The Most Experienced Air Ambulance Team in Hawaii
AirMed began service in Hawaii in April, 2006 when it was granted an Emergency Certificate of Need by the State of Hawaii’s Planning and Development Agency. However, even before starting service in Hawaii, AirMed’s management team was involved in the air ambulance industry for decades.
In collaboration with Base Department Heads (Medical Director, Clinical Manager, Sr. Base Captain, Lead Maintenance Tech), Sandy serves as lead administrator for a team of more than 70 emergency medical personnel, pilots and maintenance technicians. She is also responsible for maintaining AirMed Hawaii’s comprehensive CAMTS accreditation standards.
Sandy’s career in the industry began in Honolulu when the physician she worked for as a Clinic Manager started Airport Medical, a business that provided airport employees and patients ground ambulance service from Honolulu International Airport to Oahu hospitals. Within a few years, Sandy was heading up Hawaii’s largest air ambulance service, growing it from seven employees and one aircraft in 1980 to over 100 employees and five aircraft in 2003.
Sandy was born in Honolulu and raised throughout Europe and the mainland U.S.
Dr. Yew provides medical direction for AirMed Hawaii’s team of over 40 paramedics and flight nurses. He is certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and has been named the 2008 Chairman of the Air Medical Transport Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), a national organization that represents more than 25,000 emergency medicine specialists. Dr. Yew is also a member of the Air Medical Physician Association (AMPA) and the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP).
Born and raised in New York City, Dr. Yew attended the State University of New York/Downstate Medical School followed by a residency in Emergency Medicine at Columbia University-St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital.
As a specialist in disaster medicine, Dr. Yew volunteers for the Department of Health & Human Services - National Disaster Medical System. He also serves as Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine and teaches simulation medicine for the University’s Telehealth Research Institute. He has lectured at the first U.S. - Japan International Simulation Symposium and conducts quarterly simulation training for AirMed Hawaii and the medical community. He is the 2005 recipient of the Outstanding Staff Teacher Award from Tripler Army Medical Center and a lifetime member of MENSA.
As lead flight nurse for AirMed Hawaii, Peter is responsible for the interfacility transport of patients from medical centers across our State. His extensive nursing career started upon receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree from the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has held various positions of responsibility at the Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Kapiolani Hospital, Kaiser Permanente and Queens Airport Medical before joining AirMed in 2006.
Peter has also been a member the Hawaii Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) since 2002. With the DMAT he assisted in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and Kona after the Kiholo Bay earthquake. In addition to serving on the DMAT, Peter has served on two volunteer missions for St. Francis of Assisi in Haiti, providing care in a rural clinic. He has also volunteered with the Cross Cultural Solutions Project India, assisting nurses in their Neurological Intensive Care Unit.
Peter is a member of the Emergency Nurses Association and Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association. He is licensed in Hawaii and California, and is a Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN). In 2006, he was named Nurse of the Year for Kaiser Hawaii.
A certified instructor in Trauma Nurse Core Curriculum (TNCC) with experience in surgical intensive care, Geri is in charge of education for AirMed Hawaii’s medical crew and she is also a flight nurse. As lead educator, Geri designs and conducts monthly inservices on new policies, equipment and clinical situations for AirMed’s team of paramedics and RN’s. She also teaches medical professionals from around Hawaii at AirMed’s quarterly training sessions at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine and is a simulation trainer for students and residents at the U.H. SimTiki Telehealth Research Institute. In addition, Geri conducts on-site education at neighbor island hospitals.
Prior to moving to Hawaii, Geri spent eight years at the Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California as an Advanced Clinician and Clinical Nurse in Surgical Intensive Care. She has also served in nursing positions at Providence St. Joseph’s Medical Center, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Centre and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Geri is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Basic Life Support (BLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Trauma Nurse Advance Transport Course (TNATC) and Neonate Resuscitation Program (NRP). She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from MacMaster University and a Certificate in Emergency Nursing from Humber College.
As Clinical Team Supervisor, Colleen is responsible for clinical team oversight for the medical crew, including medical staff scheduling and payroll administration. Since 2006, Colleen has also served as a flight paramedic with AirMed Hawaii. She is a certified member of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, is certified as an EMT Paramedic in Hawaii and is a member of the International Association of Flight Paramedics.
Colleen received her education at Kapiolani Community College, completing both the EMT and MICT Programs. She currently serves as an Adjunct Faculty Lecturer for Kapiolani Community College, teaching a Skills Testing for MICT Class and a Skills Testing for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.
Colleen’s certifications also include Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Advanced Medical Care Life Support (AMLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS). She is also certified as a Hazardous Material Awareness Triage Responder.
Kaipo is the Senior Base Captain and lead pilot for AirMed Hawaii. He joined AirMed in 2006, flying its first transport in Hawaii. Today, Kaipo is in charge of all neighbor island transports and oversees a team of 17 Hawaii-based pilots.
Kaipo knew he wanted to be a pilot by age 11, and started flying in high school, as a student at Kamehameha. He attended one of the nation’s oldest flight schools, Parks Air College and began his professional career while in his 20’s as a flight instructor for Hawaii Air Academy. At the age of 25, Kaipo became a captain for Mid Pacific Airlines, and he later joined Aloha Airlines in 1988. Twelve years ago, he decided to move from commercial airlines to air ambulance services.
Kaipo was born and raised in Waialua, O’ahu, the son of a traditional lawai’a ka’upena (throw net fisherman). His mother hails from one of the most remote areas in Hawaii; Pelekunu Valley on the island of Moloka’i.
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