San Antonio AirLIFE Recognizes “Leaders in Emergency Care”

130 attendees representing the agencies and employees being recognized attended the affair at the beautiful Pavilion Banquet Hall. “The purpose of this annual event is for the staff of AirLIFE to recognize individuals and agencies within our service area that demonstrate excellence in the provision of emergency healthcare, patient advocacy, and leadership in healthcare system development”stated AirLIFE president and CEO Shawn Salter. All of those recognized were chosen by AirLIFE Flight Nurses, Flight Paramedics, and Flight Communicators based on interactions they had experienced with hospitals, EMS agencies and individuals in Emergency Medicine during the previous year.

Those recognized during the event were:

Rural Healthcare Facility: Uvalde Memorial Hospital and Kimble Hospital

Urban Healthcare Facility: University Hospital and San Antonio Military Medical Center

Urban/Suburban EMS: Gonzales Co. EMS

Rural EMS: Canyon Lake Fire/EMS

Hospital Person of the Year: Lillian Liao, MD, Trauma Surgeon, University Hospital

EMS Person of the Year: Michael Haynie, EMT-Paramedic, Community EMS, Hondo

Telecommunicator of the Year: Donna Breeding, Comal County Sheriff’s Office

President’s Award: Richard Rodriguez, University Health System

Steve Hannemann, Texas Department of State Health Services

“I believe that it is important to be recognized by your peers, and these are the people that our flight crews interact with daily,”added Mr. Salter. “Members of the healthcare team never appreciate the gravity of their work, but they make a difference in someone’s life every day”.

In recognizing the individuals with the President’s Award, Mr. Salter stated “These individuals made a positive impact to the AirLIFE organization and our mission throughout the years. Along with this, their dedication to the healthcare of people throughout our service area has benefited thousands in our community.”

Serving the community since 1991, AirLIFE is the only Texas owned nonprofit air medical service in Southwest Texas and provides emergency air transport to more than 50 counties within a 150-mile radius of the San Antonio. AirLIFE is jointly owned by Baptist Health System and University Health System. www.txairlife.com