LifeMed Alaska helicopter crew visits Mat-Su College

PALMER — A LifeMed Alaska helicopter crew made a special appearance at the Mat-Su College Wednesday, June 22.

An orange and white medevac helicopter landed on the college campus in one of the rear parking lots. LifeMed crews ran through various real-life emergency situations that require loading patients into a helicopter with paramedic Mat-Su College paramedic students.

LifeMed crew members brought advanced training mannequins that come with a variety of educational features including simulated fluids and injury capabilities. Mat-Su College paramedic instructor Paul Perry said this was a great learning opportunity for his students.

“What a gift,” Perry said.

Perry said the college has a great working relationship with LifeMed. He said they visit their campus every year to provide realistic and informative educational opportunities to students. He noted that one of the LifeMed flight paramedics present during the demonstration is a graduate of the college’s paramedic program.

“It was like coming home,” Perry said.

According to Perry, nearly 200 students have graduated from the Mat-Su College’s paramedic program since it started in 2015. He said the course takes about a year to complete and it includes internship opportunities at the end.

He said the continued growth and success of their program reflects the diverse range of high-quality educational opportunities available at the campus.

“The academics here are top-notch,” Perry said. “They are serving a need for the community.”

Paramedic student Matt Lorenz said the LifeMed demonstration was fun and informative. He said that he’s been a volunteer EMT in Copper River Valley for over 12 years and knows firsthand how important LifeMed has been to rural communities that lack emergency medical treatment facilities.

“They fly out to our neck of the woods pretty frequently,” Lorenz said. “It’s super important,” they fill a big gap for sure. It’s a necessity I’d say.”

Lorenz paramedic internship is coming soon. He said that he’s learned a lot in this program and thinks it helps meet the ever-growing need for trained medical professionals across Alaska.

“I think it’s a great program. I think it’s a great way to get paramedics in the state,” Lorenz said.

For more information about the Mat-Su College, visit matsu.alaska.edu.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com