Iron Mountain, Mich. (WZMQ) – Guardian Flight of Iron Mountain celebrated EMS Week by sharing stories of their critical care medical professionals. Missi Todd and Ashley Westman are two individuals who always put their mission first and are ready to fly at a moment’s notice.
Todd, who served as a critical care nurse in the E.R. for several years, forged tight bonds with the flight crews prior to becoming a flight nurse. She recalled how she watched the flight crews take their critical patients and became close with the flight care teams. “I basically think back to my training and trust that that’ll get me through each high-stress situation,” she commented.
The Guardian Flight crew also does yearly education sessions with the health occupations class at the Dickinson-Iron ISD, where they walk students through how to become a part of the critical service. Todd’s advice to younger students is to work hard and get critical care experience.
Westman, a flight paramedic, said that being a flight paramedic is a family calling. “Growing up I was around EMS a lot with my dad, and I really liked to help other people, especially at their worst,” she said.
Guardian Flight is proud to have such dedicated and passionate individuals on their team and celebrates their service during EMS Week with a small cookout at the hangar inviting other local paramedic agencies to join them. Coming in June for the flight Guardians of Iron Mountain, they will participate in a local 2-day youth summer camp, called camp 9-1-1, to help go over first aid and safety in conjunction with other local emergency agencies.
