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 Industry, COVID-19, and MTLI FutureCameron Curtis - AAMS Perspective
Please

watch the Video version of this podcast, as you get to not only hear,

but see some of the individuals that built this school and who carry on

the tradition today.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.