 6 has been published.  In this episode I interview Mr. Lee Aase, Manager of Syndication and Social Media for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and provide News and Information including a "First Response" Interview of Mr. Dave Hardin, Air Evac LifeTeam Director of Safety, on his work with the Haitian Air Medical Response. 

Mr. Lee Aase's team’s focus is developing quality medical news resources for mainstream media, and using social media applications to create more in-depth, extended relationships directly with key stakeholders. You can see examples of Mayo Clinic’s social media offerings through the Mayo Clinic News Blog or at Sharing Mayo Clinic.

By night, Lee is the Chancellor of Social Media University - Global or SMUG, a free online higher education institution that provides practical, hands-on training in social media for lifelong learners.
Prior to joining Mayo Clinic in 2000, Lee spent more than a decade in political and government communications at the local, state and federal level. He received his B.S. in Political Science from Mankato State University in 1986.

Lee lives with his wife and 2 of his 6 children in Austin, Minnesota.  His other 4 children are grown and Lee is also a grandfather.

For this episode’s First Response section of the podcast I talk with Mr. Dave Hardin, who is the Director of Safety for Air Evac LifeTeam.  Dave has been in the Dominican Republic, at the request of Aero Ambulancia, to assist in their response to the Haitian Earthquake.  Aero Ambulancia is the only air medical provider on the island of Hispaniola where the Dominican Republic and Haiti are located.  I caught up with Dave from his office in West Plains, Missouri after he just got back from the Dominican Republic.

 






Saturday, January 23, 2010

Air Medical Today - Episode 5

The Air Medical Today Podcast - Episode 5 has been published.  In this episode I interview Mr. Jonathan Godfrey, a flight nurse, air medical crash survivor, and chair of the Vision Zero Initiative for the Association of Air Medical Services and provide News & Information including the Haitian Air Ambulance Response, and a "First Response" Interview of the Survival Flight Crew who transported two Patients from Haiti.
Jonathan Godfrey lives in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, next to the Chesapeake Bay but is originally from San Antonio, Texas.  He took a nursing travel assignment in the Washington, DC area in 1996 and never expected to stay but found that he liked four seasons and their were great job opportunities to boot. He still describes himself as a south Texas man at heart, however.

Jonathan is the sole survivor of a January 10th, 2005 Life Evac 2 crash into the Potomac River in Washington, DC after dropping off a patient at the Washington Hospital Center.  Pilot, Joseph Schaeffer and Flight Paramedic, Nicole Kielar were killed in the crash.  Underwater, Johnathan made it to the surface, swam to the tail of the aircraft which was floating in the water and then held on in the freezing cold until he was rescued by Alexandria Fire & Rescue via boat and then flown to the Washington Hospital Center by the Maryland State Police Trooper 2 medevac helicopter.  Over the next few days and weeks he learned of all his injuries which included a compound fracture of his right humerus, a sternum fracture, 2 right rib fractures, pulmonary contusion, substernal hematoma, 7 thoracic fractures, right shoulder dislocation with a Hill Sach’s lesion, sprained ankles, and severely bruised hips.

From that terrible ordeal, Jonathan has spoken around the country on air medical safety as the Chair of the Association of Air Medical Services Vision Zero Committee.  He is also involved in the new Survivor's Network for Air & Surface Medical Transport with fellow air medical survivors, Megan Hamilton, Teresa Pearson, Krista Haugen.

When not speaking and lecturing he works as a flight nurse at one of the busiest pediatric /neonatal transport systems in the country.

Jonathan has three children, 2 girls and a boy ranging in age from 7 to 13.  His spends most of his free time with his children.

He is a diploma RN from Baptist Memorial Health System in San Antonio and has dreams of returning to school at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and completing his masters in aviation safety systems.

I caught up with Jonathan in Virginia Beach, Virginia at the Virginia State Nurses Association Annual Meeting where he will be delivering a speech on the his crash experience going from provider to patient.

In this episode I started a new section of the podcast called "First Response".  My first interview was with the medical crew of the University of Michigan Survival Flight program who had completed a two patient transport from Haiti.  I caught up with Flight Nurse, Wilson Bowers and Flight Physician & Chief Emergency Medicine Resident, Jeff Potof from their base in Ann Arbor, Michigan.



           Jeff Potof, M.D. & Wilson Bowers, RN

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Kansas Cyclist Podcast - Episode 16

Kansas Cyclist Podcast
Keith Gates
Wheels for Wells
Episode 16 of the Kansas Cyclist Podcast, which is part of the Kansas Cyclist website and the Eroe Podcast Network features an interview with Keith Gates, a bicycle commuter, Randoneer, and blogger, as well a short conversation with Chris Carr, the director of “Wheels for Wells”, a cross-country tour that is raising money for clean water in Africa.

Keith Gates lives in Olathe, Kansas, and has been a long-time bicycle commuter, earning the handle “commuterDude”, where he has been sharing his commutes via his blog for many years. commuterDude.com offers a wealth of advice and information about bicycle commuting, including choosing a bike, selecting gear, finding a route, and conquering the mental blocks that often keep us off our bikes and locked in our cars.

Keith is also an accomplished long-distance cyclist, participating in the midwest randonneuring scene. Randonneuring is a non-competitive sport in which one rides to test oneself against the clock, the weather, and a challenging route – but not to beat the other riders. The ethos of randonneuring is self-sufficiency and mental toughness. Randonneurs USA is the governing body of randonneuring in America, and the local chapter, Kansas City Ultra-Cycling, organizes a number of local events, including Brevets of 200km (about 125 miles), 300km (186 miles), 400km (249 miles) and 600km (373 miles).

In 2008, Keith earned an R-12 Award by riding a 200km (or longer) randonneuring event for 12 consecutive months, which, as daunting as that sounds, is even tougher given the unpredictable and sometimes brutal — wind, rain, cold, snow — weather conditions in the midwest. Way to go, Keith!  You can follow Keith’s commuting and randonneuring tales on his web site at commuterdude.com, or via the Facebook fan page.

Next up, we talk with Chris Carr, director of Wheels for Wells, a cross-country tour that is raising money for clean water in Africa. The ride begins in California on June 27th and ends in New Jersey on August 7th. It passes through Kansas July 12th through 18th. They’re still looking for cyclists to ride week-long legs of the trip; if you’re interested read more here. You can also follow Wheels for Wells on Facebook and Twitter.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Birkie Web Today - Episode 8


Episode 8 of the Birkie Web Today Podcast has been published.  In this episode, fellow Birkie Buddy, Mike Tarnow, and I interview Nathan Schultz and Zack Caldwell with Boulder Nordic Sport of Boulder, Colorado and Portland, Maine as well as provide news & information about the American Birkebeiner Ski Race and Nordic skiing.

Boulder Nordic Sport, which started in 2006 is dedicated to bringing world class Nordic services to all skiers.  Their shop in Portland, Maine opened in 2009.

Nathan Schultz began skiing in high school where he finished dead last in every race. His friends’ enthusiasm for the sport was contagious, however, and kept him going long enough to ski at the University of Colorado, where he was a two-time NCAA All-American, Team Captain and 1994 Scholar Athlete of the Year.


He went on to a 15-year professional career with the Subaru Factory and Fischer/Swix Teams, while also building a software consulting business and racing mountain bikes professionally, from 1995-1999.

He launched Boulder Nordic Sport in October, 2006.

Nathan lives with his wife and daughter in Boulder, Colorado

Zach Caldwell graduated from Middlebury College in 1994 where he was twice captain of the Nordic Team.  He began work for the fledgling New England Nordic Ski Association and grew the association for six years, working on regional development programs and coaches education tools.

In 2001 he left to start Engineered Tuning – an elite Nordic grinding service that has evolved through time and has now been wholly absorbed by Boulder Nordic Sports.  Zach spent the last two years testing grinds at the Callaghan Valley Olympic venue for the US Ski Team as part of their Olympic Development program.  In addition to working with skis, Zach works as a personal coach with a small number of high level American and Canadian athletes including Kris Freeman.





Zach is leading Bolder Nordic Sports’s efforts in ski selection, grind development and waxing.

Zach lives with his wife and their son in Boulder, Co.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Air Medical Today - Episode 4


The Air Medical Today Podcast - Episode 4 has been published.  In this episode I interview Mr. Colin Collins, an Advisor to the Board of Directors of Air Evac LifeTeam and Mr. Seth Myers, the current President & CEO.  I also provide the initial news about the air medical response in Haiti after their devastating earthquake on January 12th.

Colin Collins served as president of Air Evac LifeTeam from 1997 to 2007.  Before joining the company, Mr. Collins served for 10 years as the CEO of Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains. Prior to that, he was a consultant in the healthcare industry.  Colin graduated from the University of Missouri with a BS in Chemistry on a football scholarship.  He also received his Masters in Chemistry and PhD in Bio-Chemistry from Missouri and is an Army veteran.





Following graduation, Colin accepted a research position at Columbia University in New York and then taught Chemistry at Southeast Missouri State for 10 years.  He started a consulting company for labs and dietary departments for small rural hospitals where he grew the company to 15 employees covering 6 states. During that time he also became a pilot so as to cover his company’s service area more efficiently.

Since Colin had worked with Ozarks Medical Center, he knew many of the board members and had also wanted to cut back on his very busy travel schedule, so was hired as the hospital’s CEO in 1983 and served for 10 years in that position.  During his tenure the medical staff grew from 14 to 53, 3 additions were added on to the hospital, the first rural health clinics in Missouri and Arkansas were started, a 2-year RN program with Southeast Missouri State began, and he helped start Air Evac in 1985.  Colin left the hospital in 1993 to go into a family business making oak dinning room furniture and then became CEO of Air Evac in 1997 after selling the business.   He stepped down in January 2008 to become CEO or the Chairman type role, and then in January 2009 to his role advisor as to the board through a board position with Air Medical Group Holdings.  In January 2009 Colin also expanded the family farming operation where he lives with his wife, Leslie in a rural area near Sycamore, Missouri.


Seth Myers has served as President of Air Evac Lifeteam since January 2008 and then as President & CEO since January 2009. Before being named President, Seth served as Air Evac’s VP of Operations from 2003.  Prior to Air Evac, he served as the Chief Operating Officer of MedServ International and Senior Associate for Fitch & Associates. He began his air medical career as a flight nurse for ShandsCair at the University of Florida where he later served as program director.


Prior to ShandsCair he worked in the Army’s only Trauma unit in El Paso Texas in the late 1970’s where he did research with Dr Crowley’s team at the Shock Trauma Unit in Baltimore, Maryland.  He specifically was asked to teach the medics on the MAST dust-off units to intubate and start IV’s in an attempt to improve outcomes based on research.  Seth also served on the board of the Association of Air Medical Services from 1998-2003.

He grew up in Midwest, Missouri and Iowa, attending high school and college in rural areas.  His bachelor’s degree in nursing is from Luther College and his MBA from Jacksonville University.

Seth has lived in West Plains for 7 years with his wife, Denver.  They have 4 grown children and 6 grandchildren.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Air Medical Today - Episode 3

The Air Medical Today Podcast - Episode 3 has been published.  In this podcast I interview Mr. Louis Lombardo, who is an Auto Safety Researcher and former Physical Scientist with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Lou also served as a board member of the MedEvac Foundation International from 2007-2009.  I also cover some recent News & Information about the Air Medical Community.

With NHTSA,  Lou served in the Office of Advanced Safety Research, Intelligent Technologies Research Division and other departments from 1978 through 2007 except for one year between 1985 and 1986 when he was the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  Lou has been an advocate for adopting airbags and other crashworthy measures to enhance car crash victim survival.  His credo has been to serve the public interest in preventing crash injuries, and then responding effectively when they do occur.

Mr. Lombardo’s report on airbags to Congress in 1980 was cited in a 1983 United States Supreme Court ruling where the auto industry was accused of waging the regulatory equivalent of war against automobile airbags.   The court ruled in an unanimous opinion affirming that airbags were a viable safety technology.

When he was with the Institute for Highway Safety, he organized a national conference to expand the adoption of airbags for corporate fleets.  After returning to NHTSA in 1986 he continued his research this time into how hospitals were treating car crash victims.  Lou’s work prompted Congressional support to establish a major trauma center in Florida to conduct research on how crash injuries were treated and how improvements could be made which led into the renowned Crash Injury Research Engineering Network or CIREN program across the United States.  Lou insisted that it was vital to detect hidden internal injuries that are often overlooked with sometimes fatal consequences.

In 1997 Mr. Lombardo presented to NHTSA the URGENCY Algorithm for Automatic Crash Notification all to get the right rescue resources to the accident scene as quickly as possible.  From 1997 until his retirement from NHTSA, Lou worked on the development of the Atlas and Database of Air Medical Services or ADAMS, so that when a serious crash occurs there will preferably be automatic notification to the nearest medical response team and emergency facility that can treat the injuries.

Since 2007 Lou is fighting to include rollover accidents, often with roof crush and quadriplegic injuries, as high priority scenarios for Automatic Crash Notification.  As has been the situation across 40 years of his dedicated work, he continues to have constructive dialogue with auto safety colleagues and government officials, as he is always insisting that there is much more we can do and must do.

Mr. Lombardo received the Public Service Award from the Association of Air Medical Services in 2007 for his role in the development of ADAMS.  In 2004 the ADAMS Project was recognized with two national awards by the American Society of Association Executives or ASAE.  The first being the Associations Advancing America Award and the second, ASAE’s highest honor, the Summit Award.
Lou received his Bachelors in Science from the University of Hartford in 1965 and completed graduate studies in Public Administration from American University in 1970.

He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and has 3 grown children.

Lou has an e-mail listserv, where you can sign up to receive at his website, articles about the work that he is doing and following and prevention at his website.  I have been receiving these informative e-mails since he began sending them in 2007.