AAMS Announces 2024 Community Award Finalists

Member Alert: September 26, 2024

AAMS and Golden Hour are excited to announce the "Eat Dessert First" styled Awards Celebration, set to take place on Tuesday, November 5th at 3:30 pm MST during the 2024 Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC)  in Salt Lake City, Utah. 
 
This year's awards event puts dessert first and celebrates all that is sweet!  Attendees will enjoy milk and cookies to toast and dunk while the industry learns who will take home the 2024 Community Awards, as well as the honorees of the 2024 AAMS, AMPA, ASNTA, ICAPP, IAMTCS, and NEMSPA annual awards. This event is open to all AMTC attendees. 
 
Below are the finalists for the 2024 Community Awards:
 
Program of the Year, sponsored by Airbus
Recognizes an emergency medical transport service that has demonstrated a superior level of patient care, management prowess, high quality leadership through visionary and innovative approaches, customer service, safety consciousness, marketing ingenuity, community service, and a commitment to the medical transport community.

• ARCH Air Medical, St Louis, MO
• Intermountain Life Flight, Salt Lake City, UT
• LIFE FORCE Air Medical, Chattanooga, TN
• UNC Carolina Air Care, Chapel Hill, NC
• University of Utah Health AirMed, Salt Lake City, UT
• University of Virginia Medical Transport Network, Charlottesville, VA

Marriott-Carlson Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Bell
Recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the overall enhancement, development, leadership or promotion of the emergency medical transport community and has been actively involved or participated in an emergency medical transport organization.

• Janie Ford, MSN, RN, CFRN, AGACNP-BC - University of Utah Health AirMed
• Richard Orr, MD - Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC (Retired)
• Stephan Russ, MD - Vanderbilt LifeFlight

Jim Charlson Safety Award
Recognizes an entity (team, organization, individual) who has made significant contributions to the overall enhancement, development or promotion of safety within the air and critical care ground transport community.

• Kevin and Sandy Hutton - The Hutton Foundation
• Dave and Amanda Repsher, Silverthorne, CO
• Kevin Schitosky - Med Trans Corporation
• Donna York, Chair, Safety Management Training Academy (SMTA)

Neonatal/Pediatric Transport Award of Excellence, sponsored by AirBorne
Recognizes a team that has made an outstanding contribution to a neonatal/ pediatric transport service in any of the following areas: enhancing safety, education, leadership, patient advocacy by developing or promoting the improvement of patient care in the medical transport community.

• Children's Health Neonatal/Pediatric Transport, Dallas, TX
• Children's Nebraska Critical Care Transport, Omaha, NE
• UNC Carolina Air Care Pediatric/Neonatal Specialty Team, Chapel Hill, NC
• UVA Health's Medical Transport Network - Neo/Peds Team, Charlottesville, VA
  

Transport Mechanic Award of Excellence, sponsored by Leonardo
Recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the safe operation of medical transport vehicles or the improvement of safe maintenance procedures of medical transport vehicles.

• Dave Esteves - Haiti Air Ambulance
• Jim Heller - University of Virginia Medical Transport Network
• Greg Robbeloth - Stanford Life Flight
  

Excellence in Transport Leadership Award 
Recognizes air and ground critical care transport leader who has demonstrated a superior level of knowledge and management prowess, high-quality leadership through visionary and innovative approaches, customer service, safety consciousness, marketing ingenuity, community service, commitment to the emergency medical community as a whole. 

• Ashley M. Chitty, RN, CFRN, CPEN - Life Link III
• Jermaine Clayborne, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN, CFRN, FP-C  - University of Virginia Medical Transport Network
• William Cyr, MHA, RN, NR - LifeFlight of Maine
• Christopher Hardman, MBA, MSN, RN, NRP, CMTE - PHI Health, LLC

"AAMS is humbled to provide this unique opportunity to recognize the best in the medical transport community.  We are in awe of this year's slate of nominees and enjoy spotlighting them," said AAMS President and CEO, Jana Williams. "Ahead of the winners being announced in Salt Lake City, we appreciate this time to genuinely celebrate all of our finalists!"

Additional notable industry awards to be recognized during the event include: 

AAMS
AAMS Community Impact Award - Recognizes a team, organization or individual that has made an outstanding contribution to transport medicine which resulted in expanded access, increased health care equity, preserved or broadened services, improved medical transport solvency, strengthened business continuity, enhanced patient advocacy, or improved a foundational element of medical transport that gives hope for a brighter future.  

AAMS Rising Spirit Award - Recognizes a team, organization or individual that has demonstrated the positive side of what healthcare and medical transport is about with a specific program or feature aimed at taking care of our people, improving resilience, raising spirits, and finding the good. 

AAMS Image Excellence Award - Recognizes a team, organization, or individual that has made an outstanding social media presence, campaign, short, or post that represents the very best in medical transport - as chosen by members of the transport community. Submissions remain open for this particular award until Friday, October 18, 2024. 

AMPA
Medical Director of the Year - Recognizes a physician who has made outstanding contributions to his or her own program.

Distinguished Physician Award - Recognizes a physician who has significantly contributed to the Air Medicine profession and to recognize lifetime achievement and service to the Air Medical community

ASTNA
Katz-Mason Award for Transport Nursing Excellence - Presented for exceptional leadership to an individual who has had a positive impact on flight transport nursing on a global scale. 

Jordan Award - Recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to transport medical journalism. 

Lynn Stevens Excellence in Safety Award - Presented for excellence in safety to an individual who has made significant contributions to safety initiatives that have impacted the safety and culture of a specific program or the transport community as a whole.

IAMTCS
Communication Specialist of the Year - Given in recognition an outstanding communication specialist who fosters clear and effective communication among team members during high-stress situations, provides compassionate and informative support to patients and their families, and/or innovatively disseminates crucial information within the air medical community.

ICAPP
Tim Hynes Award - Recognizes exemplary abilities in leadership, education and safety within the paramedic profession. 

NEMSPA
Pilot of the Year - Presented to a pilot for going the extra mile, doing the right thing, always making safety a priority and working hard to get you home at the end of your shift.

William T. Wynn Lifetime Achievement Award - Given to a pilot for contributions to the air medical industry for some time, through their professionalism, technical expertise, safety focus, and leadership.

 Join us on Tuesday in Salt Lake City to find out how the "awards cookie" crumbles and help us celebrate this year's 2024 Industry Award Winners.

Special thanks to our event sponsor!