Stars of Life

Preston Crotwell is being praised for his leadership and service at a mass shooting incident that happened last April at the Mississippi Mudbug Festival. Preston and his partner were at the weekend event, serving as standby EMS, when gunshots rang out at the fairgrounds. Preston, a former Marine Corps rifleman, quickly took charge, collaborating with law enforcement while tending to the injured.

The shooting left six people shot, with one of them deceased. Preston, who served as the lead for managing the mass casualty incident (MCI), worked alongside his partner in performing all the roles of EMS command, such as triage, treatment and some mobile EMS intervention as well.

A well-spoken EMS professional who is highly adaptable, especially in stressful situations, Preston is a dedicated first responder who puts others first. He is an inspiration to his teammates and leaders.
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Lance Blythe is being honored as a Star of Life for providing critical care to a gunshot victim while also guiding a new nurse during the transport. The toddler had been shot in the abdomen and had lost a lot of blood. Lance not only performed his duties with calm and precision but also provided leadership and guidance to the nurse, who along with Lance, had to effectively manage an entire supply of blood and plasma. Once the hospital was selected, Lance instructed the pilot to communicate with the OCC (Operational Control Center) and CENCOM that it needed to get a surgical team prepped for the incoming patient. Then, to add another layer of complication, the flight experienced some turbulence caused by extreme winds. But through it all, Lance remained composed, fulfilling his duties and helping others at the same time.

In the end, the transport was a success. Lance’s direction saved the life of a child. Lance is a humble hero, whose skill, talent and experience represents the best of the EMS industry.
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Holly Griswold started her career in the EMS industry in May 2010. She accepted a position as a Para-transit driver with Arizona Ambulance Transport. During this role she attended the EMT program. After completion and successfully passing, she wasted no time in branching out into other areas of Arizona Ambulance to gain experience within the operation of the company. She took on the role of Event Organizer, facilitating both company and community events.

Within that first year, she proved her eagerness and dedication of her role and was offered another position as Field Training Officer. She quickly excelled in this role, proving to be one of the companies’ top FTO’s. Holly's ability to train new providers, both experienced and brand new, has been an integral part of our day-to-day operations. This level of performance and commitment earned Holly the Shining Star Award in early 2012.
In early 2014, Holly was the recipient of the Employee of the Year Award. Following this award, she was promoted to Operations Supervisor. In addition to her new supervisor role, she also accepted the role of Scheduling Coordinator. Holly accepting this role was proven to be very fitting and beneficial to Arizona Ambulance and its employees.

While she worked 24hr shifts on a ¾ schedule on the Critical Care Nurse Unit, she continued and continues to this day to make herself available to the employees 24/7-365. When an area hospital closed in 2015 without notice, Holly was able to reconfigure the schedule in a way that saved the jobs of all the employees who worked out of that area, with a deadline of less than 24 hours. She did this once again in 2017 when a major government contract we held was not put up for an RFP. In this event, she worked tirelessly to save the 16 jobs that would have otherwise been lost.

Holly continues to branch out and work in all areas that are available to her. During her 12 years, she worked a majority of those on the CCT unit and obtained certifications that her level of service would allow, amongst these areas she is also part of the Disaster Response Team and trains to maintain her red card for the Wildland Fire Team.

If you need something done or simply need help with a task, Holly is and always has been the “go to” to get it done. She has earned and is unquestionably very deserving of the Star of Life award. Arizona Ambulance Transport is lucky to have her on our team.
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Joshua Young is being honored as a Star of Life for his actions while transporting a critically ill patient from Mexico to the United States, and for his role as a mentor. Upon arriving to the bedside of a critically ill young man in Southern Mexico, Joshua discovered that the patient’s endotracheal tube was not properly secured and that the local staff were having a difficult time attempting to re-secure it. Joshua calmly asked the staff to step aside so that he could properly secure the endotracheal tube for the transport and assist with comforting the patient who had become increasingly more agitated.

While re-securing the endotracheal tube and adjusting the patient’s ventilator settings, Joshua spoke soothingly to the patient so he could understand what was happening. After saving the endotracheal tube from becoming dislodged and stabilizing the patient on the ventilator, Joshua continued providing calming reassurance and information to the patient and his family member throughout the remainder of the medical flight. Joshua’s actions in this specific case are typical of his level of care and commitment, and demonstrate why he is sought after as a mentor. Joshua is patient, kind, highly skilled, and respected by his peers.

Joshua has dedicated much of his life to serving others and has cared for thousands of patients in his 25 years as a healthcare professional. He has spent the past 16 years as a respiratory therapy supervisor, educator, and a med-flight respiratory therapist with both helicopter and fixed-wing programs. Joshua has flown medical missions to 30 countries, all 50 U.S. states, and has been deployed to assist with FEMA medical relief missions for three U.S. hurricanes. Lastly, Joshua holds specialty credentials in both neonatal and pediatric respiratory therapy disciplines. Read Less

Larry Cardwell is being honored as a Star of Life for his role as an advocate for change and innovation in his organization. Larry built a Beta Weather and Flight Planning Station that is unparalleled in terms of ease of use, fidelity, scope and dependability of flight-planning information. His state-of-the-art system has helped REACH crews and patients fly safer, ultimately earning him the REACH Safety award in 2019.

In addition to his commitment to safety, Larry is one of a handful of clinicians trained to transport neonatal intensive care unit patients. As such he has received the intensive training to care for newborn babies who require intensive medical care and specialized technology. All of Larry’s patients receive ICU-level care and his trademark compassion and respect. He is a vigorous advocate for them and goes well above and beyond in his service to them, his community and his company.

Larry has been a paramedic for eight years. Based on his continued advancement of process improvement and innovation, as well as his clinical expertise, Larry’s colleagues believe there is no better candidate to receive the industry’s highest honor and represent the company in Washington. Read Less