Native Air 7 flight paramedic transports 1,000th patient

Flight Paramedic and Clinical Base Lead at Native Air 7, Josh Malia has recently achieved the milestone of transporting his 1,000^th patient.

“I can remember nearly every one of my thousand calls,” said Malia, who joined Air Methods, the nation’s largest air medical services provider and Native Air’s parent company, nearly nine years ago.

His 1,000 transports have included 101 acute cardiac patients, 166 neurological emergencies, and 109 patients requiring initiation of mechanical ventilation support.

Malia has been flying since 2014, but his career in the emergency medical services sector began when he was 17 years old and at the age of 19 years, he began his paramedic training. In the following years, he worked as a firefighter and emergency room paramedic, before becoming a flight paramedic. In 2016, he joined the Native Air 7 team.

“Though he has transported more than 1,000 patients, his impact is undoubtedly on tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of lives when you consider he’s given sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and grandparents more tomorrows to celebrate life with their families,” said Ronnie Rivas-Savell, Clinical Director with Air Methods. “He never stops advocating for patients, inspiring teammates, and leading the industry.”

Malia concluded: “The most important thing I can think of, serving more than a thousand patients, is the crew that has helped me complete this goal. I could not have done this without my nurses, medics, and pilots, who have changed my life. I truly mean it when I say I have worked with the best of the best in the world.”