Krista Haugen earns AAMS Jim Charlson Safety Award
The safety award recognises individuals who make significant contributions to the enhancement, development and promotion of aviation safety.
Krista Haugen, director of patient safety and medical risk management for US-based Med-Trans Corporation, has been given the 2017 Jim Charlson Safety Award by the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS). The safety award recognises individuals who make significant contributions to the enhancement, development and promotion of aviation safety, said the US-based air transport provider.
Med-Trans said: “After surviving a helicopter emergency medical service crash in Olympia, Washington in 2005, a month after three of her colleagues perished in another crash, Krista found herself in uncharted territory. She became aware that the magnitude of resources needed after this type of trauma was not available. Haugen, a flight nurse, reached out to flight nurses Megan Hamilton, Teresa Keeler and Jonathan Godfrey, also HEMS crash survivors. They shared their post-crash experiences and recognised a gap in the air medical transport industry and they filled it. The need was clear and the Survivors Network for the Air Medical Community was born.”
AAMS president and CEO Rick Sherlock commented: “With more than 25 years in emergency critical care and flight nursing, and as a helicopter EMS crash survivor, Krista is passionate about mitigating the human cost of trauma stemming from incidents, accidents, illnesses and injuries. We are proud of her concern and passion for air medical transport safety.”
Haugen participates in many industry activities, is a published writer and travels the country speaking as a safety advocate, said Med-Trans. She spoke of her commitment to critical care transport: “Because we’re human, we can be deeply impacted by the day-to-day work we do as we care for other people, and that deeply impacts our personal lives, as well as our professional lives as we as individuals are at the very heart of the human factors model. Our safety, and that of our patients, depends heavily on our own health and well-being. And just as importantly, so does our ability to find joy in our own lives.”
Med-Trans president Rob Hamilton said: “We are so proud of Krista Haugen and her commitment to HEMS safety. She has brought that passion and concern to Med-Trans and for that our entire company and the industry we serve are grateful.”