Allison Todd celebrates earning flight nurse certification
By Eric Thomas
Careers have a way of keeping people grounded — but not Allison Todd. Since 2016, she has been climbing new heights as a flight nurse.
Todd’s career as a nurse began in 2008 when she was a staff nurse in the emergency department of Springfield Memorial Hospital in Springfield. While serving as a nursing technician in the Southern Illinois Regional Burn Center, she interacted with flight crews transporting patients.
“At that time the helipad was on top of the building and the patients were transported from outlying hospitals or scenes to us,” remembered Todd. “I would go to the helipad and assist the flight crews with unloading the patient and transporting them to our unit.” As she would hear of all the things they did to ensure that patient would arrive safely, it was the beginning of her wanting to pursue becoming a flight nurse.
Typically, the Air EVAC Lifeteam (AEL) units fly nurse-paramedic but when flying nurse-nurse, one or both of the nurses needs to have their PHRN (prehospital register nurse) or still hold a paramedic license. “We are also required to have PHTLS [Prehospital Trauma Life Support]. Flight nurses typically have an ER or ICU background, but functioning outside of the hospital, such as on scene flights, requires us to be comfortable with the prehospital setting,” added Todd.
Recently, after six months of training, she received the certification of CFRN (Certified Flight Registered Nurse). It is one of the most difficult certifications to obtain. She received it on May 23.
Program Director for Air EVAC Lifeteam 27 Nikole Osier said of the certification, “Earning the CFRN designation requires extensive clinical knowledge and experience, and we are very proud of Allison for accomplishing this goal.”
She went on to say, “Having all our flight nurses certified is a testament to Air EVAC Lifeteam’s commitment to providing the highest quality emergency medical care available.”
AEL Jacksonville currently has three flight paramedics, five flight nurses, four pilots, one Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) and one Program Director. Each flight contains one pilot, one nurse and one paramedic.
AEL was established in 1985 by a group of citizens in West Plains, Missouri. The goal was to provide air transportation and ensure access to emergency healthcare for remote rural areas. Today AEL is part of Global Medical Response (GMR), a leading provider in air and ground emergency medical service. They operate more than 150 airbases bases across 18 states.
“We are called for inter-facility critical care transports and on-scene flights. We work a variety of cases, such as acute strokes, heart attacks, traumas, ventilated patients from ICU to ICU and more,” Todd concluded.
Todd currently resides in Ashland with her husband of 16 years, Cory, and their 12-year-old son, Brady. When not working she enjoys spending time with her family, taking care of their dog Tipper and their cat Rizzo – named after Anthony Rizzo. She also likes doing CrossFit, reading, boutique shopping and listening to live local bands.
