LifeFlight Makes Significant Investment in Strengthening EMS and Hospital Partnerships
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LifeFlight of Maine has launched a significant new initiative to bolster its relationships with hospitals, first responders, emergency medical services (EMS), 911 centers, and other stakeholders that rely on LifeFlight to deliver critical care quickly and reliably for patients facing a life-threatening medical emergency.
“At LifeFlight of Maine, we hold ourselves to uncompromising standards of excellence,” said Joe Kellner, CEO of LifeFlight of Maine. “This is what has inspired this organization for two and a half decades, and what continues to drive us as one of the premier nonprofit air ambulance and critical care services in the country. We are continually looking for ways to elevate the level of care we provide to our patients, and to improve the reliability and speed of the service we offer to every community here in Maine. This new initiative continues our longstanding commitment to excellence.”
This initiative will be led by Kyle Madigan, director of client relations at LifeFlight of Maine, who began in this newly created role in January 2024. Madigan brings decades of experience as a flight nurse and critical care provider, an educator, and an air medical program administrator. Most recently, he led the Dartmouth Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART), LifeFlight of Maine’s peer service based in Lebanon, New Hampshire. “Kyle Madigan’s experience and expertise in the delivery of critical care emergency medicine is formidable,” said Bill Cyr, COO of LifeFlight of Maine. “The work he is doing to strengthen collaboration between LifeFlight and our EMS and hospital partners is a tremendous asset both to this organization and to the entire Maine EMS system, fundamentally because this initiative will improve patient care and save lives.”
Under Madigan’s leadership, LifeFlight is working to expand its outreach and education efforts across all 16 counties in Maine, as well as parts of New Hampshire along the border with Maine, an area in which LifeFlight of Maine’s Sanford-based team provides service when needed. These efforts include expanding offerings of LifeFlight’s “Ground Safety and User Course,” which trains partner agencies on how to identify when a patient needs a LifeFlight transport, how to make a transport request, how to safely secure a landing zone, and how to transfer the patient into LifeFlight’s care.
Madigan, in concert with LifeFlight of Maine CEO Joe Kellner, is also leading efforts to strengthen operational collaboration between LifeFlight and Maine’s hospitals. The majority of calls to LifeFlight come from a hospital requesting to transfer an acutely ill patient to a facility that offers a higher level of care. This is a critically important service for Maine’s geographically dispersed system of community hospitals. The smooth, reliable, and rapid movement of these patients in a LifeFlight vehicle is critical both to the patient’s outcomes and to the capacity of the emergency medical system statewide to ensure all patients can access the care they need. Madigan will work with leaders and clinicians in emergency departments and intensive care units to improve coordination and logistics for the care teams interfacing with LifeFlight crews.
Additionally, LifeFlight is working with communities, first responders, and private citizens to establish additional helicopter landing zones in rural areas. LifeFlight maintains a database of thousands of landing zones across Maine and parts of New Hampshire, which LifeFlight crews utilize to respond to medical emergencies. Many of these landing zones are a local ball field or parking lot. Others are a clearing deep in the Maine woods. By working with communities to expand this database, which is available both to LifeFlight and to 911 dispatchers statewide, LifeFlight is creating more critical healthcare access points across Maine.
“I have dedicated my career to nonprofit, critical care emergency medicine,” said Madigan, “because I firmly believe that this is the best delivery model for patients in Maine, northern New England, and beyond. I have worked in collaboration with my colleagues at LifeFlight of Maine for years, and I’m pleased to now have the opportunity to serve alongside them. Maine is fortunate to have an air medical provider as well-regarded as LifeFlight, and I look forward to contributing my skills to this team and to the State of Maine.”
Kyle Madigan
Kyle Madigan, RN, MHCDS, MSN, CEN, CFRN, CTRN, CCRN, is a seasoned professional in the field of Transport Medicine, currently holding the position of Director of Client Relations for Life Flight of Maine. With a career spanning over 30 years, Kyle has dedicated his expertise to various roles, including Flight Nurse, Educator, Chief Flight Nurse and Director, contributing significantly to the patient transport industry.
Throughout his career, Kyle Madigan has been actively engaged in shaping the landscape of patient transport. His commitment to excellence is reflected in his involvement with esteemed industry organizations, where he has served as the President of the Air & Surface Transport Nurses Association and on the Board of Directors for the Association of Critical Care Transport. Notably, he most recently served as the Chairman of the Board Certification for Emergency Nursing, showcasing his leadership and commitment to advancing standards in transport and emergency nursing.
Recognized for his contributions and expertise, Kyle was the recipient of the Barbara A. Hess Award recognizing an individual who has significantly contributed to the enhancement, development and promotion of the air medical industry through their educational efforts. Kyle was selected in 2020 by the United States Department of Transportation to participate on the Air Ambulance Patient Billing Advisory Committee, further solidifying his influence on a national level.Outside of his professional endeavors, Kyle Madigan resides in New Hampshire, with his wife Lynn, who is also a Registered Nurse. Together, they have two children—Ellie, in her senior year at the University of Rhode Island, and Troy, a freshman at Montana State University. In his spare time, Kyle enjoys fly fishing, always on the lookout for the next great opportunity, and he indulges in his interest in vintage automobiles by working on his 1973 Land Rover. Kyle Madigan’s multifaceted life reflects a deep commitment to both his professional pursuits and personal interests.
Kyle Madigan can be reached at kymadigan@lifeflightmaine.org.
