AirMed Visit to UA Wayne Offers Students and Community a Close-Up Look at Flight Nursing
Theresa Truitt’s idea for the University Hospitals AirMed Fly-In Education Day began with a search for ways to bring high-level clinical experience to UA’s nursing program at Wayne College. Emergency medicine is a strong interest of hers, and when she discovered that AirMed offers educational fly-ins to build community partnerships, she saw it as an opportunity to help her ADN cohort connect classroom and lab skills with the reality of flight nursing. A student herself in the first year of the associate degree in nursing program, she thought it was important for her peers to see prehospital nursing, especially the level of clinical skill required in flight nursing.
Theresa Truitt’s idea for the University Hospitals AirMed Fly-In Education Day began with a search for ways to bring high-level clinical experience to UA’s nursing program at Wayne College. Emergency medicine is a strong interest of hers, and when she discovered that AirMed offers educational fly-ins to build community partnerships, she saw it as an opportunity to help her ADN cohort connect classroom and lab skills with the reality of flight nursing. A student herself in the first year of the associate degree in nursing program, she thought it was important for her peers to see prehospital nursing, especially the level of clinical skill required in flight nursing.
Bringing a medical helicopter to campus was a collaborative effort. She worked closely with Wayne’s business office manager to navigate the administrative hurdles. To ensure safety, planning meetings were held with the University of Akron Police Department, the university’s legal representative, University Hospitals AirMed, Wayne Campus Security, the Orrville Fire Department Chief, and Student Services. “We discussed every detail, from landing zone protocols to spectator safety. Seeing the process unfold in those meetings was a great experience, it really showed me the importance of clear communication and professional collaboration,” Theresa said.
The event also provided a lesson in the unpredictability of emergency medicine. On the first scheduled date of April 27th, the helicopter was diverted to a real-life emergency during takeoff. It was difficult to explain the delay to the waiting students, guests, and local families, but it reinforced that the patient always comes first. The event was rescheduled the following Monday, and the crew successfully landed and spent time with Wayne’s nursing and medic students, professors, staff and community members.
During the visit, the AirMed crew explained their role as a mobile intensive care unit for northeast Ohio, handling high-risk neonatal transport, stroke care, and trauma transfers. Among the various UH AirMed bases in Northeast Ohio, UA Wayne was lucky to host the team from the Medina station for the event. In a fitting conclusion, the crew was called to an emergency directly from the campus. Watching them transition instantly from educators back to life-saving professionals was an impactful lesson for everyone present. Theresa added, “I truly hope that this becomes a tradition for the University of Akron Wayne Campus and its students, as it is a powerful reminder of the kind of impact we can have as we become nursing professionals ourselves.”
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