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| Annual Community Awards |
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Each year, the Association of Air Medical Services recognizes excellence and leadership in emergency medical transport through a variety of notable international awards.
Program of the Year The Program of the Year Award recognizes an emergency medical transport service (national or international) 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 as a whole.
Boston MedFlight brings home the 2025 Program of the Year for its sustained excellence in safety, clinical care, and staff development. Their Clinical Practice Transition Program sets a national benchmark, guiding new clinicians through a year-long mentorship, an 18-week, five-phase orientation recognized by CAMTS, and structured education throughout the first year. Clinicians must pass rigorous multidisciplinary testing before completing probation, and their “green-on-green” staffing model ensures every transport includes at least one seasoned provider with three or more years of experience. Experienced staff benefit from equally robust annual training, including five days of simulation, six hospital rotations in anesthesia and NICU, eight physician-led case reviews, and 64 hours of on-duty small-group education. Their pilot onboarding mirrors this rigor, with factory ground school, simulator and flight training, and a goal-driven Field Operational Experience Module. Boston MedFlight also leads the industry in incapacitated pilot training for clinicians. Their commitment to wellness and safety is evident in fatigue mitigation strategies like a 13-hour return-to-base rule, automatic rest breaks after multiple overnight transports, and protected downtime for Communications staff. These efforts have significantly reduced late calls and fatigue-related timeouts. The Wing Team peer support program—available 24/7 and activated for high-acuity cases—further reinforces their culture of resilience. Through regular presentations at national and international conferences, Boston MedFlight continues to elevate standards across critical care, emergency medicine, and aviation safety. Marriott-Carlson Lifetime Achievement Award The Marriott-Carlson Lifetime Achievement Award 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.
Dr. Stocking is honored for her decades-long impact on emergency medical services and critical care transport. Beginning her career as a paramedic in the 1980s, Dr. Stocking has since become a nationally recognized flight nurse, educator, and policy leader. Her work as chair of the FEMA Air Medical Transport Workgroup led to the standardization of disaster response training and helped secure a national FEMA contract. She has shaped legislation and safety standards at both state and federal levels, and her research—recognized by AHRQ and CMS—has set benchmarks for patient safety nationwide. Dr. Stocking’s influence spans continents, with presentations at leading conferences and international EMS summits. She has authored key industry publications and founded the UC Critical Care Research Collaborative. Her leadership, humility, and mentorship continue to inspire professionals across disciplines. NEW in 2025! The Eileen Frazer
SPARK Award The Eileen Frazer Spark Award celebrates bold vision and transformative thinking in out-of-hospital patient care. It honors an emerging leader—either early in their career or just beginning their influence—who presents a compelling idea, project, or initiative with the potential to reshape the industry landscape, much like Eileen’s vision in founding and launching CAMTS paved the way for standards to which the industry aspires.
Kevin is recognized with the inaugural Eileen Frazer Spark Award for his visionary leadership and groundbreaking work in expanding access to advanced cardiac care. He played a central role in launching the nation’s first Rural eCPR program, a transformative initiative that brings mobile ECMO capabilities directly to rural communities—dramatically improving survival rates for cardiac arrest patients far from tertiary care centers. This innovative model, developed in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Hospitals Mobile ECMO program, is both scalable and replicable, offering a blueprint for improving outcomes in underserved areas nationwide. Kevin’s commitment to patient-centered solutions and his ability to challenge the status quo have helped redefine how cardiac care is delivered in rural America. Beyond his technical achievements, Kevin is a mentor and role model whose passion and clarity of vision continue to inspire colleagues. His work exemplifies the spirit of the Spark Award—igniting change, sparking innovation, and transforming the future of emergency medical services. Transport Mechanic’s Award of Excellence
The Transport Mechanic Award of Excellence 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.
Eric has been honored for his exceptional expertise, leadership, and dedication to safety at Carolina Air Care. Over the past year, he played a critical role in evaluating and integrating new aircraft into the fleet, ensuring each met the program’s rigorous operational and safety standards. His proactive assessments prevented costly missteps and directly improved safety for patients and crews. AAMS Neonatal/Pediatric Award of Excellence The AAMS Neonatal/Pediatric Transport Award of Excellence recognizes an individual or 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. The award may be given for an overall neonatal/pediatric-specific patient care contribution, or neonatal/pediatric transport outcome.
Dr. Lund and The University of Utah AirMed Neonatal Team are honored for groundbreaking work integrating the the neonatal flight team and the TeleNICU virtual program at the University of Utah. The innovative integration of these two specialties has created a rapid-response model that delivers expert neonatal care to rural communities—bridging critical gaps in access and improving outcomes for high-acuity cases like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and full codes. Jim Charlson Safety Award The Jim Charlson Safety Award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the overall enhancement, development or promotion of safety within the air and critical care ground transport community.
Erik has been honored for his outstanding contributions to aviation safety and his leadership both within Air Methods and across the industry. With a background in safety and a current role in operational leadership, Erik’s influence extends nationally through his work as Vice Chair of the Air Medical Operators Association (AMOA) Safety Committee. AAMS Excellence in Transport Leadership Award The AAMS 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. (e.g., Program Director, Transport Service Director, Program Manager, Transport Service Manager, Regional Director, CEO, etc.)
Leanne is honored for her visionary leadership and people-centered management as Associate Director of Carolina Air Care. Overseeing nine bases and more than 120 staff, she has embedded just culture, crew resource management, and staff development throughout the organization—resulting in the highest employee engagement scores in over a decade and surpassing national safety culture benchmarks.
The following awards are chosen by AAMS leadership and presented at the annual Air Medical Transport Conference: AAMS Making A Difference Award Recognizes an individual or entity that best demonstrates the value of medical transport or excellence in medical patient outcomes.
Dr. Powell is posthumously awarded the 2025 Making A Difference Award in recognition of his visionary leadership and lifelong commitment to emergency medicine. His wife and STARS representatives accepted the award on his behalf. In 1985, Dr. Powell launched STARS as a charitable helicopter ambulance service—an unprecedented move that has since saved over 63,000 lives. Under his leadership, STARS expanded from a single base in Calgary to six across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, becoming the first international organization accredited by CAMTS and setting a global standard for helicopter emergency medical services. Dr. Powell’s legacy extends beyond clinical innovation. He served on numerous boards, mentored medical professionals, and championed public health initiatives. His belief in building a service “by the community, for the community” inspired thousands of volunteers, donors, and healthcare workers to rally behind the cause. His contributions were recognized nationally with appointments to the Order of Canada, the Alberta Order of Excellence, and induction into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame. Dr. Powell passed away in April 2025, during STARS’ 40th anniversary year. His legacy lives on in every mission flown and every life saved.
AAMS Community Impact Award Recognizes 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.
For nearly seven years, LifeMed Alaska has served as a vital lifeline for the residents of Unalaska and the surrounding Aleutian Islands, bridging an 800-mile gap to definitive care in Anchorage. Operating in one of the most remote and weather-challenged regions of the state, the Dutch Harbor-based flight crews have consistently delivered exceptional prehospital and critical care—day and night, in the air and on the ground. Their commitment goes far beyond transport. LifeMed teams regularly support local EMS and the Iliuliuk Family & Health Services Clinic, assist with direct patient care when resources are stretched, and help sustain healthcare in the region by loaning and maintaining essential equipment like ventilators and IV pumps. They also provide continuing education and have championed innovative programs such as Alaska’s first prehospital blood initiative and the i-STAT mobile lab program. LifeMed Alaska’s presence in Unalaska is deeply personal. Their crews actively participate in community events and invest in building strong local partnerships. Their work exemplifies not only clinical excellence but also a profound dedication to the well-being of the people they serve. AAMS Rising Impact Award Presented to a team 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.
On October 6th, a medical helicopter crashed on a California highway—an incident where every second counted. When heavy equipment was delayed, Sacramento Fire Captain Peter Vandersluis rallied a group of bystanders who didn’t hesitate. In a moment of extraordinary courage, 15 individuals ran toward the wreckage and lifted the helicopter, giving the crew inside their best chance at survival. These everyday heroes—now recipients of the Rising Spirit Award—chose to remain anonymous, humbly deflecting praise and keeping the focus on those impacted. Their bravery and selflessness reflect the very spirit of emergency response and community care. AAMS Chairman's Awards 2025 Awardees
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