The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) is proud to announce its 2010 Community Awards recipients. Each year, these nine national awards are presented to individuals and organizations that exemplify the best of the air-medical and critical-care-ground transport community. This year’s recipients were honored at a special awards dinner during the Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC), held Oct. 11-13, 2010, in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The 2010 Community Award categories and their sponsors and recipients include:

Program of the Year Award, sponsored by American Eurocopter
AirLife Denver, Englewood, CO for a superior level of patient care, management prowess, quality leadership through visionary and innovative approaches, customer services, safety consciousness, marketing ingenuity, community services, and commitment to the national or international medical transport community.

Barbara Hess Award, sponsored by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Francis Xavier Guyette, III, MD, MS, MPH, STAT MedEvac, West Mifflin, PA for outstanding contributions in research and education.

Critical Care Ground Award of Excellence, sponsored by Braun Industries, Life Star Rescue and Rick Bell
WakeMed Health & Hospitals/Mobile Critical Care Services, Raleigh, NC for outstanding contributions in patient care and safety in the critical-care ground medical transport community. [HeliHub.com editor – a photo of WakeMed EC135 accompanies this article)]

Fixed-Wing Award of Excellence, sponsored by LifePort, Inc.
Hawaii Life Flight, Honolulu, Hawaii for excellence in patient care and safety in fixed-wing transport.

Jim Charlson Award, sponsored by American Eurocopter
Ed Stockhausen, CMTE, Air Methods Corporation, Englewood, CO for significant contributions to the overall enhancement, development, or promotion of aviation and aviation safety within the air-medical transport community.

Marriott-Carlson Award, sponsored by Bell Helicopter
Donna York Clark, RN, MS, CFRN, CMTE, Golden Hour, Carmel, IN for outstanding contributions to the emergency medical transport community through active involvement or participation in an air-medical transport organization.

Medical Crew/Crew Member of the Year Award, sponsored by American Eurocopter
Jeffrey J. Thomas, BSN, RN, CMTE, EMT-P, Survival Flight, Ann Arbor, MI for outstanding patient care.

Transport Mechanic’s Award of Excellence, sponsored by AgustaWestland
Mike Luna, Lead A&P and ASM, Ministry Spirit Medical Transportation Services, Marshfield, WI for significant contributions to the safe operation and maintenance of medical transport vehicles.

Neonatal & Pediatric Transport Award of Excellence, sponsored by Airborne Life Support Systems
Teddy Bear Transport, Fort Worth, TX for significant contributions in the promotion of neonatal/pediatric patient care, education, research, and safety.

AMTC is a one-stop shop for access to representatives from myriad key aviation and health-care-related organizations. In addition to AAMS, other organizers include the Air & Surface Transport Nurses Association, the Air Medical Physician Association, the International Association of Flight Paramedics, the National Association of Air Medical Communication Specialists, and the National EMS Pilots Association.

About AAMS
The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) is the only international trade association serving the entire air and ground medical transport community. AAMS strives to enhance the medical transport industry by promoting the highest level of industry safety; promoting quality patient care; inspiring commitment to the industry’s work, causes, and viability; and providing superior service to its members.