AMPA The Air Medical Leadership Congress Next spring or summer, in or near Salt Lake City, Utah, AMPA will host an Air Medical Leadership Congress. What is the congress about? Why are we holding it? Who is involved? You are! Read on. The purpose of this congress is to help shape the future of air medical transport by setting our agenda together. The idea for this congress was prompted by AMPA’s 10th anniversary, but AMPA is serving only to host and organize the event—everyone with a share in air medical transport is invited to participate. The congress will be a several-day meeting. In preparation, shareholders are being identified and invited, core elements of air medical transport are being determined, and issues within each are being noted. Once issues are identified, surveys will help determine gaps and concerns among the shareholders. Do aircraft manufacturers see safety the same way that flight nurses do? Do pilots see reimbursement from the same perspective as communicators?
These gaps and concerns will drive a literature review and identification of issue experts, who will be invited to provide their knowledge at sessions about these issues. Leadership and direct user participants also will be at these sessions. The sessions will lead to proposed future directions, solutions, and agendas for improvement—all summarized in a paper. In other words, the 2003 Air Medical Leadership Congress will celebrate much more than AMPA’s 10th anniversary. It is an event that will bring together the core of our community in an effort to identify our most important challenges and plan solutions that will shape our future. You should be there. It is your chance to shape your future. —Ken Williams, President doi:10.1067/mmj.2002.127617
AMA Call for Papers The Aerospace Medical Association is seeking papers for its 2003 Annual Scientific Meeting, May 4-8, 2003, in San Antonio, Texas. “Celebrating 100 Years of Flight and Aerospace Medicine Support” is the conference theme; slide, poster, and panel presentations are welcome. Abstracts may be submitted by Email to www.asma.org or in writing to AMA, 320 S. Henry St., Alexandria, VA 223143579. Deadline for abstracts is October 30, 2002. For more information, go to the website or call (703) 7392240, ext. 101.
Air Medical Memorial Wings Air Medical Memorial Wings are small, graceful pins worn in memory of peers lost in the line of duty. The wings originated in January 1998 through the sponsorship of the Kentucky Chapter of the Association of Air Medical Services. Designed by Cathy Spry, a flight nurse with STATCARE in Louisville, and Martin Nethery, a CareFlight nurse in Lexington, the pins are a tribute to colleagues who have died in air medical accidents. Similar to the black bands worn across badges by firefighters and police officers, the wings show respect for fallen comrades. The Kentucky Chapter provides a complimentary set of pins to each flight service that experiences such a loss. Additional pins may be purchased for $10 each by contacting Spry at
[email protected] cost includes shipping, and $1 from each sale is donated to the ASTNA Bereavement Fund.
Automated External Defibrillators Foundation As demand and use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has increased dramatically, the AED Instructor Foundation has been established to help initial emergency care instructors provide training in CPR and early defibrillation and improve access to inexpensive, easy-to-use devices. A nonprofit organization dedicated to the success of trainers who teach initial life support and AED use, the foundation provides professional support, educational materials, and development tools. Affiliation with the organization is free and open to anyone engaged in emergency care training or AED program implementation. Affiliates must have completed prescribed instructor training for a state or nationally approved initial life support and AED training program. For details, visit www.aedinstructorfoundation.org.
September-October 2002
15