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At a time when drones are ubiquitous and air travel more common, humans don’t think twice about things flying around overhead and rapid response to need.In the 1970s, Kalispell still relied on its hometown family doctors to race to the hospital to provide emergency care. It also lacked the specialists (such as open heart and neurosurgery) who could care for specific ailments or trauma.
Marty Boehm landed in the Flathead in 1975, before the ALERT program launched. He helped the Advance Life-support and Emergency Rescue Team (ALERT) get off the ground and took part himself in more than 250 flights, from responding to remote scenes of accidents to transporting patients intercity for care not then available in Kalispell.
Boehm will share the origins of ALERT, early missions, and the how-to behind building the first rural air ambulance service of its kind. He welcomes your curiosity and questions for this in-depth conversation on a unique grassroots effort credited with saving thousands of lives.
About the presenter: After entering the Air Force as a registered nurse and serving more than four years as an operating room and flight nurse stationed in Greenland, Marty Boehm arrived in Kalispell in 1975. He started working as an emergency room nurse, then helped build the ALERT program, which marks its 50-year milestone this year. Now retired, he raises bison on a ranch near Creston.
More info on the series: https://www.nwmthistory.org/programs/john-white-speaker-series/
Order the entire four-talk series here: https://www.flatheadtickets.com/organizations/northwest-montana-history-museum/packages
All John White Series talks are followed by social time in Hollensteiner-Stahl Hall.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Northwest Montana History Museum, 124 2nd St E, Kalispell, MT 59901-4994, United States
Tickets
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