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Employee Profile: Erica Patton

Erica Patton
Senior EMT
Years of Service – 10 months

Fun facts:

  • If not at work or Paramedic class, you can find Erica with her 2 spoiled nephews out on an adventure or sporting event.
  • She loves to travel and take random road trips. Even if unplanned.
  • Erica does mission trips to Mexico every 2 years.
  • Her brother also works at Stat and has been working as a Flight Nurse for 15 years.
Employee Profile: Erica Patton2026-03-02T09:59:54-05:00

Employee Profile: Cindy Lehman

Cindy Lehman
Flight Nurse
STATMedEvac 18
Years of service – 1

  • Cindy followed her fiancé to STAT (he is a pilot in the East region). She says “It has been the best decision of my career!”
  • They have a bunch of kids and a couple of dogs.
  • She thrives on chaos and challenges.
  • Cindy’s favorite things to do are anything when they are all together.
Employee Profile: Cindy Lehman2025-12-30T10:36:41-05:00

Employee Profile: John Musser

John Musser

Operations Control Specialist
Currently serving as Interim Supervisor for the Operations Control Specialists.
Years of Service – 8

  • Outside of work, John is passionate about aviation— especially attending airshows and watching the Blue Angels perform.
  • He is also an enthusiast of classic muscle cars and enjoys visiting local car cruises.
  • At home, John has a 9-year-old Yorkie Terrier named Oscar
  • He loves taking road trips whenever he gets the chance, is an avid follower of Pittsburgh sports.
  • A fun fact about John is that he holds a private pilot’s license, yet he’s never flown on a commercial airliner!
  • And on a personal note, he recently got married in September 2024.
Employee Profile: John Musser2025-12-29T10:32:48-05:00

Employee Profile: Jenn Plourde

Jenn Plourde
Flight Paramedic
Years of Service – 1 year

Fun facts about Jenn:

  • Jenn is a bonus mom to 2 awesome kiddos.
  • She enjoys kayaking in the summer and even takes her cat, Maverick. Yes, he does enjoy himself and he even has his own life jacket!
  • Her favorite vacation was to the Smoky Mountains to get married. Jen’s advice – just don’t let your husband pick your honeymoon cabin because it will be the size of a small shed and you’ll be testing your marriage right off the bat! haha
  • She likes to spend some of her free time canning, practicing her amateur photography skills, and napping.
  • Food is her love language. Jenn enjoys cooking for friends and family, going to try new restaurants with her husband, and she always keeps some snacks nearby.
Employee Profile: Jenn Plourde2025-12-29T16:58:24-05:00

Mission Milestones Patient Flights

Starting off the new year, we’re celebrating two amazing STAT MedEvac employees, Maggie Zaliponi and Mike Shaffer, who have reached their Mission Milestones. Thank you both for your hard work, commitment, and the positive impact you make every day at STAT MedEvac.

Pictured above: Sharon Grossman, Samatha Adams, both from the PPC (Professional Practice Council), Maggie Zaliponi celebrating 3,000 missions, and Jim Houser, President and CEO of the Center for Emergency Medicine and STAT MedEvac.

Pictured above: Sharon Grossman from the PPC (Professional Practice Council), Mike Shaffer celebrating 3,000 missions and Jim Houser, President and CEO of the Center for Emergency Medicine and STAT MedEvac.

Mission Milestones Patient Flights2025-12-29T10:22:08-05:00

Santa Visits UPMC Children’s Hospital in Harrisburg

STAT MedEvac is lucky enough to have Santa’s direct phone line, and we called him into work last week! Santa made a special visit to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Harrisburg, continuing a heartwarming tradition we started together years ago. We’re honored to help keep this joyful tradition going for many years to come. You can find the full article on TheBurgNews.com at Santa arrives to visit children at UPMC via MedEvac chopper – TheBurg.

Also thank you to FOX43 News for this coverage of Santa and his elf visiting the children. Santa brings holiday cheer to pediatric patients with helicopter visit.

Santa Visits UPMC Children’s Hospital in Harrisburg2025-12-22T10:59:10-05:00

One-on-One After Receiving the PEMF Ronald D. Stewart Excellence Award

Dr. Paul Paris, Medical Director Emeritus, the Pittsburgh Emergency Medicine Foundation, has been known to many in Western Pennsylvania in various roles.  An EM physician at UPMC – Presbyterian, an on-line medical director to many of the EMS providers, a mentor to EM residents and researchers and, the hand-picked leader to take over the Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania from it’s original creator, Dr. Ron Stewart.

Dr. Paris was recently recognized by PEMF as the 2025 Ronald D. Stewart Excellence Award.  We took a few minutes to talk about his career and how he feels about the impact he has had on many EMS careers.

 

One-on-One After Receiving the PEMF Ronald D. Stewart Excellence Award2025-12-22T08:15:10-05:00

Mission Milestones Patient Flights

We’re celebrating three amazing STAT MedEvac employees this month, Eric Rothen, Hollee Russell and Neal Franchock, each have reached their Mission Milestones. Thank you all for your hard work, commitment, and the positive impact you make every day at STAT MedEvac.

Pictured above: Jim Houser, President and CEO of the Center for Emergency Medicine and STAT MedEvac, and Eric Rothen celebrating 5,000 missions.

 

Mission Milestones Patient Flights2025-12-04T11:55:13-05:00

National Wright Brothers Day

Wednesday, December 17th, is National Wright Brothers Day. Established in 1963 by Congress through a joint resolution, “Wright Brothers Day” is used to honor the brothers’ first successful powered flight that changed the history of aviation as we know it.

Orville and Wilbur Wright were American aviation pioneers credited with inventing and flying the world’s first successful airplane. Orville’s first flight was made on December 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It lasted 12 seconds and 120 feet around the site of the Wright Brothers National Memorial in the Outer Banks.

While the brothers were not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, they were the first to invent aircraft controls. Their breakthrough invention was their creation of a three-axis control system, which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and maintain its equilibrium. Their system of aircraft controls made fix-wing […]

National Wright Brothers Day2025-12-17T13:13:52-05:00
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