By BRAD DICKERSON
As a paramedic with both the Barren-Metcalfe County Ambulance Service and STATCARE, Bill Milan sees action on the ground and in the air.
It is the latter that has brought him national recognition.
Milan received the Tim Hynes Award from the International Association of Flight Paramedics in San Antonio, Texas, during the Critical Care Transport Medicine Conference.
“I was astonished,” Milan said. “It was something that really caught me off guard because it was not something I imagined would ever happen.”
The award is named for Tim Hynes, who died on Jan. 11, 1998, when his air medical helicopter crashed while on a mission near Salt Lake City, Utah. The award recognizes exemplary abilities in leadership, education and safety within the paramedic profession.
“I have always known Bill to be passionate and driven in improving his knowledge and skills in emergency medical care in order to deliver the very best care possible to his patients,” said Mike Swift, local ambulance service director.
Milan has been with the Barren-Metcalfe County Ambulance Service for 11 years. Since 2000, he has alternated between being a ground paramedic and a flight paramedic with STATCARE.
The difference between the two, he said, is that flight paramedics deal with more acute patients.
“As a ground paramedic, we typically do everything ... hospital transfers, we do non-emergency stuff, we do just anything that needs to be done,” he said. “In the air medical setting, it’s more of a higher acuity, sicker patients, where you really have to think a little more than just react.”
Both roles are rewarding, he said, and he can’t see himself choosing one over the other. He works a 24-hour shift every third day on ground crew. Every fourth day, he spends 24 hours with the air crew.
Flying does offer one definite advantage to the ground – amazing scenery.
“Flying in southern Kentucky is probably the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see,” Milan said. “During the fall, when the trees are changing colors and things like that, it’s really, really beautiful.”
