At 1,500 feet in the sky, 4 WKU alumni are saving lives as part of the Air Evac Lifeteam
By Rose Rementer
In 1985, a group of citizens in West Plains, Mo., established the Air Evac Lifeteam with the goal of providing air medical transportation to remote and rural areas of the Missouri Ozark region. Now, 33 years later, the Air Evac Lifeteam is the world’s largest air ambulance service with more than 130 bases across 15 states. Each team is made up of a pilot, a nurse and a paramedic. They transport critically ill or injured patients from hospitals or accident scenes to hospitals via helicopter. Base 62 is located right here in Bowling Green, Ky., where four WKU alumni work in various roles.
Andrea Hampton (’11) and Ashley Tidwell (’06): Taking nursing to greater heights
After graduating in 2011 from the Nursing program at WKU, Andrea Hampton (’11) moved back to her hometown of Louisville, Ky., to work as an Emergency Department Nurse at the University of Louisville Hospital.
“University of Louisville Hospital is one of the region’s only level-one trauma-capable facilities,” explained Hampton. “I was quickly thrown to the wolves in this sink-or-swim environment, but through my formal education at WKU, I was well prepared upon entering the nursing world. I thrived in the fast-paced conditions and grew to love caring for those in need. While working there, many flight crews would bring patients to our facility. I had always looked up to these care providers and knew that one day that is what I wanted to do.”
Hampton and her husband Landon (’10) moved back to Bowling Green, where she worked as an ER Nurse at the Medical Center. After getting the required three to five years of ICU, ER or other critical-care-based hospital experience, Hampton applied and then accepted the position as a Flight Nurse with the Air Evac Lifeteam.
“The most rewarding part of being a Flight Nurse is being part of a team that helps provide care to save someone’s life in a moment where time is of the essence,” added Hampton. “But, unfortunately not all the experiences are positive. In this field, you have to learn to take the good with the bad. You have to realize that you did all you could to help someone but, at the end of the day, everything happens for a reason. With that being said, just knowing that I helped make a difference in someone’s life in their time of need makes this career worthwhile.”
Ashley Tidwell (’06) of Park City, Ky., first realized she wanted to do more with her Nursing career when she had to put her skills to the test outside of the hospital.
“I witnessed and was the first responder to a terrible accident involving a motorcycle in Dallas, Texas,” noted Tidwell. “At that time, I was an ER nurse, who just happened to be traveling with my family when the accident occurred. What I was able to do on scene to help save that patient led me to believe I needed to do more with my career. Pre-hospital is my passion, and I love to help people.”
Tidwell graduated with a degree in Nursing from WKU. She said her experience on the Hill prepared her and gave her first-hand experience for her career.
“WKU has support of local hospitals and resources that put you far ahead in the healthcare field,” stated Tidwell. “That is crucial to a nurse’s success. I highly recommend the WKU program, because I have been a part of some of the simulation labs and trainings since I have left WKU, and they continue to impress me with their state-of-the-art capabilities for students.”
Tidwell currently works as a Flight Nurse at Air Evac Base 62 in Bowling Green and is also the Director of EMS Relations for the TriStar Hospital Division. She says she loves helping people, and she does that daily with her job.
“I get to meet people on the worst day of their lives, and it’s almost always something that I can help to make better. I get the privilege of making a difference in someone’s life,” added Tidwell.
Ross Noble (’14): Piloting the aircraft
Ross Noble (’14) of Kendallville, Ind., started his career journey by joining the Indiana Army National Guard in 2001. After moving up the ranks, Noble attended flight school.
“I truly loved my job and the people I worked with, but, at the end of the day, flying above the sand instead of walking through it really appealed to me,” Noble said. “Once a chance opened up to learn how to fly, I never looked back. I have always been a goal-oriented person who craves new challenges, and flying helicopters has afforded me the opportunity to push myself mentally and physically every day.”
After 13 years, four deployments overseas and 2,500 flight hours, Noble accepted the offer to be one of the Pilots at Air Evac Base 62. He graduated in 2014 with a degree in Business Economics from WKU and, surprisingly, he says he uses those skills every day in his role as Pilot.
“Even though I was a pilot prior to my time at WKU, it without a doubt helped make me a better pilot. My degree at times deals with cost and benefit analysis,” explained Noble. “Is the cost of an action outweighed by the benefit? As a pilot, I have to make decisions every day that directly affect other people’s lives. Is the weather good enough to fly? Is that landing zone suitable for my aircraft? Will the aircraft be able to overcome a crosswind coming in to land? I do my own internal cost and benefit analysis to determine which way to go.”
Noble says his time on the Hill also improved his communication skills.
“Being a Hilltopper improved my interpersonal skills, which are invaluable to anyone who is part of a team,” noted Noble. “As a flight crew, we have to work together in some of the most stressful situations you can imagine. Being able to communicate effectively as pilot when you have limited information and limited time is invaluable.”
Bob Rowland (’03): Overseeing operations
Bob Rowland of Columbia, Ky., is the Program Director at Air Evac’s bases in Bowling Green and Lafayette, Tenn. He started his career journey on the Hill, graduating in 2003 with a degree in Paramedicine.
“WKU is a place that helped to build on the foundation of who I am today,” stated Rowland “The experiences, lessons and people I encountered during my time there influence my life on a daily basis.”
Rowland’s role is just as important as the flight crew he oversees. He has to make sure everything is functioning correctly so the team is safe.
“My number-one job is to make sure that the flight crews are there and have what they need to safely and effectively respond to patients in need,” stated Rowland. “This includes everything from hiring, scheduling, overseeing budgets and payroll, to buying toner and paper for the copier.”
He also checks in with community partners to make sure they are serving everyone to the best of their abilities.
“We work closely with the hospitals, ambulance services and 911 centers in the communities we serve. I regularly visit with these partners to educate them on our capabilities, assess their needs and solicit feedback on our performance,” added Rowland. “We are constantly working to improve the services that we provide. Other ways we do this are by attending quality meetings, providing continuing education classes and participating in practice drills.”
To anyone thinking about entering the medical field, Rowland says, that you’ll get something so much more than a job.
“People in need are looking to you and trusting you to help them in some of the most vulnerable and scary times of their lives,” said Rowland. “This requires caring, compassion and people skills that cannot be taught in a classroom. It also requires sacrifices. There are long, stressful hours and often you miss family events or holidays. All that said, the rewards of knowing you helped someone on one of the worst days of their life can be so much more satisfying than any paycheck.”