6 | Reach Air Medical Services
REACH with accreditation for the last 11
consecutive years. In terms of its service
delivery, to be sure that involves much
more than a simple flight by plane or he-
licopter. “We really see ourselves more
as a healthcare company ... a healthcare
company that transports by ground, plane
or helicopter,” affirms Vice President of
Public Relations and Business Develop-
ment Anna Blair.
A REACH BACK IN TIME
REACH Air Medical Services was
founded by the late Dr. John L. McDon-
ald, a pioneering, visionary of healthcare
services in California whose credits not
only include creating the first emergency
medical department at Memorial Hospi-
tal in Santa Rosa, but also establishing
the first Paramedic Program in Sonoma
County. REACH VP of Flight Opera-
tions Vicky Spediacci says Dr. McDonald
had a unique passion for field medicine,
yet was also an aviation enthusiast. “He
viewed aviation as vital to the support of
field medicine ... paramedics have skills
and in an emergency, the closer you could
connect patients with those skills be-
