HASTINGS — The medical director of a North Platte medical transport company said it is his goal to “raise the bar and level of service” for interfacility transport at Mary Lanning Healthcare.
James “Smitty” Smith, MD, co-owner and medical director of Priority Medical, said he is excited to partner with MLH. As of July 1, Priority Medical will have eight full-time employees working in Hastings to staff ground transports 24/7 at MLH. Each Advanced Life Support (ALS) team includes a paramedic and an emergency medical technician (EMT). Priority Medical will be responsible for transferring MLH patients to, and bringing patients to MLH from, other hospitals, healthcare centers, nursing homes, etc. Priority Medical will not replace the Hastings Fire Department emergency response. However, it will offer mutual aid, when needed, to HFD with no increased cost to taxpayers.
Ronda Ehly, MLH Chief Nursing Officer, said she is pleased that Priority Medical, which has bases in North Platte, McCook, Kearney and Lexington, was able to parner with MLH to ensure consistency and availability for ground transport services in Hastings and the surrounding areas.
“Both MLH and Priority Medical make it their goal to provide the best possible care for patients,” Ehly said. “This new partnership will benefit our patients and families, ensuring high-quality care all around.”
Smith agreed. “MLH has an excellent reputation. I am excited to be partners with MLH because it does a great job. The people we serve see MLH and Priority Medical as a team so we all have to keep up the reputation of the team.”
Priority Medical strives to provide more training than other companies for its employees. Smith said the goal is for Priority’s ground transport crews to receive training that “rivals any flight transport team in the area.” Priority crews have already begun training in Hastings.
“Our mission is to help patients in their time of need,” he said. “Our vision is to become the region’s premier ground interfacility transport service by continuously improving service for our patients, customers and communities.”
Priority Medical services include ALS, transporting patients on ventilators, CPAP or BIPAP; patients with IVs and IV pain medications; patients who have had heart attacks, strokes or cath lab procedures and adolescent/pediatric patients. The company also can transport Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) teams with isolettes.
Smith said he hopes to work on collaborating with NICU and obstetric physicians locally to begin expanding those types of transports.