Air Medical Today

MTLI: Past, Present, and Future. This is a special podcast where I have the pleasure to welcome ten individuals who have been involved with the Medical Transport Leadership Institute, or MTLI, over the years. We are doing this show as part of the 25th Anniversary of the genesis of MTLI and the week before classes begin that will produce the 24th graduating class of Certified Medical Transport Executives or CMTEs.The speakers introduce themselves and will talk about each of the subject areas in the following order. There is also a special group session at the end.The speakers are:Bill Koegler - Oglebay Foundation HistoryDawn Mancuso - Idea for MTLI from the Campground AssociationDenise Landis - Start of MTLI and Initial RegentsCraig Yale - Initial Classes and Features that have Remained ConsistentConnie Eastlee - Graduate ProgramEd Marasco - Politics, Change, and TransitionTom Allenstein - Curriculum Changes and InnovationJared Sherman - Capstone ProgramTom Liebman - Adapting to Changing Air Medical I

An interview of Edward Marasco, the Vice President of Business Development for Quick Med Claims, which provides revenue cycle management and consulting services for medical transport organizations nationwide. Previously, he was a Regional Vice President of Hospital Based Services with Air Methods Corporation after the acquisition of CJ Systems. At CJ System, Ed served as the Vice President for Air Medical Services. He also served thirteen years at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in various administrative positions.Mr. Marasco received his BS degree in Secondary Education from the University of Pittsburgh and an MPM degree from the H.J. Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University.In the podcast, we talk about the No Surprises Act.

An interview of Mark Mennie, an International Commercial Photographer who has specialized in photographing Air Medical and Critical Care Transport, including Medical Evacuation Environments. Mr. Mennie is a Canadian citizen, and has been doing work in the United States since 2001.Mark has done work for the Association of Air Medical Services, the Air Medical Transport Conference, the EMS Memorial Service, the Air Medical Memorial Service, several conferences, and fifty air medical programs from around the world. He has a number of awards and has served on the board of several organizations.

An interview of Eileen Frazier, the Executive Director of the Commission on the Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems, or CAMTS. Ms. Frazier has a wealth of experience in air medical transport, including being the Chief Flight Nurse at University MedEvac at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania and serving on a number of boards and committees. She has written several articles and is now writing a new book with the working title of Helicopters and Medicine. Eileen was the recipient of the Jim Charlson Award, given to those that make a significant contribution to air medical Safety, in 1991 and the Marriot-Carlson Award, given for outstanding contributions to the air medical transport community, in 2000. Both of the awards are sponsored by the Association of Air Medical Services.

An Interview of Craig Yale, the President of the Yale Group, LLC. Mr. Yale has over 45 years of experience in the development and management of not-for-profit, for profit private, and public corporate services that have included emergency ground and air medical programs. Craig is a paramedic and has his bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in finance from Regis University.Mr. Yale has held a number of positions in air medical transport including Flight for Life in Colorado Springs, Rocky Mountain Helicopters and the formation of LifeNet, Air Methods Corporation, HeliStar in Istanbul, Turkey, and as the President of the Yale Group.Craig has been on the board of the Association of Air Medical Services and currently serves on the board of the MedEvac Foundation International, the Association of Professional Flight Chaplin’s, and is a Regent and Instructor with the Medical Transport Leadership Institute. Craig was awarded the Marriott Carlson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

An Interview of Robert Tester, the Senior Director of the LIFE FORCE Air Medical Service at Erlanger Health System. Robbie has been with LIFE FORCE since 1998 when he started as a Flight Paramedic. He has held several positions at the program including Program Manager, Administrator, Vice President, and now Senior Director at Erlanger. His current position includes not only LIFE FORCE but system-wide Emergency Management and the Regional Operations Center.Along with being a paramedic, Robbie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Administration from Georgia State College and will be completing his Masters in Business Administration from Western Governors University in Tennessee this year. He is involved with a number of associations and committees and currently is a board member of the Association of Critical Care Transport.

An Interview of Michael Benton, the Founder, Managing Director, and Principal Consultant with VyClimb Consulting, LLC. Mike started VyClimb Consulting, LLC in 2015 and had previously worked at Air Methods and Med-Trans Corporation as an Air Medical Line Pilot, National Relief Pilot, Aviation Compliance Manager, Check Airman, and Regional Aviation Manager. He served in the United States Army from 1993 to 2008 as a Standardization Instructor Pilot, and Instrument Flight Examiner.Mike’s consulting has taken him world-wide on a number of projects. He holds a Bachelor’s and Masters from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an MBA from Colorado State University.

Episode 36 - An Interview of Roxanne Shanks, the CEO of LifeFlight Eagle and Executive Director of the Association of Critical Care Transport in Kansas City, Missouri. Roxanne has been in her role at LifeFlight Eagle since 2012 and as the Executive Director of ACCT since 2014. She has also been a partner with Fitch & Associates since 2019.Prior to LifeFlight Eagle and ACCT, Roxanne was a Service Leader with Mosaic Health in St. Joseph, Missouri. She holds an MBA from Andrew Jackson University and a BA in Chemistry from St. Louis University.

An Interview of Tom Allenstein, the President & CEO of MedFlight of Ohio and MedCare Ambulance headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Tom has been the CEO since 2015 and served as the Chief Clinical Officer & Chief Operating Officer of MedFlight from 2004. He also became President & CEO of MedCare Ambulaance in 2020, an ALS / BLS ambulance program that had been a joint-venture. Prior to MedFlight and MedCare, Tom had been with Mayo Medical Transport in Rochester, Minnesota starting as a Transport Nurse in 1989 and then Transportation Nurse Manager in 1997.Tom is a past board member of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) and is currently a Regent with the Medical Transport Leadership Institute, a site reviewer with the Commission on the Accreditation of Medical Transport Services, and the President of the Central Ohio Trauma Systems board. He is the recipient of the AAMS Marriott - Carlson Award in November 2002.

Episode 34 - An Interview of Michael Christianson, the Senior Executive Director of Sanford Air Transportation headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I talk to Mike about the history of Sanford AirMed including previous programs, how their program is organized for both their clinical and aviation services, aircraft and bases, the corporate aviation division, COVID-19, and the Maverick Air Center FBO.Mike has been the directing the program since 2008. He started as a Fixed Wing Pilot, Chief Flight Instructor, and Check Airman. Previous to Sanford, Mike was a pilot with Great Lakes Aviation / United Express. He is a graduate of the University of South Dakota in psychology and sociology for his undergraduate degree and in administrative studies for his masters.

An Interview of Andrea Robertson, the CEO of STARS in Canada. I talk to Andrea about the history of STARS, their program services, air medical services in Canada, and COVID-19. Andrea has been the President & CEO of STARS since March 2012. She served as the Chief Operating Officer from June 2011. Before joining STARS Andrea held the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer of Alberta Health Services.Andrea is a board member of the Calgary Airport Authority and the CP Railway. In 2014 she was awarded and recognized as one of the Top Most Powerful Women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network. Andrea has degrees from the University of Calgary and Central Michigan University. She also holds an Executive Fellowship from Wharton.

An Interview of Maura Hughes, the CEO of Boston MedFlight. In the podcast we talk about the history of Boston MedFlight as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit consortium air medical program, the development of the FAA Part 135 Certificate, the type of aircraft they fly, their critical care ground ambulances, their team configuration, the impact of COVID-19, their philanthropy program, and their memberships in ACCT, AAMS and AMOA.Boston MedFlight is in their 35th year of operation and they recently passed the 80,000 patient transport milestone. Maura has been the CEO since 2016 and served as the CFO before that from 1998.

An Interview of Mr. Brian Shaw, the President of the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride. Brian talks about the history of the ride and the special plans for the 20th Anniversary rides in 2020, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Brian's full-time work is with the Emergency Medical Service Institute as the Deputy Director and they oversea EMS Operations for the Pennsylvania Department of Health in 16 counties. This includes 300 licensed EMS Agencies. He served as a part-time flight paramedic with STAT Medevac from 1995 to 2008 and is a graduate of Youngstown State University in Allied Health and Criminal Justice. Mr. Shaw's office is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

An interview of Mr. Jonathan Bundt regarding Post Traumatic Stress with COVID-19 and George Floyd's death at the hands of the Minneapolis Police.Jonathan is an Organizational Consultant and Trainer with his own company called Masa Consulting since 1993. Jonathan has degrees in Child Psychology and Jewish Studies, Counseling and Psychotherapy, and course work in Human Resource Development and Counseling Psychology. He has been an Employee Assistance Program Counselor; Stress Team Member with the American Red Cross; Psychology Consultant at the Alfred Adler Graduate School; a Behavior Scientist Consultant with the Minneapolis Police Department SWAT Team; and a private practice Psychotherapist.Mr. Bundt will be speaking at the Air Medical Transport Conference in November 2020. His topic will be "Building organizational strength from within: Operationalizing comprehensive support systems and utilizing mental health professionals".

COVID-19 and what a number of air medical programs are doing during this very challenging pandemic. The purpose of the podcast is for programs to learn from each other.  Fifteen programs were reached out to and interviews with five of them were completed on Monday, March 23, 2020. This was due to many individuals being in the thick of the epidemic and not being able to take the time when they needed to be focused at their programs. An infectious disease specialist was also interviewed to provide some background on COVID-19.

Episode 7 - News and Information, an interview of Tom Judge, Jason Schwebach, and Lisa Tofil, the President, Vice President, and Executive Director of the new Association of Critical Care Transport, formerly the Patient First Air-Ambulance Alliance, and the initial report on the Southwest Medevac crash

Episode 8 - News and Information, Southwest Med Evac Crash, Rex Alexander on NEMSPA's New Helipad Safety Sign Program in First Response, and an Interview of Drs. Howard Werman and Cathy Jaynes, the Medical Director and Director of Research for the new Center For Medical Transport Research

Episode 9 - News and Information and an Interview of Mr. Howard Ragsdale, President, and Mr. Christopher Eastlee, Managing Director, of the Air Medical Operators Association

Episode 10 - News and Information, David Kearns in First Response regarding the Alaris MedSystem III, and an Interview of Dr. Daniel Hankins, Medical Director of Mayo Clinic Medical Transport and current President of the Association of Air Medical Services and Dawn Mancuso, the Executive Director and CEO of AAMS