Reach Air Medical Services | 7
fore transporting them to a care facility,
the better recovery rates are. There was
also the time factor... there wasn’t a lot
of freeway infrastructure, and you could
put someone on a ground ambulance or
put them in an aircraft and save time,”
says Spediacci. McDonald was also de-
termined to create a regional trauma cen-
ter and he felt in order for that effort to
get off the ground, an air medical service
had to be established. REACH was estab-
lished in 1987 through a partnership with
an area hospital. Operations began with
a single Augusta 109A helicopter, yet af-
ter a short time, the service was deemed
too costly to maintain and the hospital
abandoned the service. Spediacci says
McDonald was so dedicated to REACH
Air Medical that he took it under his own
wings, assuming all responsibility and fi-
nancial risks to fund the program on his
own means. McDonald ultimately passed
in 2000, living just long enough to ulti-
mately see Santa Rosa Memorial Hospi-
tal earn distinction as a Level II Trauma
Center. Through his private practice and
hospital services, McDonald’s legacy in
healthcare has beneficially impacted hun-
