Jason Talbott, U.S. Air Force

Like many young people pondering their future after high school, Jason Talbott wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after graduation. So, he took a chance and signed up for the Selective Service, indicating an interest in the Air Force. “A few weeks later, a recruiter reached out to me and told me I was too tall to be a pilot and since I grew up watching emergency 911 shows, the excitement and adventure of being a first responder appealed to me, so I ended up serving as a military firefighter,” recalls Talbott, whose induction in the U.S. Armed Forces would be the same day as one of the most devastating events in our nation’s recent history, 9/11. “I was sworn in just before the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City,” he says.

From that day onward, Talbott would go on to serve in the Air Force for just a little over three years, responding to aircraft, structural, hazmat, medical and explosive ordinance disposal fires. His service would send him all around the globe —an experience he’s still grateful for to this day.

“There is a beautiful world across the ocean. While in Germany, I traveled to a lot of different countries in Europe, including Spain where I was deployed on a Temporary Duty Assignment (TDY). I was also deployed to Kuwait for Operation Southern Watch, which became Operation Iraqi Freedom after the Iraq War started,” says Talbott. And while international travel was a perk of his military life, Talbott says the real reward from serving in the U.S. military, apart from serving his country, was gaining a strong ethical and moral code.

“The first core value of the Air Force is integrity. You must do the right thing when no one is looking. If mistakes happen, you have to acknowledge and learn from them. I try to instill this value with my team,” he says.

Talbott, who started working as an EMT with Abbott EMS (part of the GMR family) in St. Louis in 2006, was promoted to Operations Supervisor in 2013. He then transitioned to serve as the Heartland Pre-Billing Supervisor in 2015. In 2021, he became the Revenue Cycle Optimization National Appeals and Denials Supervisor — the role he occupies today.

Rank Achieved
Senior Airman

Countries Visited
Germany, Spain, Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, France, Kuwait, Greece, Slovenia and Austria.

Most Interesting Experience While Serving
While deployed in Spain at Zaragoza Air Base, I supported the NASA Shuttle Mission STS-112. In the event the shuttle had to abort during launch, the air base could have been selected as the place where the shuttle could land. I never realized the amount of logistics, training and equipment that were involved in this possible scenario outside of the launch at Kennedy Space Center.

Role with AMR
“The military prepared me to stay calm during stressful situations,” says Talbott. “As part of my job, I’m having to respond to Medicare, Medicaid and other insurances for audit and record ambulance requests. I also appeal claims as needed. It’s a cool experience that requires attention to detail, something the military definitely equipped me for.”