For the second straight year, four flight paramedics with AirCare Critical Care Transport Services at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have won a national competition of professional emergency medical services teams.
Roger Horton, NREMT-P, Barry McMillian, NREMT-P, Robert Coleson, NREMT-P, and Justin Bowers, NREMT-P – all of whom are stationed at the AirCare base at the Elkin Municipal Airport in Surry County – placed first in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS) 2017 Games Advanced Clinical Competition, held in Salt Lake City at the end of February. The competition attracted 24 teams from across the country and around the world.
Scoring was based on how well the teams provided quality, compassionate and efficient care to multiple patients during a high-stress mass casualty simulation. In the final round, the Wake Forest Baptist AirCare team was dispatched to a scenario involving several victims on snowmobiles who were severely injured in an avalanche.
“Since we don’t really see avalanches here in North Carolina, this particular scenario was quite different for our crew,” said Billy Haynes, B.S.N., AirCare program manager. “This just proves that the dedicated employees of AirCare are always ready to deliver world-class patient care despite whatever challenges or obstacles they may encounter.”
Since 1986, AirCare has transported more than 20,000 patients and currently averages around 1,100 flights a year, with helicopters based in Lexington, Surry County and Henry County, VA.
AirCare is part of an EMS network serving patients in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee and includes air (helicopter) and ground ambulances stationed in strategic locations to provide fast, safe transportation for critically ill and injured patients.
Media Relations
Joe McCloskey: jmcclosk@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1273
Eryn Johnson: eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228