Air Medical Today - Episode 9

Episode 9 of the Air Medical Today Podcast has been published.  In this episode I interview Mr. Howard Ragsdale, President, and Mr. Christopher Eastlee, Managing Director, of the Air Medical Operators Association.  There is also News & Information and an update on the Southwest Med Evac crash on February 5, 2010.

Howard Ragsdale is the Vice President of Business Development at Air Methods Corporation located in Englewood, Colorado.  Besides serving as the current President of the Air Medical Operators Association, he serves on the Board of Managers of The Center for Medical Transport Research and is the industry representative to the Board of Directors for the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems.

After attending Southeastern Christian College and Eastern Kentucky University, Howard joined the US Army in 1970 and remained on active duty until 1978. He is a commercial rated instrument pilot in both fixed and rotor-wing aircraft and has served in various positions in the air medical industry to include line pilot, Director of Operations and Business Development.

Howard is known for his innovative leadership in both traditional and community based services and unwavering commitment to quality.  He lives with his wife Terri, who is the EMS Manager for American Eurocopter, and is currently in transition from Phoenix, AZ to their new home in Parker, Colorado. Howard and Terri have a combined family of 4 grown children with 5 grandchildren.

 Christopher Eastlee is the Managing Director for the Air Medical Operators Association.  His role is to help formulate policy on behalf of the members and provide association representation to various government agencies, the United States Congress, and other trade associations and policy groups.  Previous to his current position, Chris served as the Government Relations Manager with the Association of Air Medical Services where he was the liaison to the Government Relations and Safety Committees.  Through this service he became familiar with numerous issues, and spent much of his time on matters of aviation regulation and safety.

Chris began his Government Relations work at the Gencarelli Group, the government relations firm representing, among others, the Association of Air Medical Services. He was involved with numerous subject areas, including healthcare, insurance, homeland security, and national defense. During this time, Chris also gained extensive experience working with both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Chris is a graduate of the International Studies School at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois where he studied social and political issues from both a domestic and international perspective.  He lives with his wife, Tara, in Alexandria, Virginia where they enjoy hiking, reading, music, and cooking together.

Air Medical Today - Episode 8

Episode 8 of the Air Medical Today Podcast has been published.  In this episode I interview Drs. Howard Werman and Cathy Janyes, the Medical Director and Director of Research for the new Center For Medical Transport Research.  In the First Response section of the podcast I check in with Rex Alexander, the President Elect of the National EMS Pilots Association, on their new Helipad Safety Sign Program.  There is also News & Information and more detailed information on the Southwest Med Evac crash on February 5, 2009.

Dr. Howard Werman is a Professor in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University as well as the Medical Director for the MedFlight program.  His extensive experience as a board-certified emergency physician has expanded to directing and consulting national and international efforts to improve emergency medical systems.

Dr. Werman has published extensively in the area of emergency care and critical care transport and in 2006 received the Barbara A. Hess Award from the Association for Air Medical Services in recognition of his significant contributions to the enhancement of the emergency medical industry through research and educational excellence.

Dr. Werman completed his undergraduate studies at Duke University, medical school at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his emergency medicine residency at The Ohio State University.  He lives in Bexley, Ohio with his wife and has three grown children.

Dr. Cathy Jaynes is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado’s College of Nursing and brings years of experience in critical care transport leadership and flight nursing.  Her doctoral studies focused on health services evaluation and research methods and her current research is focused on the provision of safe and effective critical care transport for rural underserved populations.

Dr. Jaynes received her Bachelors in Nursing from California State University in Fresno, California, her Masters in Community Health Nursing and Ph.D. in Nursing in Healthcare Systems Evaluation & Research Methods from The Ohio State University.  She lives in Denver and has two grown children.

Mr. Rex Alexander has spent 34 years in aviation with 24 of those years in helicopters and 16 years in the air medical industry.  Rex serves as the Regional Operations Manager for the Central United States for Omniflight Helicopters and is the President Elect of the National EMS Pilots Association, or NEMSPA.  He is an Army veteran of 11 years.

Rex is also the Past President of the Indiana AAMS Chapter and is a member of the Helicopter Association International Heliport Committee.  He has a consulting firm called RJ Alexander Consulting, LLC where he  provides consulting for heliport design and safety.

Air Medical Today - Episode 7

Episode 7 of the Air Medical Today Podcast has been published.  In this episode I interview Tom Judge, Jason Schwebach, and Lisa Tofil, the President, Vice President, and Executive Director of the new Association of Critical Care Transport (ACCT), formerly the Patient First Air-Ambulance Alliance (PFAA).  I also provide general News & Information and the initial report on the Southwest Medevac crash in New Mexico.  Please go to the podcast Show Notes for links to the stories.

Tom Judge serves as the Executive Director of LifeFlight of Maine, a non-profit hospital consortium based helicopter critical care system, serving the entire state of Maine. In addition he serves as the Executive Director of the LifeFlight Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that funds aviation infrastructure and outreach education services to hospital and EMS providers in Maine. Tom is a practicing paramedic where he has served for over 30 years with the St. George Volunteer Fire Ambulance.

Tom brings a thirty year background in pre-hospital emergency medical services in roles from provider to system planner/regulator. He is the former Board Chair of Maine EMS, the State Regulatory and Licensing Agency.  He currently serves on the Board of the MedEvac Foundation International as Treasurer and is a past President of the Association of Air Medical Services.  Tom also serves on the Joint Helicopter Safety Implementation Team, one of two work groups of the International Helicopter Safety Team.  He is a member of the Air Medial Safety Advisory Council and is a 2003 Jim Charlson Award recipient.

Tom is an active professional member of the National Association of EMS Physicians, a faculty member of the National Medical Directors Course and Practicum, and serves on the Editorial Board of the Emergency Medicine Journal.  He is a graduate of Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin in English and received his paramedic training at Kennebec Valley Technical College.  Tom lives with his wife Susan in Port Clyde, Maine and is serving as the President of ACCT.

Jason Schwebach is currently the Assistant Vice President for Carolinas Healthcare System’s - MedCenter Air transport service.  He has 17 years experience in Air Ambulance transport and previously worked as the Director for the air ambulance department of Providence Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska.  Jason served 8 years as a Medevac pilot and healthcare administrator in the US Army,  and for 7 years as a Combat Search and Rescue Pilot in the United States Air Force; including an assignment with the Alaska Air National Guard as a Senior Rescue Controller.

He is the immediate past president of the North Carolina Air-ambulance Affiliation, and was the recipient of the 2008 AAMS Program Director of the Year Award.

Jason holds a Bachelors degree in Biology from the University of Rio Grande, and a Masters degree in Business & Healthcare Management from the University of LaVerne.  He is also a Certified Medical Transport Executive.
He lives Live in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, and 2 children ages, 7 & 10.

Lisa Tofil is a Partner in the Holland and Knight Public Policy and Regulation Group.  Her practice is focused on federal relations and policy in health care, emergency medical services, and transportation issues.  She represents a number of health care organizations including trauma centers, hospitals and health systems, clinical laboratories, and air medical transport programs.

Lisa possesses an in−depth knowledge of the Medicaid and Medicare programs and in developing innovative opportunities to enhance state and federal funding for health care providers.  She spent several years on Capitol Hill as a health care legislative assistant to Senator John Chafee (Republican−Rhode Island) and served on the staff of the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Labor Management.  Lisa also worked as the Government Relations Representative for Northwestern Memorial Hospital and as the Vice President for Government Relations at Carolinas Healthcare System.

In addition to the new association where she serves as Executive Director, she represents the Trauma Center Association of America, Advocates for EMS, the Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access Association, the Florida Hospital Association, the Clinical Laboratory Management Association, and a variety of health systems and medical groups.

Lisa received her Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Vermont and her law degree from the Kent College of Law in Chicago, Illinois.  She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, 3 kids, 2 dogs.  She also has 1 horse.

Birkie Web Today - Episode 9

Episode 9 of the Birkie Web Today Podcast has been published.  In this episode I interview Louis Muench, Vice President of the Cumberland Area Ski Touring Association, about his experience skiing in the inaugural BirkieTour.  I also check in with fellow Birkie Buddies, Tim Burke and Mike Tarnow, who participated in the Noquemanon Ski Marathon in Marquette, Michigan this past Saturday in the On The Trail section of the podcast.

Louis Muench lives in Cumberland, Wisconsin where he works at Louie's Finer Meats owned by his family.  He is the Vice President of the Cumberland Area Ski Touring Association, which maintains the Timberland Hills Ski Trails.  Louis is responsible for updating trail conditions on the club’s website and their Facebook page.

In 2001 Louis completed the Kortelopet, but was first signed up for the race in 2000 which was the year it was canceled. In 2002 he completed his first Birkie and has participated each year ever since.  Louis also participates in a number of other ski events each year including the Pre-Birkie and Book Across the Bay races.

As part of our On the Trail section of the podcast we will either be  literally out on the Birkie Trail or on the scene for interviews.  Today I check in with my fellow Birkie Buddies, Tim Burke and Mike Tarnow, who participated in the Noquemanon Ski Marathon this past Saturday, January 30th in Marquette, Michigan.

 

Tim (left) and Mike (right) have skied the Noque, as it is called, three times since the race began several years ago.  This year Tim completed the 25K Freestyle event and Mike the 25K Classic race where he placed 4th overall for his age group.

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.

 

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

Kansas Cyclist Podcast - Episode 16

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.

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.

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.

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.